4 uncomfortable truths Dabo Swinney must take ownership of during Clemson's bye week

You are what your record says you are. With the Clemson Tigers being at 3-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play through the first five weeks of the season, they have lived up to relatively soft expectations, and nothing more. On paper, Clemson was supposed to beat Georgia Southern, North Carolina, and Cal, which the Tigers did. They were also so up against it versus LSU and Miami, and boy, were they ever!

Now that the Tigers are entering their bye week, Dabo Swinney needs to stop gassing up the fan base and be honest with himself about a handful of pertinent issues. Clemson is not as bad of a team as it looked on Saturday night against Miami, nor as putrid as it played at LSU during Labor Day Weekend. Conversely, this team may not be as gutsy as it was versus Georgia Southern, North Carolina, or Cal.

With a free week to honestly assess some ongoing problems and concerns, Swinney must own them.

Matt Luke's toothless offensive line is undeniably Clemson's bottleneck

If Clemson is improving like Swinney says it is, then how do we describe what we are seeing out of Matt Luke's wet paper bag of an offensive line? This was supposed to be an area of strength for the offense. Not only is it not in the same stratosphere as the team's elite receiving corps, but it is the one bottleneck Swinney and his staff might not be able to solve. The front five is this team's Achilles' heel.

Adam Litchenstein of the South Florida Sun Sentinel shared super early on Sunday morning that "The Hurricanes had 34 quarterback pressures against Clemson on Saturday. Damon Wilson II led the way with 11." With Clemson trying to get the most out of true freshman starting quarterback Tait Reynolds, he cannot have a front five that looks like it belongs playing in The American. It is pathetic.

At this juncture, there may not be a single piece along the Clemson offensive line that is competent.

Ashton Hampton is the leader of this defense, and not Sammy Brown

This is not what Swinney envisioned. While Ashton Hampton is clearly the most talented player on this Clemson team, he may be more of a leader than linebacker Sammy Brown. This is not meant to disparage Brown and the type of game he brings to the table. It is all about Hampton's talent and his voice in the secondary. Frankly, this team seems to ride and die with him more so than anyone else.

While Brown and Hampton are both tacticians at their respective positions, Hampton's game pops far more within the context of play. Brown is still able to get his numbers, but you rarely hear his name mentioned much on any broadcast. For Clemson to be the best team it can be this year, it has to start with the thermostat on their defense. Brown can tell you the temperature, but Hampton can change it.

Clemson's remarkable turnaround in the back end of its defense is due in large part to Hampton's rise.

Gideon Davidson is only as productive as Chad Morris allows for him to be

Although there were many ways Clemson could have lost that game to Miami, the only pathway to victory for the Tigers coming in required another incredible game out of Gideon Davidson. After looking the part versus North Carolina and Cal, Davidson regressed to LSU form. He only had seven carries for 25 yards and a garbage time touchdown. Chad Morris only gave him the ball eight times...

Nobody deserves to be chastised more for what happened on Saturday night from a Clemson perspective than Morris. He looked like a fish out of water as a play caller, with the game passing him by even more so with each and every passing second. While Reynolds is improving and the receiving corps seems to be on point now, Davidson is the straw that stirs the drink for this team on offense.

If Davidson gets fewer than 20 touches in a game, there is almost no chance that Clemson is winning.

Vic Burley needs to be the player he was meant to be after the bye week

If Swinney wants to remain stubborn about certain things, that is his prerogative. However, Clemson's run defense this season has been almost as bad as the collective effort its offensive line puts forth every week. While it has been beyond pulling teeth for Swinney to get Vic Burley back into the thick of things in the defensive line rotation, there are no excuses for him to not be a part of it after the bye.

Yes, the ongoing Burley frustrations are maddening, but Swinney is doing a disservice to his entire team by not playing his best defensive lineman. While Amare Adams, Andy Burburija, and Champ Thompson have been trying their best over the last five games, this unit deserves the boost it needs. Not to say the mercurial Burley can provide that, but Clemson is slowly losing grip of its season now.

The easiest way for Swinney to improve Tom Allen's defense is to let Burley be a bigger part of it.

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