CLEMSON | For years it's been common, in the midst of all the accolades and high rankings, for Dabo Swinney to do the aw-shucks thing and say Clemson probably belongs on the Rest of Y'all Bus.

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Events inside and outside of Death Valley on Oct. 2 reinforced the stark reality that his 2021 team might have to fight like mad just to get a seat on that vehicle.

We don't say that to be negative or pessimistic. We're just being real in the same way that Swinney has been real in recent weeks as he's projected few illusions about the task ahead for an offense that faces a perfect storm of hurdles.

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Earlier in the day, Clemson fans were presented a sobering reminder of what it looks like when truly great teams establish some separation.

Commencing at noon, Georgia completely dismantled Arkansas' September joy ride.

Commencing at 3:30, Alabama made a mockery of the supposed mortality exposed in a narrow win at Florida two weeks before.

The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide exerted their superiority in a ruthless fashion that used to be synonymous with Clemson's place in that rare air atop the college football mountain.

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Beyond that is a whole mess of parity from which we have no idea what will unfold.

Clemson is 3-2 with a week off, and this is certainly not where anyone expected the Tigers to be.

Since losing at Syracuse in 2017, Clemson had won 17 consecutive games against teams from the ACC Atlantic Division with an average margin of victory of 32 points.

Now the Tigers have scored 14 regulation points in a loss at N.C. State and 19 points in 60 minutes against Boston College.

David Hale of ESPN.com culled this stat: Since Swinney's first full season in 2009, Clemson has never scored fewer than 96 points in regulation through its first four FBS games. This year the Tigers have mustered 50.

During Clemson's six-year rampage through the ACC, the Tigers have outscored their conference opposition by the following averages:

2020: 25.2

2019: 36.8

2018: 35.3

2017: 16.8

2016: 18.1

2015: 17.8

In three ACC games this year, the Tigers are plus-6 in the scoring column at 54 for and 48 against.

Some folks out there are free to go ahead and pronounce this season an abject failure, to view this as less one down year and more the dramatic fall of the Clemson empire. To say "check please" on this reality check.

That seems rather absurd given the equity this head coach has built up, not just in the form of two national championships but also in the form of the fighting spirit we saw Saturday night.

Have there been some head-scratching sights thus far? No doubt. We still can't wrap our minds around the decision to go with speed option on that third down when there's seeming reluctance for the quarterback to have options on other styles of run.

When ESPN's color analyst said it was a bad look for Clemson's offense to fail to come up with a way to get that final first down later, how can you argue? This has been a bit of a trend in recent years in those types of situations.

There is oh, so much for this team to work on and correct between now and the Friday-night visit to Syracuse. Coaches included.

But it doesn't feel fair to point out the troubling developments while ignoring the uplifting ones.

To start, how about that crowd that descended on Death Valley and absolutely influenced the game? There were some groans, sure, but they were loud and proud and forgiving of a team with deficiencies we haven't seen in these parts in years.

The quarterback misses some throws so badly that it makes you gasp and wonder if it's time to let him watch some of this from the sideline. But then he recovers in the fourth quarter and makes accurate, confident throws that suggest he's mentallly strong enough to keep from plunging into a funk.

And then you see the guy, after his media interviews are complete, returning to the field to get in some more work at 12:30 AM.

This offense has yet to get in sync, and by now everyone can agree with the premise we've been suggesting for weeks now -- that the number of issues is closer to 10 things than one thing.

But we did see progress from one of the most important things last night, that being the offensive line. Amazing what can be opened up in the passing game when you can run the ball with some authority.

For the first time all year, we saw real progress from this line thanks in part to a positional change-up amid Will Putnam's injury.

The "best five linemen" thing sounds fine in theory, but then you see Matt Bockhorst become a totally different player when he switches from center to guard and it becomes clear they have to be in the right places, too.

It's been a crazy year on the other side of the ball too, where everyone had to figure out how to deal with the loss of two major players (Tyler Davis and Bryan Bresee) within a few days of each other and move on. Yes, this group had some lapses last night but there's a drive and an all-consuming spirit about this defense that is just special.

Five games in, this is a season unlike any in recent memory. And that's crazy to say given we're a year removed from a wild COVID 2020 season.

It has to hurt for everyone involved to see two giants making resounding statements on Separation Saturday and Clemson not anywhere remotely close to that conversation.

This team could lose multiple games more. It could also run the table and win what would be one of the most meaningful ACC titles of a run in which conference crowns seem automatic.

Right now they're on the outside looking in, but at least they're not giving in.

Our advice, take it or leave it, would be for you not to either.

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