The hype’s real around Dabo Swinney‘s team despite losing 24-21 against Georgia Tech last week. But now that they are off for a home game against Fran Brown‘s team, even the odds are favoring them. That’s right, Clemson is a 17.5-point favorite. And seems like the adrenaline has even kicked into Brown’s veins, as he’s pretty hooked in with Clemson’s defense. How do we know? Three words. Just three words…

Fran Brown candidly praised Swinney’s squad during a presser, “They’re f—–g nice.” Those words are more than just pregame hype. “They probably have one of the better front 7’s in the country… watching them on tape, you’re like DAMN,” Brown added. And that’s no fluff. The Tigers team is full of exceptional talent like T.J. Parker and Peter Woods, who are ESPN’s No. 1 and No. 3 prospects for next year’s draft. And even DT DeMonte Capehart and Will Heldt are starting off pretty solid.

But Coach Brown didn’t just stop at that; he also praised Clemson’s linebacker troops, which include Sammy Brown, the freshman LB he tried to get in at Georgia. And then he didn’t mince words before labeling the Tigers’ front seven “as one of the best in the country.” Well, even if Brown is high on Clemson’s defense, it was a mess against Georgia Tech last week. The Yellow Jackets’ offense kept adding pressure to Dabo Swinney’s defense all game, and they gave up 314 yards from Haynes King and also 103 yards on the ground.

So, even if the secondary looks quite strong on paper, it’s somehow failing to meet the expectations. And even LB Wade Woodaz accepted their rookie mistakes after the game, saying, “I just think we made too many mistakes all day. Give credit to them; they’re a great team, and [Haynes King] is a dawg. We just made too many mistakes and couldn’t come up clutch in the end.” And the worst part is the No. 1 projected NFL draft guy just recorded three tackles against Georgia Tech.

And let’s not start the rant on Dabo Swinney’s offensive line, as it was a mess too. During the game, Cade Klubnik made many mistakes, fumbling on the opening drive and throwing a costly interception to Omar Daniels, who returned it for 45 yards in the second half. To make things even worse, they were without their key offensive starters like WR Antonio Williams, OL Tristan Leigh, and Elyjah Thurmon. But one thing that might work in their favor against Fran Brown’s team is that even their defense lacks depth.

As they are already without LT Trevion Mack, who has been out for the last two games. Then they also failed to protect Steve Angeli, who was sacked five times against Tennessee. So, it looks like the situation is worse on both sides. And even Swinney’s pretty aware of the situation.

Dabo Swinney gets real on his team situation

The Tigers got a big reality check last week, and even Dabo Swinney knows they need to improve, but he’s not panicking despite their 1-2 start, which is their first since 2014. And after taking his team to two national titles and seven College Football Playoff appearances, the fall is not new to him. “We’ve had a lot of adversity over the years, many, many times,” Swinney said. “But we’ve always hung in there and gone about our business, and that’s what we’ll do here. We all have to get better. We are just a little bit short.”

It’s far from a little bit, though. As Cade Klubnik has already turned the ball over four times, despite only throwing six interceptions all of last season. Now, even if the defense looks solid, they’re still struggling on third downs, allowing conversions almost 45% of the time. So, it’s pretty clear that both offense and defense aren’t clicking.

And that couldn’t stop the frustrations coming in from fans and even former Tiger Shaq Lawson, who questioned them after the loss. But despite that, Dabo Swinney shrugs off the criticism and makes sure his team stays motivated. “Criticism’s part of it,” he said. “When you’re at Clemson and you don’t get the results that we all work for, that’s just part of it.”

So, Swinney is making sure his players remember that Clemson recovered in 2014 after a 1-2 start and got ahead with a 10-win season. So, let’s see if that’s exactly the case with them this year or not.