Dabo Swinney was right, His mid-week rant was on target. We should stop treating Clemson differently. 

Let’s stop pretending the Tigers deserve to be held to a certain standard, like an Alabama, Ohio State or Georgia. Clearly, this program doesn’t warrant that. It can’t even dominate the underwhelming ACC anymore. 

It has shown itself to be mediocre. The days of contending for national championships are a distant memory. Clemson fans should be happy for winning seasons, and they may not even get that this fall. Cherish 2015-19, when the Tigers reached the title game four times and won it all twice.

That was the point the thin-skinned Swinney was making this week, right? Or was he just chafing at criticism? Unable to deal with the notion, Clemson has been trending the wrong way for a few years now, and this team, which had a whopping 11 players selected to the All-ACC preseason team, so far looks like the most disappointing in the sport.