Trevor Lawrence, No. 1 Clemson Blowout Wake Forest; Etienne Runs for 102 Yards

Trevor Lawrence's final season at Clemson is underway in familiar fashion with the Tigers defeating Wake Forest 37-13 at Truist Field in North Carolina on Saturday. 

Lawrence, a junior, confirmed to ESPN's College Gameday he is "planning" to leave school at the conclusion of the year. The quarterback is set to graduate in December. 

If this is indeed his last season, the 2018 National Champion, has already taken the first step towards going out on top. The No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 backed up its ranking in convincing fashion with 561 total yards and four touchdowns.

The Tigers were missing cornerbacks Derion Kendrick and Mario Goodrich and defensive end Justin Foster due to undisclosed reasons. The trio did not travel with the team to North Carolina. 

No matter, Clemson's defense held Wake Forest to 330 yards in the win.

Notable Performers

Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson Tigers: 22-for-28 Passing, 351 Yards, 3 Touchdowns (2 rushing)

Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson Tigers: 17 Carries, 102 Yards, 1 Touchdown

Amari Rodgers, WR, Clemson Tigers: 5 Catches, 90 Yards

Sam Hartman, QB, Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 11-for-21 Passing, 182 Yards

Christian Beal-Smith, RB, Wake Forest Demon Deacons: 11 Carries, 29 Yards

Lawrence Leads Another Stacked Offense

One game into the season the Clemson Tigers have certainly proved they're worthy of the No. 1 ranking. 

It was actually more like one quarter into the season, to be exact. 

Trevor Lawrence scored two touchdowns on the ground himself before Wake Forest had even made it into the red zone during the first quarter. If the Tigers are going to march back to the College Football Playoff for a sixth straight year, they needed to prove they could continue to throttle weaker defenses. 

Lawrence showed Clemson could. 

The veteran quarterback recorded more than 350 passing yards midway through the third quarter—going an eye-popping 22-for-27 to that point. 

The mismatch was rather obvious as Lawrence continually found his receivers wide open down the seams the majority of the night. 

Clemson had four wideouts haul in passes of 25 yards or longer with Davis Allen leading the way with a 42-yard catch. 

And that's all before accounting for a run game that added another 185 yards to give the Tigers 561 yards of total offense. 

The Tigers may have been playing against Wake Forest, but the offense proved it can still hang with any team in the country. 

New Tigers Show Off

The amount of talent Clemson lost on both sides of the ball over the offseason was nothing short of staggering. 

Linebacker Isaiah Simmons and cornerback A.J. Terrell were both drafted in the first round. Wideout Tee Higgins followed early in the second round and safety K'Von Wallace didn't have to wait much longer with his name getting called in the fourth-round. 

If Week 1 is any indication, Clemson is going to be just fine replacing them. 

The presence of defensive end Bryan Bresee should help, too. 

The No. 1 recruit in the nation last year according to 247Sports wasted no time making his presence felt in college football with half a sack while defensive end Myles Murphy, the No. 7 overall recruit, added two sacks himself. 

The young duo led a defense that finished with six sacks total. 

With Lawrence announcing he's leaving Clemson after this season, seeing freshman quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei take the field once the rout was on offered a glimpse of the team's future. 

Uiagalelei completed two of three passes for 16 and gave his coaching staff a few flashes of athleticism to build off of going forward.

What's Next

Clemson will host The Citadel Bulldogs Sept. 19 at 4 p.m. ET on ACC Network while Wake Forest heads to North Carolina State for another conference matchup next Saturday at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available. 

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