Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence ready for his shot against Notre Dame in ACC rematch
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence said last month that it “would’ve mean a lot to me” to get to play at Notre Dame.
While Lawrence won’t get an opportunity to play in South Bend, he will get a shot at the second-ranked Irish this weekend in Charlotte.
Clemson lost 47-40 in double overtime Nov. 7 while Lawrence recovered from a COVID-19 diagnosis. The Tigers bounced back with blowout wins over Pitt and Virginia Tech to set up a rematch with Notre Dame for the ACC championship. The third-ranked Tigers can clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff with a victory over the Irish on Saturday.
“We weren’t perfect, obviously. You don’t have to be perfect. But just keep putting the work in, be consistent and we’ve done that,” Lawrence said this week.
“Just to be here in prime time. ... That’s been our goal the whole time.”
This will be Lawrence’s first true prime time game with a championship at stake since the Tigers lost to LSU in last year’s national title game. Lawrence struggled that night, completing less than 50% of his passes and not throwing a touchdown pass.
He vowed to come back better than ever in 2020 and to be ready for moments like this.
“These are the games you get excited for,” Lawrence said. “Obviously you get excited for every game. But these are the big ones that are really fun to be a part of when you’re playing a great team.”
The fact that Clemson already played Notre Dame once this season and lost adds a little something extra to this year’s ACC championship game.
“It’s different this year. We’ve already played them once and lost that game, so we’ve got a little bit more at stake and more fuel for this game, even more so than normal,” Lawrence said. “So we’re super excited. I know I am. It’s a big challenge and just excited to get to play in a game like this.”
Clemson players and coaches are looking forward to going to battle with Lawrence as the signal caller this weekend, but they were also quick to point out that freshman D.J. Uiagalelei played well with Lawrence on the sideline in South Bend.
The California native passed for 439 yards against the Irish, the third-most in a game in school history and the most ever thrown against Notre Dame by an opposing quarterback.
“I thought D.J. did a great job,” offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said this week.
Still, having a veteran QB in the huddle will help from a leadership standpoint and when it comes to making decisions on zone reads and run-pass options.
“I don’t know if you’d say D.J. made any bad reads that Trevor would make differently, other than I think maybe Trevor would’ve had a little bit more confidence in the run game, just controlling the perimeter with some of our outlets,” Elliott said. “And then maybe a couple of situations where he might’ve pulled it because he has a little bit more confidence with his experience in the zone-read game.”
Lawrence will need to make the right reads and be accurate with his throws Saturday night for Clemson to win its sixth straight ACC title game. Lawrence would love nothing more than to play well against a top five team after struggling against LSU the last time he faced one, and to avenge the loss to Notre Dame from last month.
“After losing that game it’s really cool that we get another chance to play them again,” he said. “That’s really rare. So we’re thankful for that.”
No. 3 Clemson (9-1) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (10-0)
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte
TV: ABC
Line: Clemson by 10.5
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence ready for his shot against Notre Dame in ACC rematch."
