Freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence started for Clemson at home today against Syracuse, but whether he finishes it remains in some question. Lawrence was knocked out of the game, at least temporarily, by Syracuse when he took off running down the sideline, sending him to the medical tent to be evaluated. Meanwhile, Syracuse is looking to upset the Tigers for a second consecutive season. Syracuse leads Clemson in Death Valley, 16-7 at the half.
According to the sideline reporting from Holly Rowe of ESPN, medical trainers took Lawrence’s helmet away from him and escorted him to the locker room late in the first half.
Trevor Lawrence takes hard hit and is knocked out of game by Syracuse https://t.co/TWxHK0iCgP
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) September 29, 2018
Replay of the hit on Trevor Lawrence https://t.co/CA59IjC64k
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) September 29, 2018
Holly Rowe says Clemson trainers took Trevor Lawrence's helmet away and Lawrence is heading to locker room before halftime.
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) September 29, 2018
This injury news, of course, is magnified by this week’s earlier developments. Kelly Bryant, who was knocked out of Syracuse’s only regular-season loss a year ago by Syracuse, announced his decision to leave the Tigers and transfer after Lawrence had been named the starter for Clemson.
Syracuse took a 6-0 lead on Clemson in the first half by scoring field goals on each of their first two possessions. A lost fumble by Lawrence set Syracuse up for the second field goal after the Tigers defense stood firm in a tough spot. Eric Dungey has completed 16 of 23 pass attempts for 173 yards to do just enough to help Syracuse scratch together some hard-earned points.
Lawrence completed 10 of 15 passes for 93 yards before leaving the game. We’ll see if he can return in the second half or not. Freshman Chase Brice is taking over on offense in place of the injured Lawrence.