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CLEMSON -- Six days ago, Tony Elliott was asked what he expected to see out of his offense against lowly Connecticut and he pointed to a "Best is the Standard" banner on the wall in the indoor practice facility.

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"Continue to improve, and play to the standard that has been set and it doesn't matter who we're playing against. We're on a quest to be the best version of ourselves. Whatever the best version of this offensive unit and this team is, that's what we're on a quest for.

"I want to see guys go out and, if they have an opportunity, physically dominate."

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Normally we don't spend much time sifting through the finer points of a game against an FBS tomato can. The idea entering such a matchup is for us to quickly document a convincing victory over an overmatched opponent and then move on to the next task.

And the formidable nature of this particular next task, a visit from soaring Wake Forest, would typically make that quick transition more accelerated than usual.

But alas, this season is far from typical and far from usual. The offense was far from convincing, far from physically dominant, far from the standard that Elliott pointed to last week.

In other words, the concerns that once again came forth yesterday are worth discussing chiefly because of the high likelihood that they will be a factor in this game, and the next in Columbia.

During his post-game press conference, Dabo Swinney was asked about Clemson's rare ability to continue to fill most of its stadium regardless of opponent, and regardless of a jolting decline that kicked the Tigers out of the Top 25.

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It is remarkable and extraordinary given the wide swaths of empty seats at many other stadiums elsewhere as schools contend with high-definition television and the much cheaper comforts of the couch.

And as Swinney pointed out, it's impressive also because of Clemson's relatively small alumni base.

What you have here, this ritual game-day spectacle inside and outside the stadium, is special. That shouldn't ever be diminished or taken for granted.

But what you also had Saturday was the first chorus of boos we can recall in a decade.

We need to point out that they were not pervasive, and it appeared to be emanating mostly from the student section.

But it was strong enough (TV viewers could hear it) and frequent enough that it couldn't be ignored.

The last instance of this that we can recall was the opening game of 2011 when Troy walked into halftime up 16-13.

Clemson recovered in that game and won 43-19. The Tigers also shook off some highly tenuous moments a week later against Wofford and won by eight. Then they took off and beat Auburn, Florida State and Virginia Tech in successive games on the way to an 8-0 joy ride.

A year earlier, the offense slogged through a miserable season and Swinney kept telling everyone help was on the way. That help consisted of Sammy Watkins and a decorated cast of freshman receivers, then Chad Morris when Swinney cleaned house on offense.

Swinney has been transparent about how bad things are on offense this season, even mentioning they haven't been this bad since that 2010 season. But he hasn't used the "help on the way" terminology, and that's notable.

Maybe the best long-term help will be the mere act of getting past this brutal run of injuries that continued against Connecticut, rendering two freshman receivers (Beaux Collins and Dacari Collins) and an injured freshman running back (Phil Mafah) the top playmaker options.

Maybe "Rest is the Standard" will be the operative phrase of the offseason as the roster gets back to full health.

But here in the moment, as we turn our minds to this visit from the Demon Deacons, it's hard to fully turn the page from what we saw yesterday.

Connecticut is an awful team, yet still capable of exposing some issues that we have to believe we'll see again.

Normally in that type of game the things we see aren't applicable to what comes next in high-stakes games.

But nothing about this season has been normal.

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