It’s not about being the best version of yourself in September and October.
Dabo Swinney has always talked about progressing through the season and building the Clemson football program for the “Championship Phase.”
The Tigers have not come out looking like world beaters in the opening few games of their past seasons. Clemson struggled with Troy back in 2016, the year that the Tigers went on to win the first National Championship since 1981. Last season, Clemson football played a down-to-the-wire game with Texas A&M and then rallied from behind to beat Syracuse just a couple of weeks later.