Heisman Watch: Is Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence Back in Play?

For the first time in five weeks, America saw Trevor Lawrence behind center again.

The Clemson quarterback didn't disappoint, either, throwing for 403 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 52-17 win over Pittsburgh. Was it enough to get him back in the Heisman Trophy hunt?

ESPN's panel of voters had Lawrence third in their rankings this week, behind Alabama's Mac Jones and Florida's Kyle Trask. Lawrence received two of the 14 votes. Jones had seven while Trask received five.

The Clemson QB ranked second on the Yahoo!Sports list this week behind Trask.

In the betting odds, cash has been coming in on Lawrence again. He went from +1000 and fourth on the list last week to currently +750 and third on the list at Betonline.ag.

It's helped Lawrence that Ohio State's Justin Fields, who was the favorite last month, has fallen off after his three-interception performance against Indiana in the Buckeyes' last time out. It doesn't help him that OSU has only played four games this season and it's unknown how many more he'll play.

Lawrence was punished in odds and by pundits for missing two games with COVID-19 and then having a game against FSU canceled. That's the reality in a popularity contest, but there's no real reason to discount a player who was once the favorite and is averaging 319 yards per game with 19 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Is there enough time and big games to push Trask and Jones, who will have a head-to-head matchup in the SEC Championship on Dec. 19?

It'll be imperative for Lawrence that he plays well Saturday against Virginia Tech, needing to go over 300 yards and throwing multiple touchdowns. And then he won't play again until Dec. 19 in the ACC Championship Game against No. 2 Notre Dame. Beating the Irish, which Clemson didn't do Nov. 7, with big numbers would make for an interesting case from Lawrence.

It would help if he has some hero moments, though, in fourth quarters.

FWIW, Heisman winners tend to come from great teams & great teams tend to win a lot of blowouts, so it’s not entirely unique, but…

Just 7.4% of Trevor Lawrence’s regular season throws, 9.1% of his TDs & 6.3% of his yards have come in the fourth quarter in his career.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) December 1, 2020

Regardless, the race isn't quite over, and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney believes no matter what Lawrence is the best player in the country.

Lawrence, meanwhile, grew up dreaming of winning the Heisman, but, like his coach, isn't prioritizing it.

"It would obviously be a huge honor," Lawrence said. "That wasn't ever the main goal for this year. I don't think about it too much. It's special in the sense that it is the most prestigious award in college football, which is awesome, but people still vote on it and it's kind of a hard thing to say, like how do you compare players. I don't really put too much stake in that necessarily. It would be a huge honor and whoever wins that deserves it."

AllClemson's Super Seven Heisman Candidates

1. Kyle Trask

2. Trevor Lawrence

3. Mac Jones

4. Zach Wilson

5. DeVonta Smith

6. Ian Book

7. Justin Fields