So far, Trevor Lawrence’s freshman season at Clemson has worked out pretty well.
The quarterback has played in all 13 games for the second-ranked Tigers and is 9-0 as a starter. He leads the ACC with 24 touchdown passes—a freshman record at Clemson—and in passing efficiency (154.0). He ranks second in the conference in completion percentage (65.0), while throwing for 2,606 yards.
The best stat of them all and the one the Clemson coaches like the most. In 326 pass attempts, the ACC Rookie of the Year has thrown just four interceptions.
However, as good of a first season Lawrence has had, he isn’t the key to slowing down Clemson’s offense, something ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit pointed out when giving an early preview of the Tigers’ Cotton Bowl matchup with No. 3 Notre Dame.
Herbstreit says Notre Dame will be gearing up to stop Lawrence, but he says they better not sleep on Clemson’s skill players. He said on College GameDay Saturday morning, Clemson wide receivers Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers are elite players and they are nothing like the Irish has seen all year.
“We have talked a lot in the week that we have known about this game in Trevor Lawrence and how he would do against this Notre Dame defense. The defensive line on this Notre Dame defense is very talented,” he said. “I will tell you what, though. If I am Brian Kelly, the biggest area of concern for me will be matching up with Clemson’s skill. Clemson’s wide receivers are elite.”
Higgins leads the Tigers with 52 catches for 802 yards and 10 touchdowns. He is averaging 15.4 yards per catch.
Rodgers in second on the team with 47 catches and has 519 yards and four touchdowns. Renfrow is third with 47 catches for 472 yards and one score. He and Rodgers are averaging 11.0 yards per catch.
Ross, a true freshman, leads the team with a 20.6 yards per catch average and is second behind Higgins with 699 yards and six touchdowns. He has 34 catches overall.
“They have been the biggest difference this year,” Herbstreit said. “We talk so much about Lawrence, but I think the depth and the aggressive nature and approach of those wide receivers allows them to be able to stretch the field. The big play at Clemson is back this year.”
The biggest difference he said about the Clemson offense compared to past years is the Tigers’ ability to run the football. When a defense drops its safeties back to take away the big plays, the Tigers just turn around and hand the ball to Travis Etienne, the ACC’s Player of the Year.
Etienne leads the ACC in rushing yards (1,463), rushing yards per game (112.5), yards per carry (8.3), rushing touchdowns (21) and total touchdowns (22).
As a team, Clemson is averaging 259.8 rushing yards per game, the best per game average at Clemson in 30 years on the ground, which ranks 10th nationally.
“So, they will attack you downfield and just when you get worried and you drop your safeties back because of the threat of that vertical passing game, here comes maybe the best back in college football in Travis Etienne and they have depth at that position,” Herbstreit said. “I know we are always going to focus on Lawrence because he is the young guy, but Notre Dame has to be ready because they have not seen anything like Clemson as far as the skill is concerned.”
Clemson and Notre Dame play in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of the College Football Playoff Semifinals. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. eastern time.