Clemson Football: 3 reasons Travis Etienne is a Heisman contender
By Dana Becker
With Kelly Bryant gone, Trevor Lawrence headed to the locker room and Clemson football trailing Syracuse, Travis Etienne put the entire team on his shoulders.
Travis Etienne led a thrilling comeback, scoring two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Tigers kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive with a 27-23 victory.
Clemson announced Trevor Lawrence as the starting quarterback and Kelly Bryant declared his intentions to transfer after that. Lawrence, a true freshman, completed 10 of 15 for 93 yards, but was knocked out with a concussion on a run in the second quarter.
More: Evaluating the Clemson QB depth chart behind Trevor Lawrence
The Orange built a 23-13 lead with less than 13 minutes to play when Etienne came to the rescue for the faithful in Death Valley.
A sophomore, Etienne scored from 26 yards out to make it a 23-20 deficit and proceeded to finish off an extended drive by hitting paydirt from two yards out with just 41 seconds left to play.
When all the dust settled, Etienne had a career-high 203 yards on 27 carries, including the three touchdowns.