Clemson’s season appeared lost. How Trevor Lawrence rallied Tigers vs. Ohio State
Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott believes in his unit to make plays against anyone, no matter the circumstances.
But even Scott had his doubts after a play late in the first half of Clemson’s 29-23 Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State on Saturday night.
Clemson was without star receiver Tee Higgins, who missed most of the first half with an injury, and was trailing OSU 16-0 when quarterback Trevor Lawrence was delivered a crushing blow from Buckeyes defensive back Shaun Wade. The Tigers were facing a third-and-5 from their own 47 when Wade came free on a blitz and leveled Lawrence for an 8-yard loss, setting up fourth-and-13.
Things didn’t look good for Clemson, or Lawrence.
In obvious pain, Lawrence was on his back and attended to by trainers. Tigers players, coaches and fans at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona held their breath.
“When he took that one shot to the head, I was standing there on the field, I thought, ‘That may be it,’” Scott recalled.
Before Clemson ran another play, however, a moment came that would completely flip the game.
The replay official called for a review of Wade’s hit and ruled it a targeting penalty, giving Clemson a first-and-10 in Ohio State territory instead of a fourth-and-13 and a punt. Lawrence hopped up and jogged to the sideline, missing only one play before returning to lead Clemson to its first score of the game.
The Tigers would get a defensive stop and tack on another score on a magnificent 67-yard touchdown run by Lawrence to trail by only 2 at halftime, despite getting severely outplayed for much of the first two quarters.
“I just got a bad stinger, so it kind of scared me a little bit. I hadn’t gotten one in a while and couldn’t really move my arm for a second. That’s why I laid there. Then just got kind of mad and popped up,” Lawrence said. “We knew we had to score there. The game was getting a little out of hand. Just had to put a drive together, and we can take anything we can get.
“That targeting call was huge. Being able to finish that drive and score and then the next drive put it in again really gave us some momentum going into halftime.”
Lawrence continued to battle in the second half, with Higgins returning but fellow star receiver Justyn Ross missing some time with an injury. The Tigers escaped with a 29-23 victory to earn a trip to the national title game for the fourth time in five years.
The sophomore finished 18 of 33 passing for 259 yards and a pair of touchdowns and also rushed for a career-high 107 yards and a score on 16 carries.
Lawrence found Tigers junior running back Travis Etienne for a pair of long touchdowns in the second half, including a 34-yarder to put Clemson ahead for good with 1:49 remaining.
“That’s a 10-round, heavyweight boxing match is what that was out there,” Scott said. “There were a lot of guys on both sides taking some physical blows. You’ve gotta credit the guys’ physical toughness, mental toughness. We said it before the game, we felt like this was the best defense we’ve faced since Alabama 2016 season, January of 2017, championship game.”
Both instances resulted in Clemson wins behind gutsy quarterback play, as Deshaun Watson shook off several hard hits to lead the Tigers to the 2016 national title over Alabama.
Saturday’s 16-point comeback was the fifth-largest in Clemson history and second-biggest under Dabo Swinney. (The Tigers overcame an 18-point deficit against Maryland in 2011 under Swinney.)
Clemson will now have its shot at back-to-back titles and its third in four years when it faces LSU on Jan. 13. Lawrence enters the matchup undefeated in his Clemson career, and the Tigers are on a 29-game winning streak.
“Trevor is just a great player, competitor, whatever it takes,” Scott said.
When is the CFP national championship game?
Who: Clemson vs. LSU
When: 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans
TV: ESPN
Betting line: LSU by 5.5
This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 11:30 AM.
