Dabo Swinney wasn’t wrong, just early: Time to buy stock in suddenly lethal Clemson Tigers

Clemson failed to reach the end zone in its blowout loss to No. 2 Georgia in Week 1, and the knives immediately came out for Dabo Swinney, Garrett Riley and Cade Klubnik.

With another top-flight defense and a still toothless offense, I dubbed the Tigers “Purple and Orange Iowa.”

Well, in an ode to Aaron Rodgers, Swinney told everyone to RELAX, and in the two games since, the Tigers have been the ones sharpening their claws — mauling App. State and now NC State.

After hanging 66 on the Mountaineers, Clemson exited its bye week with a 59-35 bludgeoning of ACC-rival NC State on Saturday.

The Wolfpack stink, but teams don’t luck into hanging 45 points on even a hapless opponent before halftime.

For the second-straight game, the Tigers hit the game-total over by themselves before the end of the first half, and they became the first team in at least two decades to hold a 28-point lead after the first quarter in back-to-back games.

“Explosive. Explosive and consistent,” Dabo Swinney said about Clemson’s offense at halftime on the ABC broadcast.

“Our quarterback’s blossoming right before our eyes.”

From bud (or bust) to a rose in less than a month.

Remarkable.

Klubnick’s in-season turnaround has been stunning. After struggling as a first-year starter in 2023, the former 5-star looked unplayable at times in Week 1 against Georgia — akin to Bryce Young for the Carolina Panthers bad.