Clemson Football: 3 takeaways from Week 3 takedown of Syracuse

2. Trevor Lawrence continues what constitutes a sophomore slump

In some ways, it seems foolish to say that a guy who threw for 395 yards and three touchdowns is on a slump of any sort whatsoever. But for a guy who finished his freshman season completing 64 percent of his passes in conference play, the fact that Lawrence is completing only 56 percent of his attempts in his first two ACC games lends some credence to the slump claim.

Another reason for some concern is his turnover rate. Over the course of the 2018 season, Lawrence threw only four interceptions. Through just three games in 2019, Lawrence has already broken that mark with his fourth and fifth interceptions of the year against the Orange. That also results in a low touchdown-to-interception ratio as Lawrence sits right at an even 1:1 so far this year.

There is still plenty of time for Lawrence to recover his position as the preeminent quarterback in the FBS. But at this point of the year, it would be hard to classify Lawrence among the top five quarterbacks in the country in 2019 on just his production this season. While he is putting up big numbers, he has been less efficient in compiling those stats — especially when it comes to conference games.

That has not proven costly for the Tigers so far this season, but it is a trend that Clemson should be watching carefully. While there is little reason to think that Dabo Swinney has any inclination to bench Lawrence, he does seem to be regressing somewhat toward the mean in his sophomore season.