Clemson running back Travis Etienne leaves Notre Dame safety Jalen Elliott behind as he scores a 62-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday’s Cotton Bowl national semifinal in Arlington, Texas. Clemson won 30-3 and is in the College Football Playoff final for the third time in the event’s five years of existence.ARLINGTON, Texas- When Clemson coach Dabo Swinney entrusted a team with championship aspirations to freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence in September, this was what he had in mind.
Lawrence passed for 327 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 2 Tigers beat No. 3 Notre Dame 30-3 Saturday in the Cotton Bowl national semifinal to reach the College Football Playoff title game.
The Tigers will face No. 1 Alabama for a fourth straight time in the playoff when they have their third national title showdown – they split their first two – on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, California. The 14-0 teams will meet this time at Levi’s Stadium, home of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, after the Crimson Tide beat fourth-ranked Oklahoma 45-34 in the Orange Bowl national semifinal late Saturday night.
“He’s just so poised. He just sees it. And he’s got a gift of an arm,” Swinney said of Lawrence, who is from Cartersville, Georgia. “But I just love his humility and how consistent he is with his preparation, day in and day out. Easy, easy guy to coach. Easy guy to get behind and support. His teammates love him.”
Clemson’s overpowering and experienced defensive line, led by ends Clelin Ferrell and Austin Bryant, smothered quarterback Ian Book and the Fighting Irish (12-1), holding them to 248 yards. Now the Tigers are in the title game for the third time in four years.
On offense, freshmen led the way for Clemson. Lawrence, making his 10th collegiate start, was 27-for-39 and did not throw an interception against a Notre Dame defense that had been one of the best in the country this season. Freshman receiver Justyn Ross had six catches for 148 yards and two long touchdowns.
“It makes it a lot easier on me when you just have guys all around you who are such great players and take that load off of you,” Lawrence said. “There’s not much pressure when you have guys this good playing around you.”
The Irish hung around for a quarter, with the teams exchanging field goals. But in the first quarter, Notre Dame All-America cornerback Julian Love went out with what coach Brian Kelly said after the game was a head injury – and Lawrence started picking apart the Irish.
Lawrence hooked up with Ross deep down the sideline, and the big receiver beat Love’s backup, Donte Vaughn, for a tackle-breaking, 52-yard score early in the second quarter. The Irish looked as if they might keep it close through halftime, but they couldn’t keep Clemson out of their backfield – even with the Tigers missing star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, suspended because of a failed NCAA test for performance-enhancing drugs.
In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Lawrence connected with Ross on a 42-yard score and with Tee Higgins for a one-handed, 19-yard touchdown reception – again over Vaughn – with two seconds left in the second quarter. Lawrence was 13-for-15 for 229 yards in the quarter.
“I wanted to help our team,” said Love, who passed concussion protocol at halftime and returned to the game. “And in a sense, I let them down in that regard.”
That made it 23-3 at halftime, and once again the Irish looked outclassed against the best of the best. Not so different from the 42-14 loss to Alabama in the 2012 season’s BCS championship game or the 44-28 loss to Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. In fact, Notre Dame is 0-8 in BCS and New Year’s Six games since winning the Cotton Bowl in 1993.
Receiver Miles Boykin insisted this Notre Dame team was different.
“I thought we played just as athletic as them and just as fast as them, and it came down to execution and we didn’t execute today,” he said.
To be fair, Clemson has been doing this to everyone since Lawrence settled in. The Tigers haven’t had an opponent stay within 20 points since a close call against Syracuse on Sept. 29.
That was Lawrence’s first game as a starter, one he didn’t finish because of a head injury, and Clemson’s first after quarterback Kelly Bryant left the team.
Bryant, a senior, led the Tigers to the playoff last season and a semifinal loss to Alabama. He was pivotal in an early victory this season at Texas A&M. But Lawrence is a rare talent, a potential No. 1 NFL draft pick. When he took over, the ceiling on Clemson’s potential rose. Now it is being realized.
“I felt like he gave us the best chance to win,” Swinney said, “and play at an explosive level.”
With his flowing blond hair, Lawrence is positioned to become one of college football’s biggest and most recognizable stars. It will help to have receivers such as Ross, Higgins and Amari Rogers and a runner like sophomore Travis Etienne, who broke a 62-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. They’re all underclassmen.
But Lawrence is the leader. In his 11th college start, he will try to become the first true freshman quarterback to lead his team to a national championship since Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway in 1985.
“He doesn’t just have a talented arm. That’s just what you guys see,” Clemson All-America defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said. “He’s a cool customer. He’s never rattled.”