The much anticipated starting debut of Trevor Lawrence for the Clemson Tigers didn’t go quite as planned. In the second quarter of the Tiger’s 27-23 victory over the Syracuse Orange, Lawrence went down on a brutal hit by defensive back Evan Foster of Syracuse. Lawrence tried to stay in the game, but the medical staff wouldn’t clear him to play, and he returned to the locker room with a neck strain injury.

Lawrence played well before his exit, going 10 for 15 with 93 passing yards and leading a scoring drive in the first quarter on a 1 yard touchdown by sophomore running back Travis Etienne.

After Lawrence’s injury, the Tigers were forced to go with redshirt freshman quarterback, Chase Brice. Senior quarterback Kelly Bryant would have been Lawrence’s replacement, but decided to transfer from Clemson on Wednesday after losing the job to Lawrence.

The Tigers were able to hold on against the Orange due to Travis Etienne’s monster game with 203 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns.

Lawrence will work out with the team this week and is expected to start on Saturday as the undefeated Tigers take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.