CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson coach Dabo Swinney advised anyone who would listen to him to invest in his team last fall after the Tigers won five games in a row after early struggles.

It won’t be long before we see if Swinney’s recent boast holds up. For now, Swinney is pleased with how his team handled things and is now heading into a season where they’ll once again look to compete for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the College Football Playoff.

Swinney said his boys showed chemistry, leadership and accountability, understanding and not repeating the mistakes that got them off to a 4-4 start and dashed their title hopes.

“All of those things check all the boxes,” Swinney said. “Now we’ve got to go out there, do the work, get better and find a way to win some games on the field.”

Clemson’s season will likely again be determined by the first few weeks. 14th-placed Tigers The opening game will be in Atlanta against No. 1 Georgia, the 2021 and 2022 national champions. Three weeks later, Clemson will host No. 24 North Carolina State, and two weeks after that, the Tigers will travel to No. 10 Florida State.

Win them all and Swinney will look like a genius chasing another national title. Lose them all and the questions about Swinney’s leadership will continue to mount, just as they did a year ago. as a call from “Tyler from Spartanburg” on Swinney’s radio show sparked a loud defense of his program and may have been the catalyst for the team’s final rally.

Swinney attributed it all to poor decisions and turnovers, which Clemson has reduced during its last five wins. The Tigers caused the mistakes at the end instead of making them, and Swinney hopes it continues that way at the beginning.

Klubnik’s growth

Quarterback Cade Klubnik was a focal point for mistakes and poor decisions in his first full season as a starter. In addition to 12 interceptions, he had a costly fumble in an overtime loss to Florida State and failed on fourth down — while trying to make a run on his own — in an overtime loss to Miami.

Klubnik believes that his second season as a starter and in the system of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley will pay dividends.

“Fewer interceptions, fewer sacks, the ability to make big plays with my legs or by throwing the ball far forward,” he said.

Deep core of the recipients

The offseason has been all about the influx of young receivers or injured players at the position coming back healthy. The result could be the strongest group of wideouts at Clemson since the school was dubbed “Wide Receiver U” in the days of Mike Williams, Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross.

Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore are the newcomers, fast, strong and able to stretch the field. Adam Randall appears to have recovered from a broken arm.

Tyler Brown, a freshman who led the team in catches and receiving yards last year, has battled lingering injuries of his own all season. And Antonio Williams, a freshman two years ago who broke through, played in just five games due to ankle and foot injuries.

Everyone looks healthy and productive.

Defensive stance

The Tigers had one of the best defenses in the country, allowing 288.2 yards per game, which ranked them eighth in the nation. Expect that to continue this season, with Barrett Carter back at linebacker and a strong line led by ends Peter Woods and TJ Parker.

Clemson will be without cornerback Nate Wiggins, who was selected in the first round of the NFL season, but will have second-year safety Khalil Barnes to lead the secondary.

Kick game

Last year, Swinney called Jonathan Weitz at the beach to return to school when kicker Robert Gunn was struggling. He hopes Gunn, who continued kicking after Weitz returned, has overcome his problems with field goals. The Tigers have signed Nolan Hauser, a freshman who is considered the best kicking talent in the country.

The schedule

Next to three ranked teams In the first six weeks, the Tigers have a Home game in October against Virginia and coach Tony Elliott, who was co-offensive coordinator on both of Swinney’s national title teams, a Nov. 2 game against Louisville and the final regular-season game at home against rival South Carolina on Nov. 30.

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