Lawrence, Tigers Continue to Dominate
CLEMSON — Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence's start to the 2019 season did not go how he had envisioned. Interceptions and poor decisions dropped him from Heisman front-runner to off-the-board in a matter of only a few games.
But after the Tigers' 21-20 win at North Carolina, something has clicked with Lawrence — and the offense as a whole.
In their 52-3 win over Wake Forest Saturday, the Tigers list of accomplishments continued to grow, as they joined 1944 Army and 1972 Nebraska as the only teams in the AP Poll era to win four consecutive games by 45 or more points.
They also won a sixth straight game by 30 or more points to break a tie with 2013 Florida State for the longest such streak in conference history. Clemson held an 11th straight opponent below 300 yards of total offense to become the first team since the turn of the century to open a season holding opponents below 300 yards in each of the first 11 games. ESPN Stats & Info says it is the first such occurrence in records back to 1996.
Clemson reached 50 points in a fourth straight game for the first time in program history, and has now scored 45 points in six consecutive games for the first time in school history. The streak matches the 2013 Florida State Seminoles for the longest in ACC history.
However for Lawrence, the Tigers domination shows simply that they were not, and are not, a finished product.
“It just shows that were focused. We don’t feel like we have arrived," Lawrence said. "We have a lot more ahead of us and we understand that. It showed some maturity that we came out and played well even though we already clinched the division.
“I think it’s just the chemistry, all the guys really care for one another. The senior group, just what they have accomplished. They’re winners, those guys I have really looked up to and they have showed me how to work hard and how to prepare and all those things. We just have really good chemistry, and all want to play for each other.”
Lawrence's game has taken a step to another level since the first quarter of the Tigers' game at Louisville, in which he threw two very bad interceptions.
Since the second quarter of that game, Lawrence has completed 86 of 111 (77.4 percent) for 1,265 yards, 16 TDs, 0 INTs. His streak of 111 passes without a pick is second longest active streak by a Power 5 Conference quarterback.
As impressive as he play has been in the last six games, Saturday's performance against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons may have been his best game he has ever played as a Tiger.
Lawrence completed 21-of-27 passes for 272 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. His 211.3 pass efficiency rating marks his fourth game this season -- and the sixth of his career -- with a 200.0 or better passer rating. He also tied his career high in touchdown passes (four), matching his four touchdown passes at Georgia Tech and at Florida State in 2018 and has thrown at least three touchdown passes in six consecutive games for the first time in his career, a first in school history. He had already been the first Clemson quarterback to accomplish the feat in five straight games.
“Probably. I would have to go back and look at last year," Lawrence said. "I can’t even hardly remember it at this point, but I have been happy with how I have taken care of the ball. I feel like I have done a good job with just trusting the system and giving guys a chance. That is always what I have wanted to do is get the ball to guys that can make plays and let them do what they do. Obviously, there are still some plays that I can do a better job of but that’s something I look forward to on Monday, coming in and seeing OK I played good but there is something I can get better at.”
While many in the national media were busy writing the Tigers off as a national title contender after Week 5, those same people are now back on the ROY bus and picking the Tigers to play for a second straight national title in January.
]“That is something that we as a team and the coaches have done a really good job of is just making sure we get better every week," Lawrence said. "At the beginning of the season we weren’t playing our best football but that is fine. It is about getting better and who the best team is at the end of the year so that is something that we really pride ourselves on is getting better.”
