Clemson's Trevor Lawrence goes out with a bang on 'Senior Day'

Jacob Hancock

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Clemson's Trevor Lawrence goes out with a bang on 'Senior Day' image

Trevor Lawrence likely played his last home game in Death Valley on Saturday, and he made the most of it by putting on a show in No. 3 Clemson's 52-17 victory over Pittsburgh.

Lawrence, who was among the Clemson players honored during the team's "Senior Day" pregame festivities, completed 26 of 37 passes for 403 yards and two touchdowns.

Many took the decision by Clemson to honor Lawrence as a sure-fire sign that he plans to forgo his final season of NCAA eligibility and enter the 2021 NFL Draft. For what it's worth, Lawrence is on schedule to graduate in December, and he said ahead of Saturday's game that was the reason he was celebrating his senior night.

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Regardless of whether it was Lawrence's last game on Frank Howard Field, one thing is for certain: He balled out against the Panthers.

Lawrence didn't show much rust after sitting out the last five weeks between testing positive for COVID-19 and last week's game against Florida State being canceled. He completed 12 of 16 passes for 208 yards and two TDs just in the first quarter alone to give the Tigers a 31-0 lead heading into the second.

His first touchdown came on a nice fade to E.J. Williams in the far front corner of the end zone.

His second TD toss was even more impressive: a 43-yard flea-flicker to Cornell Powell to put the Tigers up 17-0.

That wasn't even Lawrence's best throw of the day. He hit Powell again for a 70-yard bomb later in the second quarter.

Lawrence made another beautiful throw in the third quarter with this dime to Amari Rodgers. It would have been a 35-yard TD but it was wiped out by a penalty.

Lawrence capped off his evening late in the third quarter with a great pump fake toward the flat to set up a perfect lob pass to Braden Galloway down the left sideline for a 35-yard gain. The replay showed that Galloway stepped out of bounds before getting into the end zone, but the play still set up a 3-yard rushing TD by Travis Etienne to give Clemson a 45-17 lead.

If this is Lawrence's final season at Clemson, then he'll surely go down as one of the greatest players in school history. He is now 32-1 as a starter for the Tigers and has thrown for 9,181 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career. And Lawrence is still in this year's Heisman race; in seven games this season, he has racked up 2,236 yards passing and 19 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

Jacob Hancock