Herbstreit says Lawrence has chance at "Heisman Moment" against Notre Dame

Lawrence missed the first game against Notre Dame.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat Dec 19 08:01:04 GMT-04:00 2020

Kirk Herbstreit thinks that many Heisman voters are waiting to see what happens during Saturday’s conference championship games before casting a ballot, and because of that he thinks that Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence still has a chance at winning the trophy.

Lawrence and No. 3 Clemson face off against No. 2 Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game Saturday at Bank of America Stadium (4 pm, ABC). Lawrence, who missed the first game against the Irish after a positive COVID-19 test, will get his chance to have a “Heisman Moment” with a berth in the College Football Playoff on the line and a national television audience tuned in. Heisman ballots are due by Monday at 5 pm.

“Who is going to go out in the next 48 hours and have a Heisman Moment?” Herbstreit said. “What if Trevor goes off in this game? I think there are going to be a lot of people still holding onto that ballot that are going to be swayed by that.

“What if Ian Book is razzle-and-dazzle and no-look-behind-the-back passes doing what he does? I think Ian Book has a shot and the same could be said for all these other candidates.”

ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis echoed that sentiment.

“I believe that with a tremendous performance, a memorable one, or a so-called Heisman moment on Saturday that Ian Book could win the Heisman Trophy,” Davis said. “I believe the same thing for Trevor Lawrence, despite missing a couple of games. The race is not clear and a lot of times the last impression left on the voters is the most memorable one.”

Notre Dame walked away with a 47-40 victory in early November, a double-overtime thriller in which backup DJ Uiagalelei, making his second career start, rewrote the Clemson record books.

Uiagalelei completed 29 of 44 passes (65.9 percent) for a single-game career-high 439 yards and two touchdowns, plus one rushing score. Uiagalelei's first career game with more than 400 yards doubled as the third most by a Clemson quarterback and broke the Tigers' freshman record of 435 set by former star Deshaun Watson (2014-16) Sept. 27, 2014, in a 50-35 win over North Carolina.

The mark also was the most ever by an opposing quarterback against Notre Dame, edging a 425-yard performance from former USC star Carson Palmer (1998-02).

However, Lawrence and his ability to run bring a different element to Saturday’s game – Uiagalelei was bothered by a sore shoulder in the first game and the run game was limited.

“I think you've got the factor of Trevor (Lawrence),” Herbstreit said. “It's not just — DJ threw for over 400 yards. What he didn't do was run the ball. And if anybody knows Clemson ... Tahj Boyd, Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, they get in the championship phase with their orange britches, the quarterback run game goes up times two. So Trevor Lawrence - as good as he is, first pick in the draft, throws the ball - if you're watching this game, you're going to be saying, 'Oh, my gosh. Trevor Lawrence's legs will be the biggest difference in this game from the previous matchup that they had where he obviously didn't play and it wasn't a concern. And Notre Dame knows that.”