While it’s nice to try and take advantage of a weakened opponent, I don’t think anyone wanted this. About 45 minutes after Clemson defeated Boston College on Saturday, coach Dabo Swinney announced that Trevor Lawrence, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, will not play at Notre Dame next week. This comes after the Tigers already lost defensive end Xavier Thomas for the first half of that game for a targeting penalty late in Saturday’s game.
Dabo Swinney just told reporters Trevor Lawrence will be OUT vs. Notre Dame.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 31, 2020
The news of college football’s most prolific player missing arguably the sport’s most important game this season is sure to raise one question after another. Is Clemson truly worthy of holding the top spot in the rankings at the moment? How much would a Notre Dame upset be diminished, thus affecting its College Football Playoff resume? Is next week’s game still worthy of the hype it’s gotten, or does this twist cause people to lose interest?
All of a sudden, it’s up to D.J. Uiagalelei to carry the Tigers in South Bend. He did well against the Eagles, but the Irish will present much more of a challenge for the freshman. Fortunately for him, he has a full week to prepare. Whether that will be enough won’t be answered until the game is played.