Coming out of the bye week, it is the time of the year when the Clemson Tigers' season will be defined. Their three wins have come against arguably lesser competition in Georgia Southern, UNC, and at Cal. However, their two losses were to top-25 teams at LSU and Miami, both of which were of the blowout variety. Moving forward, this is all about Clemson trying to control its season's narrative.
For that to happen, three largely unresolved questions need to be answered. Frankly, all three are the primary areas where Clemson needs to improve the most. While this is not a bad Clemson team by any means, it has yet to show anyone that it should be given the good label. Simply, the Tigers will have to go out and earn it. With a bye week before a cupcake opponent, they'd better get right fast.
Tigers fans should hope Clemson can answer these three questions in the second half of the season.
Will Tait Reynolds stop playing like a true freshman in the second half?
To put it bluntly, Clemson's many bad decisions in the offseason in the quarterback department have limited this team's ceiling. Dabo Swinney's refusal to dip into the transfer portal forced two guys out there who were not ready to play. Christopher Vizzina looked like a Group of Six quarterback before getting hurt and giving way to Tait Reynolds due to injury. Reynolds is still very much a true freshman.
On the year, Reynolds has completed 64.8 percent of his passes in five games for 816 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. There have been moments in every game where he looks like the future of the position for Clemson. However, he is a bit too turnover-prone, not a dynamic runner at all, and struggles to get the ball into the end zone. He has to grow up fast for Clemson to succeed.
He was put into a tough spot, but hopefully, his in-game experience will allow him to round into form.
Does Matt Luke's underperforming offensive line have an extra gear?
There has not been a bigger disappointment on the Clemson roster this year than the horrendous play of Matt Luke's offensive line. Despite losing four players to the NFL and not effectively replacing anyone with the transfer portal, Luke was bullish on his unit heading into the season. All it took was one pitiful game at LSU for the Clemson Family to turn on this position coach and his offensive line.
While Luke remains optimistic about this bunch, the big question is: can Clemson's offensive line become even league average during ACC play? Although Clemson has been able to run the football against less-than-stellar competition, it needs to kick it up a notch the rest of the way. The Tigers' slim chances of getting to Charlotte hinge upon it. The front five must set Reynolds up for success.
Until proven otherwise, Clemson's meager offensive line is the team's bottleneck moving forward.
Can the defensive line rise to the occasion under Tom Allen's guidance?
Although Tom Allen's defense has largely overachieved for the most part this season, the defensive line continues to bring up the rear. To be fair, this was Clemson's weakest position group coming into this season by a considerable margin. While the guys up front are giving Allen all that they can, this undermanned bunch is holding the run defense back and preventing the pass rush from taking flight.
With Darien Mayo and Champ Thompson now being listed as co-starters with Andy Burburija and Amare Adams, it has made Vic Burley little more than an afterthought. Admittedly, this quartet of Adams, Burburija, Mayo, and Thompson has put forth a commendable effort. They are doing all that they can. It is why the bulk of Allen's focus should be on improving his biggest constraint defensively.
The good news for him is the back seven of the Clemson defense has gotten better in every game.
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