The Clemson Tigers are back in the hunt for a national championship for the third time in four seasons, and Trevor Lawrence has been instrumental to their success. Lawrence was seen as a wunderkind high school recruit, and he is one of the rare quarterbacks to live up to they hype and even surpass it. There were some scouts that labeled him the best quarterback recruit in the internet era, so it’s been incredible to watch him take Clemson back to the top. He has a tough test against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday night, and a great game in a winning effort would send the hype on Lawrence into the stratosphere. Online sportsbook BetDSI has placed odds on what kind of game he will have on Monday night.
Will Trevor Lawrence throw three touchdown passes in the CFP Championship?
Yes +100
No -130
Lawrence has been nearly flawless this season. Clemson’s coaches were gushing about his raw talent all throughout the spring and summer, and head coach Dabo Swinney had said that he would make sure to get Lawrence involved early on. Even though the Tigers already had a good quarterback in Kelly Bryant, Lawrence’s abilities were eventually too much to ignore. While he was Bryant’s back-up for the first four weeks of the season, he became Clemson’s starter against Syracuse and was brilliant for the rest of the year.
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It’s rare that a team is able to open up the offense more with a freshman quarterback than a more experienced one, but Lawrence’s incredible skillset gave Clemson’s coaching staff that opportunity. He can make all the throws, and he reads the field like a senior. While he didn’t put up a lot of big numbers during his first year on campus, he did lead the Tigers to blowout wins over rivals like Georgia Tech and Florida State, tallying four touchdowns in each game.
He was brilliant against Notre Dame in the CFP semifinal too. Although Notre Dame had one of the best defenses in the country this season (the Irish were ranked fifth in the nation in Defensive S&P+), he lit up Notre Dame’s defense for big numbers. He threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns against the Irish, and it could have been even worse if Clemson didn’t call off the dogs midway through the second half in the rout.
Of course, Lawrence is now facing one of the best defenses in the nation in Alabama. Everyone knows how much talent is on this defense, and the Crimson Tide were a much better defense than anyone the Tigers faced all year outside of Notre Dame. They will throw a lot of looks at him, and Alabama’s enormous coaching staff will test him in ways that he hasn’t been tested yet.
There is a silver lining for Clemson fans. Alabama’s defense has not been as elite as it has been in the past according to the numbers. The Crimson Tide were ranked 12th in the nation in Defensive S&P+, and this defense has given up some deep balls.
I think Lawrence is going to go down as one of college football’s greats, but he is just a freshman. He is about to face an Alabama defense that will confuse him, and he won’t get over his total here.
