The lights were bright in Jacksonville, the stakes even brighter. But in the aftermath of Trevor Lawrence’s last-second, birthday night heroics, it was Clemson’s head coach Dabo Swinney who delivered perhaps the most fitting tribute.
Swinney broke down the moment: “Just awesome. Uh … I hate for Andy Reid, because I love Andy Reid, uh, too … but, you know … it’s a long trip home, you know, it was a tough game like that.”
He continued, acknowledging the quality of the opponent: “You know, they haven’t had quite the start that they want, but they’ll … he played … I thought they played well, but I was so happy. Travis played awesome. Great to see him have a big game. He’s having a great year.”
But at the heart of Dabo’s remarks lay full acknowledgement of Lawrence’s breakthrough:
“Trevor was … that’s the game he needed. You know, Monday Night Football against Mahomes, birthday, uh … If you’re gonna win it, you’re gonna have to make some … throws in a … that window right there, and he did. He made some big, uh, plays, the road to … Thomas Kid on the side was a heck of a play. Uh, throw over on the left side. I mean, that was a great play … he looked like … I mean, that was a complete disaster in the last play, getting stepped on, and … somehow or another, he got up untouched and was able to get in there. … He made some big plays with his legs.”
Swinney didn’t shy from the drama of Lawrence’s final scramble:
“Which we’ve all seen that. So I was just really happy for him. It’s just one of those games, they’re 4-1. You know, as a … that’s a momentum-type game … He’ll be the first guy in the building. He’ll be the first guy back at work, he’ll be the first guy grading himself. Like, I gotta be better, I gotta this, I gotta that … Nothing matters. … He won’t be walking around saying what Ford won. He’s gonna just be focused on trying to win the game.”
“On the other side, the holes will be the same way. He’s gonna be walking around pouting with 2-3 record. They’ll find a way to win the next match … Such a good football team. Uh, but it was a great game. Great game, it’s fun. It’s a lot of big plays on both sides.”