Trevor Lawrence on Ohio State: ‘there’s not really a weak link’

The 2019 Fiesta Bowl will present a unique challenge for Clemson and its talented sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

The Tigers rolled through a relatively weak ACC schedule, and also crushed a pair of mid-tier SEC teams en route to a 13-0 record and the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff.

But Lawrence knows that none of the 13 defenses they’ve gone up against so far this season have been in the same universe as Ohio State.

“They’re good at every part on defense, and especially their D line. Obviously, everyone talks about their D line. And not even just Chase Young. All of those other guys you have up front, a lot of other guys, too. They’re pretty deep up front,” Lawrence said.

“Linebackers are a really good group. And then DBs, both corners and the safety are really good players. I think everywhere, there’s not really a weak link. That’s going to be a challenge.”

That’s basically what every player is going to say about his opponent before a bowl game, of course. But when Lawrence said that Ohio State would be “definitely the best” opposing defense they’ve faced this season, he was telling the truth.

The Buckeyes rank No. 2 in defense in SP+ and FEI, a pair of advanced analytics systems.

The best defense that Clemson has faced in any game this season according to FEI is South Carolina, which ranks 31st.

Of course, Lawrence and the Tigers do have the advantage of going up against a defense similar to Ohio State’s in practice every day.

Clemson’s defense is just ahead of the Bucks in FEI (No. 1) and just behind them in SP+ (No. 3). It’s unquestionably going to be a challenge for the Tigers, but at least it’ll be a familiar one.

“We have the same defense that’s good this year. We’re really excited about that opportunity to go against them and see what we can do,” said Lawrence.

Clemson is one of the few teams in the nation that can match up talent-wise with the Buckeyes at basically every spot across the field. But even Clemson doesn’t have a Chase Young this year.

“Just a great player. He’s physical. He’s fast. He’s a big guy, really athletic. Everything you want in a defensive end. Just has a really good knack for finding the ball, getting to the quarterback. Always seems to be in the right place. That’s just a testament to how he prepares, I’m assuming, and the kind of player he is,” Lawrence said.

Saturday, Lawrence and the Tigers will get a chance to find out what kind of player Young is, as well as the rest of the Buckeyes. And they’ll learn whether going up against their own defense in practice was enough to prepare them for that challenge.