Heisman Forecast: Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence falls behind in race after unimpressive September

September gifted us just one major upset, all but putting the Pac-12’s College Football Playoff hopes on life support. While the defending national champions avoided a similar plight, the first month of the season did can be seen as a setback for Clemson‘s poster boy in terms of the Heisman Trophy race.

Trevor Lawrence, who entered the season with the second-best odds behind Alabama‘s Tua Tagovailoa, has taken a major slide amid an unimpressive start by the sophomore quarterback.

He now trails Tagovailoa, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, LSU‘s Joe Burrow, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Wisconsin‘s Jonathan Taylor and Georgia’s Jake Fromm in the pecking order in odds-makers’ eyes and its hard to argue with that stance.

Lawrence is 34th in passing yard (1,131), tied for 40th in touchdown passes (eight) and comes in 57th in efficiency (143.7). He has now thrown eight TDs to five interceptions and after hitting passes at a 65.2 percent clip last season, is down to 61.8.

The Tigers, who slipped to No. 2 in the rankings after narrowly beating North Carolina last weekend — are off in Week 6, but there are few opportunities to impress amid a schedule that includes just one team (No. 22 Wake Forest) that’s currently more than a game above .500.

Clemson will stay in the CFP hunt, but without a major uptick in his production, it’s hard to see Lawrence meeting the hype in his first full season as starter.

Before we dive into the players who will rise and fall in the Heisman race this week, here’s where the Forecaster’s real-time rankings stand.

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama QB
2. Joe Burrow, LSU QB
3. Justin Fields, Ohio State QB

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