It’s easy to see why Trevor Lawrence didn’t love the play which would ultimately send the Clemson Tigers to the College Football National Championship after a 29-23 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the semifinal.
It was an odd trick play, which looks a lot like what former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow used to run. Still, Lawrence faked a quarterback dive before connecting with running back Travis Etienne for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
“Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of the play in practice,” Lawrence said after Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl, via TheState.com. “It’s tough if the defense doesn’t really bite on it, if that safety comes up hard and takes it away. I felt like it was good just because of how well we set it up throughout the game. I thought it was gonna work then, but throughout the week I was like, ‘I don’t really know about this play.’”
TOUCHDOWN TRAVIS ETIENNE!!!! @ClemsonFB TAKES THE LEAD!!!! #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/DEofnrqNIV
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) December 29, 2019
Lawrence took the snap from shotgun and pretended to rush toward the right side of the offensive line. While Lawrence had 16 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, he looked awfully comfortable throwing from the pocket on Saturday. But this play drew him out of the pocket and closer to the offensive line (and therefore closer to danger), where his visibility probably isn’t great. At the last moment, he popped up and delivered a strike to an pass-catcher — just like it’s designed.
The misdirection of the play can get the defense out of position, much like it did in the fourth quarter in Clemson’s win over the Buckeyes. It worked, in part, because the Buckeyes defense was trying to stop Lawrence as a runner. That created a throwing window for Lawrence and then room to run after the catch of Etienne. Apparently, in practice, the play didn’t work quiet as smoothly as it did in the game.
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