A sea of giddy fans on the field last night, and a sea of questions following Clemson's football team into the locker room.

Dabo Swinney was as deflated as I've seen him as he spoke with the media afterward.

Not a lose-on-the-last-play type of deflated. That's totally different.

This was more of an "I"ve been duped" type of vibe, given that he expected something totally different from what he saw.

This offense is not exceptionally gifted. Or at least not by Clemson's glory-days definition of exceptionally gifted.

Certainly Swinney and the offensive staff have plenty of things to figure out as they navigate a quarterback plot that just thickened, plus an overall operation that suddenly feels like what we were watching in 2021.

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While that part is no small task, the realities on the other side of the ball seem more jarring. Because that's where the Tigers are exceptionally gifted. Or at least are supposed to be.

It's one thing to have a bad night as a team, for the ball to not bounce your way here and there.