ACC football 2019 season preview: Clemson and everything after
It’s Clemson and then everyone else in ACC football for the 2019 season but how those chasing the Tigers plays out should be fascinating to watch.
After an undefeated season and a National Championship victory, the Clemson Tigers are the team to beat in the 2019 ACC football season — and, really, college football at large. Dabo Swinney’s group may have suffered some critical departures on the defensive side of the ball but they have just reloaded and, of course, have one of the most hype players in the country, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, leading the charge.
For the most part, ACC football will largely consist of Clemson running away and the other 13 teams in the conference chasing the Tigers. Having said that, there is a ton of intrigue around those other teams.
The Florida State Seminoles aim to bounce back after seeing their 36-year bowl game streak end last year, the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies will vie for in-state and divisional bragging right and teams like the Syracuse Orange and Miami Hurricanes are lurking dark horses.
Whether or not any of those teams are able to catch Clemson remains to be seen. Having said that, they’re going to surely give it their best shot, which should be highly entertaining to watch play out. With that in mind, though, let’s take a look at ACC football and predict the major awards, how the regular-season standings will shake out and see if anyone is actually going to overtake the Tigers.
Offensive Player of the Year: Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
Trevor Lawrence actually spent the first four weeks of his true freshman season with Clemson battling with Kelly Bryant for the starting job. With each week, it became more apparent that Lawrence was the right choice but Dabo Swinney continued doing his due diligence. In the end, it was the freshman that indeed overtook Bryant and led the Tigers to a title. After that and with Bryant transferring to Missouri, it’s now the Trevor Lawrence show.
As a true freshman, Lawrence was near perfect. Even splitting time for the first four games of the year, he finished with 3,280 yards, 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions while completing 65.2 percent of his passes over 15 games played. He checked every box for arm strength, poise, playmaking and so on.
Even after just one season, Lawrence would’ve likely been the first overall pick in the NFL Draft this past year. Yet, he has two more years to showcase that and that includes the upcoming 2019 season. Armed with a cast of top-tier weapons around him with running back Travis Etienne and wide receivers Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins, Lawrence has the opportunity to put forth a jaw-dropping effort this season.
Yes, the likes of Etienne, Boston College running back A.J. Dillon, Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins, Virginia Tech quarterback Ryan Willis and plenty of others will stake their claim. But in terms of talent, situation and narrative, no one is coming close to Lawrence when it comes to ACC football Offensive Player of the Year.