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Clemson Football Statistical Analysis: Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson

By Andrew Boardwine

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 12: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers drops back to pass againstthe Florida State Seminoles during their game at Memorial Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 12: Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers drops back to pass againstthe Florida State Seminoles during their game at Memorial Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Clemson football QB Trevor Lawrence has seemingly struggled this season according to expectations, but are his numbers different from Deshaun Watson’s?

Analysts around the country are ready to pull the plug on Clemson football and much of it has to do with Trevor Lawrence’s perceived regression.

Lawrence led the Clemson football program to a perfect 15-0 season as a freshman and was named the Offensive MVP of the National Championship game. Coming into this season, the expectation was for him to come out and pick up where he left off.

Unfortunately, Lawrence has struggled at times. He has double the amount of interceptions through seven games as he had the entire season last year. We detailed some of the things he was doing differently and what factors are involved in the numbers he has put up earlier this season.

Today, we decided to do something different. How does current Clemson football QB Trevor Lawrence stack up against Deshaun Watson– the consensus No. 1 QB of all-time?

To do this, we looked at Watson’s 2016 season through the first seven games compared to Lawrence’s seven games this year as a sophomore.

Statistical Analysis:

  • Deshaun Watson (1,950 yards, 164-of-258, 7.6 YPA, 63.6%, 20 TDs, 8 INT, 159.9) 279 rush, 1 TD
  • Trevor Lawrence (1,534 yards, 121-of-190, 8.1 YPA 63.7%, 14 TDs, 8 INT, 154.3) 187 rush, 5 TD

When you look at the numbers, you can see that Deshaun Watson was a bit further along than Lawrence, but it’s not that much. Watson had thrown for about 400 more yards passing, but he also had nearly 70 more passing attempts. The two have nearly identical completion percentages and their QB ratings are right around the same, as well.

Both of the QBs had thrown the same amount of interceptions and Watson had accounted for 21 total touchdowns, while Lawrence has accounted for 19 total touchdowns this season.

One of the top stats that analysts like to look at when breaking down quarterback efficiency is yards per attempt. Trevor Lawrence is beating Deshaun Watson in that category 8.1 to 7.6.

Watson went on to finish second in the Heisman voting and win a National Championship. While Lawrence is out of the Heisman race due to perception, there is still plenty on the table for him to achieve during this 2019 Clemson football season.

Next. 15 greatest QBs in Clemson history. dark

Has he made poor decisions at times? Sure. Has he tried to do too much instead of taking what the defense gave him at times? Yes. But, that doesn’t mean that there’s something magically wrong with him or that the Tigers are in trouble offensively. This is part of the growing process and Lawrence is a hard-worker.

He will come out ahead when it matters and it will be interesting to see how Lawrence performs over the course of these next couple of months for Clemson football.

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