Dexter Lawrence suspension could cripple Clemson’s title hopes vs. Alabama

Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence will not play for the Tigers in the National Championship Game vs. Alabama.

Dexter Lawrence will not play in the National Championship Game, Clemson announced on Thursday afternoon. Lawrence, along with reserves Braden Galloway and Zach Giella were suspended for the Cotton Bowl vs. Notre Dame after testing positive for the banned substance ostarine.

The three won’t be allowed to play, but they will be allowed to travel with the team to attend Monday night’s National Championship Game in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

“As requested by these student-athletes, Clemson filed notices of appeal with the NCAA, athletic director Dan Radakovich said in a statement. We will continue to work with the three impacted student-athletes and their legal representatives over the coming weeks to prepare the appeals. Neither Clemson, Galloway, Giella nor Lawrence anticipate having further comment on this matter until after the appeals have concluded.”

Pending the results of the appeal, the suspensions could last up to a year. It’s expected Lawrence will declare for the NFL Draft after the season ends, however.

Lawrence, an All-ACC defensive tackle, was replaced by Albert Huggins in the starting lineup and he played well in his absence in the win vs. Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish didn’t have much success moving the ball attacking the interior of the line.

The expectation is Alabama will have a game plan devised to attack that weakness without a 6-4, 350-pound potential first round pick patrolling the center of the line.

Alabama is led by Heisman runner-up quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, but the offense is predicated on establishing the run game with Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs and Najee Harris. The Alabama rushing attack comes at defenses in waves. Just when you think you bottle up Harris, Jacobs comes in and takes a short pass to the house and trucks a defender en route to the end zone, just like he did vs. Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. And just when you think you’ve slowed him down, the 6-2, 230-pound former No. 1 recruit, Najee Harris comes in to wreak havoc on a beaten down defense.

While Clemson didn’t necessarily miss Lawrence vs. Notre Dame, his absence will loom large vs. Alabama in the National Championship Game. If you’re going to beat Alabama, you want to have your full complement of players on your roster, and Clemson will be missing one of their four or five most important players.

That’s not to say Clemson can’t beat Alabama without Lawrence, but they have a massive vulnerability against a team and a coach who knows how to exploit the opposition’s weaknesses better than anyone in the history of the sport.