CLEMSON – The Clemson offense went on a rollercoaster ride in the first six games. With the injection of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, it’s taken some time to fully perfect his system for the Tigers.

Things started poorly, mustering just seven points in the season opener. In the next two weeks, it wasn’t a complete performance but Clemson scored 66 then 48. This momentum carried into solid offensive outings against Florida State and Syracuse.

Taking the next turn on the ride, the Tigers never found a real rhythm against Wake Forest, but came out with the win. 437.3 yards and 36.2 points per game sounds really good, but it’s partially inflated. This team also clearly expects more of themselves.

Quarterback Cade Klubnik’s connection with Riley is crucial, and the time off presents extra opportunity. During the bye, Klubnik plans to get with his coordinator and talk about how the offense can hit its stride consistently.

“I’ll probably go back and watch the first six games and watch myself and see what did I get better at and what do I still need to improve. I’m going to try to meet with Coach Riley and kind of take a whole reset and look back at what we’ve done,” Klubnik said.

Beyond what the team can improve as a whole, Klubnik’s seen it in himself. From a turnover-happy start to the season to a poised quarterback with many ways to beat you. Against the Demon Deacons and Orange, we saw his legs. Against the lesser opponents, we saw him let loose downfield.

It’s all part of a picture that Klubnik is trying to shape into one, and the time is now.

“I feel like I’ve seen myself get better every week in certain categories,” Klubnik said. “You look at the first two games. After that, I got all of the dumb crap out of the way in my mind…I feel like I’ve added a little bit more every single week in my mind and just put it all together in one game.”