Trevor Lawrence Shows Scouts Another Skill in Clemson's Win vs. Va. Tech

The Clemson Tigers officially secured their place in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night. 

The third-ranked team in the College Football Playoff rankings benefited from another solid outing out of Trevor Lawrence, who used his legs to beat the Virginia Tech Hokies. 

Lawrence was responsible for three scores, two on the ground and one through the air, to lead the Tigers to a 45-10 victory at Lane Stadium. 

The junior quarterback only threw for 195 yards and only one of his wide receivers had more than three receptions. 

While Clemson needs a bit more production from its offensive playmakers, its defensive stars proved for the second straight week that they are ready for the December 19 rematch with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. 

Lawrence Got More Involved in Ground Game

Ken Ruinard/Associated Press

Lawrence is not a prototypical dual-threat quarterback, but he has shown in his three years at Clemson that he can be effective on the ground at times. 

On Saturday, the Clemson signal-caller recorded his season high in rushing yards and ran for two scores for the first time since the season opener against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. 

A year ago, Clemson got Lawrence more involved in the ground game in the latter stages of the season. He ran for over 25 yards in three of the final five games, including the national championship loss to the LSU Tigers. 

Lawrence could be most effective in the run game in red-zone situations, or short-yardage downs, where defenses expect the ball to go to Travis Etienne. 

Clemson has to pick and choose its spots to use Lawrence that way it still catches defenses off guard. He carried the ball seven times and picked up 24 yards on his two scoring runs against the Hokies. 

If Lawrence remains effective on the few occasions that he keeps the ball, that wrinkle of the offense may keep Notre Dame off balance and lead to some key third-down conversions or more scoring plays. 

Clemson Needs More Production from Its Top Wide Receivers

Matt Cashore/Associated Press

Cornell Powell was the only Clemson wide receiver to record more than three receptions and 50 yards on Saturday. 

The lack of high productivity from the wide receiver corps did not affect the Clemson offense against Virginia Tech because the ground game was effective and the defense held the Hokies to 10 points.

However, the small numbers are concerning with no more tuneups for the ACC Championship Game. The league realigned the schedule to make sure Clemson and Notre Dame played the same amount of contests. 

That means Clemson will be off next Saturday and has two weeks to prepare solely for its clash with Notre Dame. 

During that time, the Tigers could work on getting more targets to Amari Rodgers, Braden Galloway and others to torch all parts of the Notre Dame secondary. 

Clemson is at a disadvantage at the position since Justyn Ross is out for the season and Frank Ladson and Joseph Ngata are out with injuries. 

If the Tigers get Ladson or Ngata back at some point of the championship stretch, they will pose a much more formidable threat through the air. 

For now, Lawrence has to work on spreading the ball around at a high volume to make sure Notre Dame and any other future opponents are put under duress from all angles.

Defense Continues to Look Strong

Matt Gentry/Associated Press

The missing component of Clemson's loss to Notre Dame was a plethora of defensive stops. 

In the last two weeks, Clemson's defense has limited Virginia Tech and the Pittsburgh Panthers to 27 points. It allowed 47 points in the double-overtime defeat at Notre Dame Stadium.

On Saturday, the Tigers forced three turnovers, all of which were fumbles, and contained the Hokies to 333 total yards. 

Virginia Tech's only touchdown occurred in the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown run out of Khalil Herbert. The Hokies benefited from good field position to kick a second-quarter field goal. 

The Hokies were held scoreless for the final 33 minutes of the contest. Clemson forced three fumbles, three punts and a turnover on downs in Virginia Tech's seven second-half series. 

If Clemson's defensive effectiveness translates to the coming weeks, it will pose a much tougher challenge to Notre Dame than it did on November 7. 

If the Tigers are able to force multiple turnovers and turn them into points, Clemson could gain the smallest of advantages that push it into the College Football Playoff.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.