Lawrence: Tigers’ Success in Details

After securing a 28th win in a row against the Virginia Cavaliers, the Clemson Tigers will need to continue their razor focus heading into their first opponent in the 2019 College Football Playoff, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the remainder of the postseason, according to quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

After securing a 28th win in a row against the Virginia Cavaliers, the Clemson Tigers will need to continue their razor focus heading into their first opponent in the 2019 College Football Playoff, the Ohio State Buckeyes, and the remainder of the postseason, according to quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The Tigers (13-0 overall) felled the Cavaliers by a score of 62-17 on Saturday at Bank of America Stadium. That was Clemson's fifth straight win over ACC Championship.

Now that the regular season is in the books, players who were with the team last year will be able to draw on the experience of playing a full 15-game season as the team eyes the postseason, Lawrence said.

“I think these games aren't much different than other games as far as the game itself,” he said about postseason competition. “Just having the experience of playing a whole season, playing 15 games, realizing how long the season is, having that under my belt, has helped me for sure. I think during the games — it's a football game — same thing. You are playing another team. You got to prepare, practice the whole week for them. That's the same.

“I think having the experience of playing a whole season, really understanding how long it is, how you got to take care of your body, mentally, all those things, it definitely is an advantage.”

Lawrence, who went 16-for-22 in the air for 302 yards and four touchdowns against the Cavaliers, said remaining focused on the main goal over the course of a long season can be a challenge, he said.

“I think it takes a level of mental toughness, for sure, to go all 15 weeks and stay focused,” Lawrence said. “That's hard to do. That's why I say, we have a younger team than a lot of other schools. We got a lot of freshmen and sophomores. This is the way we've been able to stay focused these 12 weeks. It’s been really cool. (We’ve) still got a lot of time left.”

Lawrence said his team needed to prepare for each of its upcoming games with the same diligence as previous games.

“If everything goes well, we do the things we want to do, we have three more games,” he said. “That's over the span of a month and a half. That's a lot of time for only three games. It's definitely going to be important, this part of the season, to stay focused and really prepare each week the right way.”

In order for the Tigers to continue their winning ways, they will also have to stay focused on the mechanics of executing plays leading up to their remaining games, Lawrence said.

“That's something all of our coaches do a really good job on is harping on the little things (and) how important they are,” he said. “All the big things follow. Twenty-seven games in a row, everyone points at that. They don't see all the little details, all the little things you have to do every day just to stay in that. That's something that we are constantly focusing on.”