Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence: Ohio State 'Kicked Our Butts'
It was not quite the ending Trevor Lawrence had envisioned for himself and the rest of the Clemson Tigers.
After falling behind 14-7 early on, Ohio State score 28 unanswered points and never looked back in a dominant 49-28 win over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
Lawrence was able to throw for 400 yards and complete 69% of his passes, but it wasn't enough as the Buckeyes were clearly the better team on Friday night.
"They played a heck of a game, got to give it to them obviously," Lawrence said. "They kicked our butts tonight."
While the season certainly did not end the way he and the rest of his teammates would have liked, Lawrence says that no one can ever take away what they were able to accomplish in a season filled with so many challenges.
"I still love this team, got a lot of confidence in who we are and super proud," Lawrence said. "Super proud to be at Clemson and the year we had. Obviously didn't end the way we wanted to, but it was special. Wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else."
For a multitude of reasons, it just wasn't the Tigers night and Lawrence says they knew that if they wanted to beat this Ohio State team they would have to play much better than they did.
"Just didn't get it done tonight for a lot of reasons," Lawrence said. "I mean you look back at the game and pick a few things, but in games like this you just got to play well all the way around and we didn't really do that tonight."
After a strong start that saw Clemson score touchdowns on two of their first three possessions, the Tigers would not score another point until their first possession of the third quarter. It was a stretch in which the Buckeyes scored touchdowns on four straight possessions and five of their next six.
It was a momentum swing that Clemson never could overcome and Lawrence says despite being well-prepared and confident, the Tigers just weren't efficient enough and didn't play complimentary football.
"I think we prepared really well, we had a good week and a half or so of practice," Lawrence said. "Obviously, we were confident. We just weren't playing complimentary football for too long. I mean, when we're punting and their scoring pretty much every drive for a quarter or so, I mean it can get out of hand quick. So I think we were kind of pulling in two different directions in that sense as far as just ball control. And then, obviously Ohio State played a really good game."
