CLEMSON — Clemson is off to its worst start in 21 years, so it would be irresponsible to think head coach Dabo Swinney is not trying to do something about it.

One of the things he is doing is challenging his coaching staff.

It has been well documented that the Tigers have looked poor at times in their 1-3 start. They seemed unprepared, undisciplined and are not executing the simplest of tasks, such as blocking, tackling and catching the football.

“There are always challenges,” offensive coordinator Garrett Riley said. “We are big boys.”

It is not one person, one coach, one position group or one unit that is the problem, it’s the entire team. As Swinney has said, they are not playing complimentary football.

“We just can’t seem to get on the same page and play complimentary football,” Swinney said. “We can’t seem to get it altogether. We kinda work against each other.”

The first two games of the season, the Clemson offense worked against the defense in a loss to LSU and then a performance against Troy, that did end up as a come-from-behind victory.

The last two weeks, the offense has played better, but the defense has not been able to get off the field or force turnovers in losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

The end result is a 1-3 record and the worst start to a season since 2004.

“Everyone is going to get challenged,” Riley said. “We have to rise to the occasion and find a way.”

Luckily, for the Tigers, they have a week off to try and figure things out before heading to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina on Oct. 4.

“A lot of it is just playing loose, playing free and playing within our system and trusting one another,” Riley said. “Just doing that on game day. If we would just do that, as I see it in practice, as I look back at last season, when we were playing well offensively, I think that is when we are at our best.

“Even through the struggles, even through the tough times of right now, I think it just always kind of comes back to that, just going out playing confidently and playing loose and trusting one another. I think when we do that, you create more fun, you create more opportunities for everybody, and I think you can get into a rhythm more consistently that way.”