Lawrence Sidelined After Positive COVID-19 Test
30 October 2020
It has not been a good week for the top talent in college football. On Saturday, Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle went down for the season with an ankle injury.
Two days later, Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz was sidelined with a positive COVID-19 test just days after his breakout performance against Illinois.
Then on Thursday, the news hit that Clemson quarterback and Heisman frontrunner Trevor Lawrence tested positive as well. Lawrence will miss No. 1 Clemson's home game against Boston College on Saturday.
What isn't known is if he will also miss next weekend's massive road game against No. 4 Notre Dame.
The early reports are that Lawrence has mild symptoms, so it doesn't appear to be a false positive. ACC protocol says he must sit out 10 days in isolation before returning to practice. Assuming he is no longer showing symptoms after the 10 days, he could possibly come back for the showdown in South Bend.
On the season, Lawrence has completed 71% of his passes for 1,833 yards in six games. He has 17 touchdown passes, two interceptions and a quarterback rating of 178.6. Lawrence has also rushed for 71 yards and four touchdowns.
As of Wednesday, Lawrence was a prohibitive favorite in the Heisman race at -125, ahead of Alabama quarterback Mac Jones (+250) and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (+400).
Next Man Up
The Tigers should be fine without Lawrence for the Boston College game. They are favored at home by 31 points.
Running back Travis Etienne can shoulder the load as he has eight rushing scores on the season to go with 522 yards and a 6.3 yards-per-carry average. He also has 22 catches for 294 yards and another score.
Freshman D.J. Uiagalelei, the nation's No. 3 overall quarterback recruit in 2020, was brought to Clemson to be Lawrence's successor next year. Now that starts against Boston College.
Uiagalelei has played in five of Clemson's six wins this season. So far, he is 12-for-19 passing (63.2%) for 102 yards.
A 6-4, 250-pound native of Inland Empire, Calif., Uiagalelei has rushed for two scores this season with 32 yards on eight attempts. He will have plenty of targets for the Tigers against Boston College.
Wide receiver Amari Rodgers has 33 catches for 520 yards and five scores this season, while Frank Ladson Jr. has 17 catches and three scores with 272 yards. Tight end Braden Galloway has 16 catches for 184 yards with two scores, while Davis Allen, E.J. Williams and Cornell Powell are all over 100 yards receiving as well.
Title Odds
As for Clemson's big picture odds, they shouldn't change much this week. Clemson is -600 to win the ACC, with only Notre Dame (+650) in shouting distance.
Even with a loss to Notre Dame next week, Clemson would still be in position for a rematch against the Irish in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 19, assuming it doesn't fall elsewhere.
Clemson is +200 to win the national championship, the lowest odds in the country. The next best odds are with both Alabama and Ohio State at +300, while Georgia is +1200.
