With Clemson being ranked No. 1 in the country for a second straight week in the College Football Playoff Committee’s rankings, Deshaun Watson gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and the Tigers just being the media darling of the nation right now, few people are talking about this Saturday’s game at Syracuse.

Should that concern you Clemson fans out there?

No.

Though no one else wants to talk about Syracuse and the fact it is the Tigers’ next opponent, Clemson is very much focused on the Orange.

“They present challenges,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Offensively, they have the ability to score. They played Florida State tough into the second half in Tallahassee. They do a lot of different things.

“Because of their personnel and injuries, they have done a whole lot of motions and formations. And they have different quarterbacks. Eric Dungey is a gamer, he’s a good player. They throw the ball all over the place and they have three great wideouts. You just have to defend a whole lot with these guys.”

The Orange also has a good punt returner. Brisly Estime leads the ACC and ranks second in the country in punt returns with a 19-yard average. He returned one punt for a touchdown against Florida State two weeks ago.

“He’s a really good player. We need to punt the ball effectively and get our guys down there and leverage the ball and get him on the ground,” Swinney said. “We have done a nice job of that. We haven’t had many punt return issues. Estime is their all-purpose guy. He’s a kick return guy and a receiver. He’s a good player.”

Then there is the noise. The Carrier Dome is considered one of the loudest venues in the country and when the Orange is playing well, it is hard to hear.

“Well we need to manage the noise up there. It is loud because it’s indoors and they are right on top of you,” Swinney said. “It’s similar to NC State, but there’s a roof. So that’s the biggest thing.

“They are a prideful bunch at home. They haven’t had the type of year that they wanted to have, but they have had a ton of injuries and these guys play hard. There is no lack of effort.”

Syracuse is 3-2 at home this year. The losses have come to No. 9 LSU by 10 points and a last-second defeat to Pittsburgh.

“We know we’re going to have to play well,” Swinney said. “They are 3-2 at home. They’re a tough team and have a tough crowd.

“They had a close loss to LSU and then a three-point loss to Pittsburgh at home. We need to continue to do what we do and get our self mentally and physically ready to play our best game of the season.”

And with the ACC Atlantic Division already wrapped up, don’t worry about Clemson not having anything to play for.

“We are just going to focus on ourselves and try to continue to get better. We haven’t played our best football yet and we’re still a team that’s improving,” Swinney said.

“It’s a huge opportunity for our seniors. If we can find a way to win the game they will have the most ACC wins (27) of any senior group here. We have a chance to get our tenth win for the fifth year in a row (something only 14 other programs have done). We just need to stay dialed in and keep our lives simple and keep the structure in place.”