It was over in the third quarter. Tigers’ true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence put a perfectly placed ball on wideout Justyn Ross and the fellow true freshman outraced the Alabama defense for the 74-yard touchdown. This was the icing on the cake of a Clemson national title as they defeated the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16. Lawrence put an exclamation mark on the victory as he slung a ball that couldn’t have been more perfectly placed over the heads of Alabama defenders and into the hands of an open Tee Higgins. The former Purple Hurricane finished the night 20-32 for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns, winning the Offensive MVP award for his performance.

Clemson started the domination on defense. On the third play of Bama’s first possession, Clemson corner AJ Terrell picked off Tua Tagovailoa’s pass to Biletnikoff award winner Jerry Jeudy and took it to the house to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead. The Tide struck back on their next drive with a 62-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Jeudy to tie it up. After trading touchdowns and a field goal by Alabama, Clemson turned it on. The Tigers’ D got pressure and confused Tua the rest of the night. Clemson forced two fumbles and Defensive MVP Trayvon Mullen picked off Tagovailoa as the Tigers took a 31-16 lead into halftime.

The third quarter is when it happened. When the entire nation realized that Trevor Lawrence is the real deal. His poise in the pocket and perfect throws had NFL scouts drooling for what they would see in two years. He showed college football fans everywhere that as long as he was under center, the Tigers could beat anyone. Even the juggernaut that is Nick Saban and Alabama.

As the 2019 college football season approaches, strap on your seat belts because the Trevor Lawrence era is just beginning.