Trevor Lawrence Totals 4 TDs as No. 1 Clemson Routs The Citadel 49-0

Trevor Lawrence and Clemson did not waste any time turning Saturday's contest against The Citadel into a blowout.

Lawrence accounted for three first-quarter touchdowns and the Tigers scored 49 first-half points on their way to a 49-0 win in their lone nonconference game of the 2020 season. ACC schools will play 10 league games and one out-of-conference contest in a schedule reconfigured because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The game amounted to little more than a glorified scrimmage for Clemson, a massive favorite that sat its starters in the second half.

Lawrence threw for 168 yards and three touchdowns, adding a two-yard rushing score.

Notable Stats

QB Trevor Lawrence: 8-of-9 passing, 168 yards, 3 touchdowns; 1 carry, 2 yards, 1 touchdown

RB Travis Etienne: 8 carries, 68 yards

WR Amari Rodgers: 1 reception, 44 yards, 1 touchdown

WR Frank Ladson Jr.: 3 receptions, 87 yards, 2 touchdowns

Now's the Time for Lawrence to Rack Up Heisman Trophy Numbers

There's not much left for Lawrence to accomplish in college. He's already won a national championship. He's one of the best quarterbacks in Clemson history. There is no doubt he will be the No. 1 selection in next April's NFL draft, barring a catastrophic injury.

All that's left, really, is walking away with a second national title in one hand and a Heisman Trophy in the other.

Games like Saturday's won't accomplish much on the latter goal. If we were living in an NCAA Football video game world, Lawrence would have stayed in until late in the fourth quarter and put up something to the tune of 687 yards and nine touchdowns to pad his stats for the box-score watching voters.

In real life, Lawrence has knees and arms and ankles that need to be protected. Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney didn't waste much time handing the keys over to D.J. Uiagalelei in what otherwise could have turned into a triple-digit scoring effort for the Tigers. 

Clemson has a back-loaded ACC schedule, with three of its final four opponents ranked in this week's Top 25. Lawrence's biggest test comes Nov. 7 against Notre Dame, which will also be his best spot to secure the trophy.

For all the lack of debate about Lawrence's standing in the hierarchy college football players, these stats matter. Joe Burrow won the Heisman last year because he was putting up video game numbers for the nation's best team. Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson, the three Heisman-winning quarterbacks who came before Burrow, had only the video game stats thing in common. 

Lawrence will need a couple of 400-yard, four-touchdown games to lock this thing down.