Heisman Watch: Trevor Lawrence Slipping After Lackluster Performance

Trevor Lawrence's Heisman Trophy candidacy might have died on a cold Saturday night in Blacksburg.

The Clemson junior quarterback didn't even reach 200 yards passing and completed just 55 percent of his throws in a 45-10 win over Virginia Tech. The offense looked off on a windy evening and temperatures in the 20s.

Lawrence, who did rush for two touchdowns and threw for another against the Hokies, hasn't even gotten to his biggest opportunity to impress voters: the ACC Championship Game against Notre Dame on Dec. 19 in Charlotte. But it's hard to see that one game being enough to win him the prestigious honor.

He needed double the numbers he produced against a bad Hokie defense to stay on voters' minds, and now he sits for another week while his toughest competition plays Saturday.

ESPN's weekly panel had him back in the hunt a week ago at No. 2, just behind Florida's Kyle Trask. This week, though, the four-letter network's voters moved Alabama's Mac Jones to the top, with Trask second and Lawrence, who received no first-place votes, third.

CBSSports.com declared the Heisman race down to two: Jones and Trask, who take on Arkansas and LSU, respectively, Saturday. This week's betting odds also reflect a market that's jumped off the Lawrence bandwagon. Betonline.ag moved Lawrence from +750 last week to +1200 on Monday.

Does this mean it's all but over? Is there a stat line and outcome he could reach against Notre Dame in two weeks to get back in the mix?

Maybe so, but it feels like a long shot at this point. Heisman voters won't take weather conditions or the lack of two key receivers on the field into account.

Bottom line, Lawrence deserves to be a finalist, and many pundits across college football would have a hard time refuting that he's the most talented quarterback in the country, but the Heisman's popularity-contest feel just doesn't work in his favor. Jones and Trask are simply sexier names with bigger numbers. They play each other in the SEC title game the same day Lawrence faces the Irish.

As Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said last week, if he wanted to win Lawrence a Heisman, he would've won it by now. Instead, it's all about team goals, and the No. 3 Tigers still have a shot at winning a sixth consecutive ACC title and making the College Football Playoff again.

So it won't hurt Swinney's or Lawrence's feelings if he doesn't get the award but goes on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Still, it's crazy to think a player of Lawrence's caliber could finish out an illustrious career without winning the top honor in college football.