Clemson Football

Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables took an active role in the Tigers' preparations for the CFP National Championship against LSU on Monday.

According to Andrea Adelson of ESPN on Saturday, Clemson's usual scout team quarterback, Patrick McClure, got hurt while celebrating during the team's Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State. As a result, Venables filled in to emulate Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.

Adelson wrote Venables adopts a new identity, "Jimmy Greenbeans," when working with the scout team.

Junior linebacker James Skalski said Venables is an effective fill-in during practice:

"Greenbeans does not change his quarterback style, but he's very good at stressing you out and trying to create game environments. People don't understand he can put one on the money every now and then. He'll back-shoulder a ball, and everyone looks around and is like, 'That was a good throw.' Mentally, it's not about the throws."

Clemson is attempting to do something no other team has achieved this season: slow down Burrow and LSU's dynamic aerial attack.

Burrow has thrown for 5,208 yards an 55 touchdowns. He only needed one half to shred Oklahoma's secondary in the Peach Bowl, racking up 403 passing yards and seven touchdowns through the first two quarters.

Brent Venables is running out of adjectives to describe Joe Burrow pic.twitter.com/QluE2AiSap

— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) January 11, 2020

Venables' $2.2 million salary is the second-highest for an FBS assistant coach, trailing only LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda ($2.5 million).

Between pulling double duty as both the scout team QB and defensive coordinator, Venables might be in line for a pay raise if Clemson successfully defends its national championship.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday wide receivers Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross will both play in Monday's CFP National Championship against No. 1 LSU.

According to ESPN's Heather Dinich, Swinney made it clear that his top two wideouts are healthy after getting banged up in the CFP semifinal against Ohio State: "They're fine. That's been a month ago. These guys heal up in two days nowadays. Yeah, they're fine. Higgins came back and played, and Ross just landed on his shoulder. They're good to go."

Both Higgins and Ross managed to return after leaving against the Buckeyes, and Swinney added: "Are they 100 percent? As far as I know."

Both Higgins and Ross were highly productive this season, and their connection with quarterback Trevor Lawrence may be the biggest factor in whether No. 3 Clemson can upset LSU on Monday night.

Higgins is second on the team with 56 receptions and leads the team in receiving yardage (1,115), yards per catch (19.9) and receiving touchdowns (13). With two straight seasons of at least 900 yards and 12 touchdowns to his credit, Monday may mark the final game of the junior's college career if he opts to enter the NFL draft.

Ross leads the Tigers in catches with 61 and has also registered 789 yards and eight touchdowns this season as a sophomore after reaching the 1,000-yard mark during his freshman campaign.

Clemson has a balanced offensive attack thanks to the presence of superstar running back Travis Etienne and Lawrence's dual-threat ability, but Swinney's team may have to air it out more often than usual to keep up with LSU.

Head coach Ed Orgeron's Tigers are led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, who has thrown for 5,208 yards, 55 touchdowns and six interceptions and helped LSU become the No. 1 scoring offense in the country with 48.9 points per game.

Like Lawrence, Burrow has a big-time receiving corps led by Ja'Marr Chase (1,559 yards and 18 touchdowns), Justin Jefferson (1,434 yards and 18 touchdowns) and Terrace Marshall Jr. (625 yards and 12 touchdowns).

While LSU has been more explosive this season, Clemson is no slouch either, as it ranks fourth in the nation with 45.3 points per contest.

Clemson's offense can strike quickly when need be with Lawrence, Higgins and Ross, but it often isn't necessary because of the team's strong defense and running game.

With both Higgins and Ross slated to play Monday, though, Swinney will have no shortage of options at his disposal and will have the offensive firepower needed to keep pace with LSU.

CLEMSON, S.C. — This is the Trevor Lawrence you don't know. The young, ever-changing man inside the all-world college football player few outside his bubble have ever seen.     

We know about the special way the Clemson quarterback sees the field. About his pristine college record, the 29-game winning streak he and the Tigers carry into Monday's national championship game against LSU. About his hyped future, a player one NFL scout tells B/R is the best quarterback prospect since John Elway and "probably the best ever."

But Lawrence is bored with talking about those things, honestly.

Ask him what has made him the player and person he is, though, and he opens up.

In fact, he asks for extra time to consider the question, wanting a few days of thinking to make sure he gets a list of seminal moments just right before sitting down with Bleacher Report to discuss them.

"This is important to me," Lawrence says.

Then the (still) biggest name in college football and the most anticipated future NFL player in decades launches into it, from those who have brought him to this point as a football player to those who have led him to inner peace, to being this 20-year-old who lives beyond the superhero status of fall Saturdays.

"Trevor has this uncommon DNA that you just don't see every day," says Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. "And the best part? Football is just the facilitator for greater things in life."

    

'He had been through it'

Lawrence met Joey King in the spring before his ninth grade season. Then the coach at Cartersville High in Georgia (currently the tight ends coach at USF), King had already heard about this player he had to see.

Lawrence was about 6'5" when he strolled into a football meeting of eighth graders who were interested in playing as freshmen.

"He was easy to spot in that first meeting," King says. "He was a head-and-a-half taller than everyone as an eighth grader. The first time I saw him throw, we had a bad snap in practice, ball on the ground. He reaches down with his eyes still on the field, stabs at the ball, picks it up with one hand and throws a strike down the field. I remember thinking, 'OK, boys, I think we've got something here.'"

Six months after the first meeting, and three games into his freshman season, Lawrence was playing so well as a co-starter on the varsity that King was forced into an uncomfortable meeting with his junior quarterback, current Alabama tight end Miller Forristall.

King could no longer keep Lawrence off the field.

"Everybody knew about him from day one when he stepped on campus," Forristall says. "We heard chatter that this freshman was coming in and he was all-world. I said, 'I'll believe it when I see it.' Then this 6'5" kid comes in, and he throws the first ball, and you believe it really quick. It's hard to tell a 17-year-old kid that God has created the universe and this is his divine plan. I worked my butt off for that job. I deserved it. I wasn't mad at Trevor; he's such a great guy. But in hindsight, losing the job and moving to tight end was by far the best thing that could've happened to me."

And for the team. By the end of that season, Lawrence had thrown for 3,053 yards and 26 touchdowns. Three years later, he had set the state career passing records for yards (13,908) and touchdowns (161), had a 52-2 record as a starter, a 41-game winning streak and two state titles.

Lawrence on the moment: "Looking back now, meeting Joey made a huge impact on me. He was 32 and played quarterback in college. He had been through it. He understood everything that was going on and kept me levelheaded. We talked so much more about life than football. We still call and text all the time. To this day, when we talk, it's not about football. He asks me, 'How are things? How's your heart?' Those are the people everyone needs. The people who are there for who you are—not what you are."

     

'What if I didn't meet with him that day?'

Brandon Streeter knows the ground rules as Clemson's quarterbacks coach, but you'd better believe he broke them in 2014 when the tall kid with the rocket arm showed up at summer camp.

Swinney doesn't offer high school players until their sophomore seasons. And he sure as heck doesn't deal with freshmen at one of his camps when he's trying to recruit juniors and seniors.

But Streeter knew this had to be an exception.

For Lawrence, the first college letter came in the ninth grade, and the first scholarship offer wasn't long after that. King had a basket outside his office at Cartersville, and that's where the letters and offers went. It filled up quickly. By the time Lawrence was 15, the letters were piling up to the extent the post office decided it couldn't deliver that volume to the high school, so it started sending bags to the Lawrence house instead.

Clemson wasn't really on Lawrence's radar back in 2014, though. He was only in town for the camp because a high school assistant coach had convinced him to take a look.

Streeter knew this, and there was no way he was letting this player get out of town without a sit-down with Swinney.

"To this day, I don't know how I convinced him to talk to Trevor," Streeter says. "But really, all you had to do was look at [Lawrence] and watch him throw, and my gosh, it's easy to see."

And once Swinney saw him, he agreed.

"Streeter is begging me to just take five minutes and meet with this guy," Swinney says. "So I'm in my office, and I'll never forget it. [Lawrence] walks in looking like Ichabod Crane, just elbows and knees. He's 6'6". I said: 'Holy cow! You're a ninth grader?'

"I know nothing about him. I have not seen one play of his, and he's got 50 offers already. I said I know you have a bunch of offers, but there's no way I can offer you. I know you're going leave here and get in the car and scratch us off, but if I offered you a scholarship and you committed to me today, how stupid would that be? I know nothing about you, and you know nothing about me.

"He was just looking at me, and of course, Streeter is just sliding down in his chair."

Lawrence on the moment: "I didn't take offense to it at all. In fact, that helped in the end, for sure. Just how genuine he was. I committed a year-and-a-half after that first meeting. At the time, you don't think about how things have to align for something to happen. Even how I grew up—three states before we moved to Georgia—one little thing can change everything. You look back and think, What if I would've gone somewhere else? Not because I wanted to, but, Where would my life be?

"I'm at the perfect place; no doubt in my mind. It's crazy to think about that decision, and where I am now—and where I could've been. It was Clemson, Georgia and Florida at the end, but what if I didn't meet with [Swinney] that day? How different would my life be right now?"

      

'There was always something missing'

Lawrence graduated early from high school and was a midterm enrollee in January 2018 at Clemson. He tried the college scene, but parties and late nights translate to empty calories and can only satisfy so much.

He was already a big name in college football after 15 spring practices, after ESPN televised Clemson's spring game and delivered the hype across the country. Lawrence was on track to play and possibly start as a freshman, and he was already a big man on campus—without playing a down.

None of it was enough.

Then he met Clemson tailback Darien Rencher, who introduced Lawrence to NewSpring Church in nearby Anderson, South Carolina, and asked if he wanted to go on a summer retreat to Daytona Beach, Florida, where more than 3,000 young men and women attend an annual event called the Gauntlet, a five-day trip focused on bringing young people closer to their faith.

"He was a young guy, navigating college like all of us do," Rencher says. "We became close and started hanging out and talking about life. I think he was just looking for a place where he could be vulnerable and talk."

Lawrence grew up in a devout Christian family, but he was never completely invested. Soon after the Gauntlet, after searching for something to make what seemed like an idyllic life complete, everything changed.

"The Trevor that came to Daytona on Monday and the Trevor that left on Friday are two different people," NewSpring pastor Riley Cummings says. "He has always been a great kid. But coming out of that week, he had decided that football was a tool God had given him; it wasn't who God made him to be. Football ends for everyone. It doesn't matter how good you are or how many MVPs you've won. At that point, an 18-year-old kid can realize, I'm really good at it, and I'm going to make a lot of money at it, but at the end of the day I have the second half of my life to live without it. So I have to figure out who I am."

Before the start of his first fall camp at Clemson, with his family and some teammates in attendance, Lawrence was baptized in a pool inside the atrium at NewSpring Church.

"That decision is eternal; it will change the direction of his life," Rencher says. "Some of his life story, it's almost like it's already written with the way he has played. He will use his platform to tell his story. His insides are different in the way he thinks, but he's not perfect. Instead of just aimlessly living, you just shine that light."

Lawrence on the moment: "When you're in college, I feel like there's a limit to how much you can grow on your own. And I just felt like there was always something missing. No matter what I did, or who I met, I kept coming back to that. So I decided to rededicate my life to Christ. When my head was going back [in the water], it's such a surreal moment. When I think of everything that had to happen for me to be there, I can't even fathom it. At the end, it was this inner pull to be complete. You come out of the water, and it's a marker of your faith. I'm not better than anyone else. I'm not perfect. I have faults. I'm broken. My faith gives me strength, and it also gives me peace. When things are crazy all around, I'm grounded in Him."

      

'If you're not working every day, someone can pass you'

It took all of one month for Lawrence to be introduced to the negative world of sports stardom.

He was 18 and four games into his college football career when Swinney announced that he—not senior Kelly Bryant, who had led Clemson to the College Football Playoff in his first season as a starter in 2017 and shared snaps under center with Lawrence—was his starting quarterback.

Bryant left the team days later and redshirted, with the goal of finishing his college career at another school.

"I never blamed him," Bryant says. "It's not Trevor's fault. He just played the game. He's an unbelievable talent. I think people wanted there to be this animosity between us, and there just wasn't. As quickly as you are up in this game, you can be down. But it doesn't mean you're down forever."

From others, though, the fallout was as turbulent as it was troubling.

The same network that televised Lawrence's spring game months earlier, which fueled the public narrative that a freshman could eventually be the starting quarterback at Clemson, now had talking heads screaming about how unfair it was to Bryant.

Then in his first game as a starter, Lawrence suffered a head injury, left in the second quarter, and Clemson nearly lost its undefeated season. "He takes a big hit in the first half of his first game without Kelly, and they don't give him his helmet back," says Clemson backup quarterback Chase Brice, who took over and guided the Tigers to a 27-23 win. "It's a cruel irony. I just tried to play like I was coached and keep our season alive. We win, and we're in the locker room and everyone is going crazy. Trevor comes up to me and says: 'Thank you. I'm so happy for you.' He was genuinely excited for me. That's the kind of guy he is."

Clemson would go on to win the national championship by whipping college football king Alabama, with Lawrence's performance leaving those same talking heads debating whether he should sit out his next two seasons of college ball to protect his inevitable No. 1 selection in the NFL draft.

But sure enough, early this season after a slow (but still winning) start, the critics were at it again. Lawrence wasn't as sharp as he was as a freshman. Wasn't the same player. Clemson wasn't the same team. And on and on and on.

They're all back on the bandwagon now, after Lawrence led Clemson to a thrilling victory over Ohio State in the CFP semifinal.

Since throwing two interceptions against Louisville in mid-October, Lawrence has completed 72 percent of his passes in seven games, has accounted for more than 2,400 total yards and has 25 total touchdowns without a turnover.

Lawrence on the moment: "How could I not feel bad for [Bryant]? I know the effort and dedication he put into it. I know what it meant to him. Those are moments where you see what this whole thing is about. It kind of wakes you up. If you're not working every day, someone can pass you. Someone is out there working to pass you right now. Every year, people want something new. Last year, we were the team that beat Alabama. And everyone loved us. Then everyone wants something new. We have a close game, and everyone thinks we're not any good. It was the same in my situation. I just thought it was interesting that the same guys who thought I should sit out two seasons were the same guys who were now saying I suck."

      

'It wasn't going to end like that'

Prone on the field at State Farm Stadium, shaking off a helmet-to-helmet hit in the second quarter of the national semifinal in late December, Lawrence quickly got a dose of reality.

You're not going to knock me out.

Soon enough, the entire Clemson sideline awakened, shaking off a 16-0 deficit and scoring 21 straight points to take the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter. Deep in the fourth, with 2:55 to play, Clemson trailed by two with the ball at the 6.

Four plays later—one Lawrence run for 11 yards and 3-of-3 completions for 83 yards—Clemson had a lead it never relinquished.

In 28 games at Clemson, Lawrence never had experienced adversity like this in this critical of a moment. He stalked the sidelines before the final drive, staring into the faces of his teammates.

I love you guys. We were built for this. Let's go score.

Lawrence is briefer in his reaction to this moment, the full impact of which is yet to be seen: "It wasn't going to end like that. We've got one more game left."

He is reminded that with a win over LSU, a young Clemson team—dominated by freshmen and sophomores—is staring at NCAA history. Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak suddenly is within striking distance.

Another 15-0 season with what will be the nation's most talented roster—including the nation's No. 1 recruiting class—isn't out of the question.

"Just wasted energy to even think about that," he says.

He'll embrace that seminal moment when and if it arrives.

Nine 10-win seasons in a row. Five straight ACC titles. Five consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff. Four appearances in the national championship game. Two, perhaps three, victories on that prestigious stage.

After a near-decade of Clemson's excellence, that list surprises nobody who follows the sport on even an occasional basis.

Head coach Dabo Swinney orchestrated the program's rise to prominence, turning "Little ole Clemson" into such a powerhouse that his usage of that phrase—no matter if referencing the small town—has become the source of eye rolls. Nothing about the football team is little anymore.

And what Swinney has built, regardless of what happens in the championship showdown with LSU, has no end in sight.

Between a star-studded roster, outstanding recruiting class and a conference of teams far behind, Clemson has no excuse not to remain a national contender for several years.

That sentence, for the record, is entirely unfair. Yet it's the truth of the program's current situation.

Star quarterback Trevor Lawrence will likely declare for the NFL draft once eligible but must wait one more year. Although his presence alone makes the Tigers a championship threat in 2020, they'll bring back an impressive group of skill-position talent and plenty of pieces from the nation's No. 2 defense.

In all likelihood, nobody who follows the sport will disagree that Clemson's reign will continue for years to come. You might be tired of it, but Lawrence enters the 2019 national title with zero losses as a starter.

Since projecting one season is often hard enough, anything in 2021 and beyond is far more uncertain, yes. Trends established over the last decade suggest Clemson will continue thriving, though.

A critical piece of the Swinney-led ascent is his ability—and the school's wherewithal—to retain high-level assistants.

For several years, co-offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott and defensive coordinator Brent Venables have been linked to head coaching vacancies but turned down the offers. Scott recently accepted the South Florida job and will leave Clemson after the championship game, but he's the first coordinator to leave since Chad Morris headed for SMU in 2014.

Nevertheless, Scott—though a terrific recruiter and a valuable source of wisdom for the passing game—isn't the primary play-caller. That responsibility falls on Elliott, who will work alongside new passing game coordinator Brandon Streeter, in 2020.

As long as Swinney, Elliott and Venables are in place, the program will have a sturdy foundation of leadership. And, without a doubt, an impressive arrangement of talent.

For competing teams, the scariest part should be Clemson is just now starting to sign the highest-rated prospects at an Alabama-like rate. Over the last 10 recruiting cycles—including the current 2020 phase—Clemson has one top-five finish.

One.

And it's the No. 1 class in 2020.

Clemson has signed six 5-stars, including No. 1 overall player Bryan Bresee and top-rated pro-style quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.

While 10 straight top-25 hauls is perfectly fine, Clemson hadn't secured consecutive top-10 classes before 2018 (seventh) and 2019 (10th). The ranking typically hovered around 15th. Stars don't mean everything, but top-level recruiting, as Bud Elliott of Banner Society notes, has proved a necessary condition of winning titles.

Given the team's accomplishments without top-five classes, the thought of what's coming may be downright frightening for the ACC.

In 2019, per ESPN's Bill Connelly, the conference ranked fifth in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Broken down further, the Atlantic (where Clemson resides) was the ninth-toughest division in the nation, one spot behind the ACC Coastal.

There is encouraging news, yes. In the Atlantic alone, Louisville surged to eight wins in Scott Satterfield's first year, Wake Forest won eight regular-season games for the first time in more than a decade, and Florida State hired Mike Norvell, who won 12 games coaching Memphis in 2019. 

Pardon our lack of excitement after Clemson just defeated each of those programs by no less than 31 points. North Carolina nearly pulled off an upset, but one poor showing is an outlier. Clemson smashed its eight other ACC opponents with four margins of 40-plus points and four of 30-plus points.

The gap between Clemson and the rest of the ACC is a chasm, and that has helped the Tigers maintain a remarkable streak of national relevance.

If Clemson falls to historically efficient LSU in the national title game, Swinney's squad will simply have extra motivation for 2020. If Clemson wins, the championship will provide yet another trophy for a program that has already earned the "dynasty" label.

Yet it's a dynasty that hasn't necessarily reached its peak.

           

All recruiting rankings via 247Sports' composite. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

Shaun Wade's targeting penalty on Trevor Lawrence was a turning point in the Fiesta Bowl in more ways than one.

Wade was ejected in the second quarter following a helmet-to-helmet hit on the Clemson star. Lawrence revealed Monday that helped spark a turnaround for the Tigers that led to a 29-23 win over Ohio State, per ESPN's Heather Dinich:

"It was just, they hit me, and I was worried it was my collarbone for a second because I couldn't feel it up there around my shoulder and neck, and my arm just went numb. It was just a really bad stinger. And then I got kind of -- I was kind of pissed off because I knew they were over there thinking like, 'All right, we knocked him out.'"

The play was initially ruled as a sack on Lawrence, which would have set Clemson up with a fourth down and put the team in a punting situation. Officials reviewed the play and penalized Wade for targeting:

Trevor Lawrence was slow to get up after this hit from Shaun Wade and Chase Young.

Wade was called for targeting and ejected. #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/YXJIqTnUqY

— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019

While crediting that penalty as the sole reason for the result would be reductive, it represented a clear moment where the game changed.

Instead of punting, Clemson got a first down and scored five plays later to trim the deficit to nine points. Lawrence also made a quick return after it initially looked like he might have been seriously injured.

On the Tigers' next drive, the sophomore quarterback broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run that helped bring the reigning national champions to within two points heading into the half.

TREVOR LAWRENCE TURNS ON THE BURNERS #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/x5FrKRjYqt

— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019

In general, Clemson looked like a different team, with Lawrence saying he "had a different kind of edge when I got up." The star passer not only went 18-of-33 for 259 yards and two touchdowns but also finished as Clemson's leading rusher (16 carries, 107 yards, one touchdown).

The Tigers undoubtedly benefited from Ohio State being without one of its starting cornerbacks, but Lawrence's comments highlighted how the offense in particular seemed to attack the Buckeyes with a renewed sense of purpose following the targeting penalty.

Clemson still needed Nolan Turner to intercept a Justin Fields pass in the end zone with 37 seconds remaining to avoid a possible defeat.

As happy as head coach Dabo Swinney will be with how well his team closed out the Fiesta Bowl, he'll want to see a better start on Jan. 13 against LSU in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Despite facing a 16-point deficit early in the second quarter of its most challenging game of the season, Clemson never panicked in Saturday's Fiesta Bowl.

Of course, the Tigers had been there before. They're in the College Football Playoff for the fifth consecutive year, so they knew what was needed to come back against Ohio State. And that's exactly what they executed in the Playoff semifinal matchup.

Clemson scored a go-ahead touchdown and forced a game-sealing turnover in the final minutes to beat Ohio State 29-23 and advance to the CFP National Championship, where the Tigers will look to win their third national title in four seasons when they face LSU on Jan. 13.

But first, the ACC champions demonstrated why they're consistently one of the top programs in the country.

After getting blanked for the first 27 minutes, 15 seconds by Ohio State, Clemson got on the board with 2:45 to go in the first half on Travis Etienne's eight-yard touchdown run to cut its deficit to 16-7. That wouldn't be the Tigers' last big play of the second quarter, though.

With 1:10 until halftime, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence broke off a huge 67-yard touchdown run that trimmed Ohio State's lead to two at the break.

TREVOR LAWRENCE TURNS ON THE BURNERS #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/x5FrKRjYqt

— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019

"This guy can move, man," Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said at the postgame press conference (h/t CBS Sports). "People don't really realize that, and I think that's one of the things that's changed his game, is he's gotten as much confidence in his legs now as he does his arm. And he picks his spots. We don't win the game tonight if we didn't have his legs."

It wouldn't be the last big play of the night for Lawrence and the Tigers.

In the third quarter, Clemson took its first lead of the game on a 53-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence to Etienne that put the Tigers ahead 21-16.

7 plays. 99 yards. 💨

Clemson scores 21 unanswered to take the lead! #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/HGgtad23L6

— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019

However, Ohio State came back early in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes took a 23-21 lead on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to Chris Olave with 11:46 to go.

It took resiliency from Clemson to come back again. And it was Lawrence and Etienne that again combined for a big play for the Tigers, as the duo connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 1:49 remaining that put them ahead 29-23 following a successful two-point conversion.

A championship drive from the defending champs.

Clemson takes the lead back! #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/3woohduQtt

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 29, 2019

"I wasn't a big fan of the play in practice, because it's just tough if the defense doesn't really bite on it," Lawrence said at the postgame press conference. "I felt like it was good just because of how well we set it up throughout the game, and I thought it was going to work then."

And it did. Then, as Ohio State tried to answer back with a game-winning drive, Fields was intercepted by Clemson safety Nolan Turner to seal the Tigers' 29th consecutive win and their fourth CFP National Championship appearance.

INTERCEPTED! What a finish! #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/7u8sU3d2IA

— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2019

It doesn't come as a surprise to Swinney that Clemson is having this much sustained success.

"I said in 2010 after a six-win season, I said, 'We're fixing to have the winningest decade in Clemson history,'" Swinney said at the postgame press conference. "I dream big. Actually, we're a little short, I dreamed of a little bit bigger, we missed a couple. But we've had a great run, it's been an unbelievable decade."

If the Tigers are going to end their season by celebrating another national title, they'll have to take down the No. 1 team in the country, LSU, to do so.

After playing a light ACC schedule, some critics doubted whether Clemson could topple a team like Ohio State. Now that the Tigers have proved themselves once again, they'll try to overcome the odds yet again.

Clemson Tigers tight end Braden Galloway maintained his innocence in his first public comments since he was suspended for a year for a positive drug test before last season's College Football Playoff. 

Galloway, defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and offensive lineman Zach Giella were suspended for the playoff games against Notre Dame and Alabama for testing positive for ostarine. The former said he didn't know he did anything wrong, per Andrea Adelson of ESPN.com:

"I know I did nothing wrong, so no matter what media outlets say, I know I did nothing intentionally that put that in my system and I've taken probably 15-20 drug tests since the one I failed and haven't failed any other. And they've been drug-tested by the same company the NCAA uses. So I know I've done nothing wrong. I really just put my faith in God every time there's a drug test. I just hope and pray that nothing crazy happens like this again. I don't wish this on any player. There's nothing you can do about it. They want you to tell them how it got in your system, and if you can't tell them that, they can't really do anything about it."

Adelson explained that ostarine is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration but has been used in some supplements without being listed on the label in some cases.

Galloway arrived at Clemson as a 3-star recruit in the class of 2018, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and tallied five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in his freshman campaign. He has spent this season on the scout team but is eligible to return for Saturday's CFP showdown against Ohio State.

It is a massive game to return to given that a spot in the national title game will be on the line between arguably the two most talented teams in the country. The Buckeyes and Tigers have steamrolled almost every opponent all season and will square off in one of the most highly anticipated games of the year.

Galloway will have a chance to make a difference this time around after watching his teammates win a championship last season.

Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence was not among the four finalists for the 2019 Heisman Trophy, but the sophomore star isn't letting that exclusion bother him. 

He has his sights set on the ultimate prize.

As he prepares for the 2019-20 College Football Playoff, Lawrence let it be known that he values team success more than any individual award, per Grace Raynor of The Athletic:

"You can't argue anything those other guys have done, so for me to say I should've been there instead of them is diminishing what they've done. I believe I'm one of the best players in college football. My play will speak for itself. I don't really have to worry about any awards. I think winning the national championship says a lot more than those."

And thus far, he has taken care of business in that regard.

Lawrence is 24-0 as a starter at Clemson, leading the team to a national championship as a true freshman last season. This year, he has led the Tigers to a 13-0 record and another College Football Playoff berth.

After a sensational freshman campaign, Lawrence entered the 2019 season as the Heisman Trophy front-runner. Though he did not lose a game during the regular season, the star passer was scrutinized for a relatively pedestrian performance.

He completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 3,172 yards, 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions. While those numbers were more than respectable, they did not earn him a trip to New York earlier this month.

Instead, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow (who won the award by a record margin), Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and defensive lineman Chase Young and Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts were named Heisman finalists. Clemson was the only CFP team to not have a representative.

Lawrence noted that each of the finalists were deserving of the honor. Rather than downplay any of his peers, he will let his play do the talking.

Lawrence isn't alone in being overlooked, though. Clemson, which is riding a 28-game winning streak, has not been given its due respect as the reigning champs all season. Now, Lawrence and Co. are ready to send a message to the football world.

"To me, I live for games like this. I love playing in these big games where everyone's watching," Lawrence said, per Raynor. "All year the narrative has been we haven't played anyone, but now we get to play one of the best teams and really show what we can do."

Lawrence added that last year's CFB experience has proven valuable, as he "kind of know what’s going on more" this time around. That could loom large as he prepares to face an Ohio State squad that is making its first CFP appearance since 2016.

Clemson has been one of college football's best teams in recent years, but that success carries a high cost. 

According to Manie Robinson of the Greenville News (via USA Today), the Tigers have spent a total of $19 million in expenses over the last four years for their College Football Playoff runs.

These expenses include a wide range of costs, including transportation, lodging, meals, tickets and entertainment. The athletics department pays for charter flights for the players, band travel and performance fees as well as game tickets for families and guests.

In January 2016 alone, Clemson paid $1.1 million for tickets for the school's first appearance in the CFP National Championship Game, a loss to Alabama. The Tigers returned to the title game two more times and beat the Crimson Tide in January 2017 and 2019.

Altogether, the squad has reached the national semifinals in each of the last four years, playing seven total games. 

While the titles have certainly helped generate revenue for the school, it has also led to heavy expenses for the athletic program. The school spent $5.3 million for the playoff during the 2015 season, $4.6 million in 2016, $2.2 million in 2017 and $6.9 million in 2018, per Robinson.

The College Football Playoff does provide funds to each participating school to offset expenses, totaling around $2 million each year. The ACC also provided a stipend to Clemson, totaling close to $500,000 for the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

With the Tigers heading to the Fiesta Bowl this season for a semifinal matchup against Ohio State, it seems as though the spending is far from finished.

Highly touted cornerback Fred Davis II officially signed his letter of intent with Clemson on Wednesday. 

Davis ranks 26th overall in the 2020 recruiting class, and he's the No. 3 cornerback in the country, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He's also the fourth-best player in the state of Florida.

He committed to Clemson in April.

I made sacrifices, I’ve been balling ever since...

New Beginnings. 🐅#ALLIN pic.twitter.com/p4Nzpdsk7O

— FD2 (@__FredDavis) April 9, 2019

His commitment was part of a sustained run of success on the recruiting trail for the Tigers, per Bleacher Report's David Kenyon:

"Over a 28-day span from April 8 to May 5, the Tigers averaged one 5-star pledge per week―a pretty decent rate. Cornerback Fred Davis II kicked off the streak, followed by defensive lineman Bryan Bresee, running back Demarkcus Bowman and quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. Clemson also added RJ Mickens―the No. 1 safety in this cycle―two days before Davis' commitment."

All told, Clemson sits first in 247Sports' composite team rankings for 2020.

According to MaxPreps, Davis finished his junior season at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, Florida, with 48 total tackles, one interception and 12 passes defended. In December, USA Today named Davis to the first team on its All-USA Florida squad.

At 6'2" and 177 lbs., Davis has great size for his position, and he possesses impressive physical tools. He was timed at 4.30 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle while hitting 36.1 inches with his vertical jump, per ESPN.com.

Davis will obviously face an adjustment when he reaches the next level, but he's an instinctual defender who's well-suited to excel in man coverage. Davis' tackling ability stands out as well. He makes sure to keep the ball-carrier in front of him without trying to make highlight-reel hits.

A.J. Terrell is the Tigers' only draft-eligible cornerback, and the junior is in a good position to make the jump if he wants to forgo his final season. Bleacher Report's Matt Miller mocked Terrell to the Denver Broncos in the second round with the 42nd overall pick in December.

Otherwise, the Tigers should be set for the most part at corner.

Derion Kendrick will at least be locked in at one of the starting spots, which leaves Mario Goodrich and Sheridan Jones as the most likely candidates to replace Terrell should he leave.

That would still leave Davis available to help the secondary in a limited role as a true freshman in 2020.