Clemson went to Louisville on Saturday as a 24-point favorite, but early on, the Tigers looked like anything but.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence — who had an enormous amount of hype surrounding him in the preseason following last year’s national championship — threw his seventh and eighth interceptions of the season in the first quarter against the Cardinals. Both were at the goal line.
For a little perspective, as a freshman in 2018, he threw a total of four picks in 15 games —though he wasn’t the starter until Week 5 .
Clemson entered halftime with a 17-3 lead over Louisville, but the game looked a bit closer than the score. Lawrence was 12-for-16 for 165 yards and two touchdowns, but it’s hard to forget about him getting picked off twice.
Lawrence was the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, while Clemson returning to the College Football Playoff to defend its title seemed like a no-brainer. But the sophomore passer hasn’t been in the Heisman discussion for a while, and whether the Tigers deserve a playoff spot at this point continues to be a popular topic.
Lawrence entered Saturday’s ACC matchup with a 62.7 completion percentage, which is down from 65.2 percent in 2018. Through Clemson’s first six games, he also only had 11 touchdowns but six interceptions after he passed the number of picks he threw last season in the Tigers’ win over Syracuse in mid-September.
And after some early struggles against Louisville on Saturday, college football Twitter didn’t hold back and roasted Clemson but mostly Lawrence.
