Despite having dropped two of its first five games, members of the Clemson football team fully believe there is a lot still to play for.

After last week’s 41-13 loss to fourth-ranked Miami, the Tigers are 3-2 and have the weekend off. While the final result against the Hurricanes was certainly lopsided, this loss was much different than the season-opening defeat at LSU. Against Miami, Clemson competed and was actually within striking distance until late in the third quarter.

A big part of that was the play of the defense, with veteran linebacker Sammy Brown noting there’s been a lot of growth on that side of the ball since thaty 51-10 drubbing suffered at the hands of LSU.

“Even going from last year to this year — the beginning of the season to where we are now — I am really happy with how we have grown as a defense,” Brown said. “And we are not a complete unit, but the improvement that we have made this year is very encouraging.”

The Tigers have already played the two hardest games on the schedule. Looking ahead, none of Clemson’s remaining opponents are currently ranked, which gives the team an opportunity to finish strong.

“I am excited for the rest of the season,” Brown added. “I think we have a chance to be very good. I am excited for our team, I am excited for how we have grown as an entire team through this whole year. And I think the toughness that we have displayed in these first five games is a reflection of what we have done through the whole offseason. What we did in the offseason has set us up to have an exciting rest of the year.”

Of course, that has been the message from head coach Dabo Swinney, seeing as all but one of the team’s preseason goals are technically still on the table at this point. The only goal not attainable now is winning the opener. The rest of the goals, which are winning the conference, winning the state and winning the closer, are all still on the table. However, the team doesn’t currently control its own destiny as far as winning the league goes. The Tigers would need some help to clinch a spot in Charlotte, plus take care of its remaining business the rest of the way in ACC play.

And Brown believes all of those goals are still realistic ones.

“He has definitely done a great job of encouraging us,” Brown said of Swinney. “He has also challenged us at the same time to, ‘Hey, if we want to do what we really want to do, we have to focus in on these little things and square out some of the details that we are leaving out,’ but at the same time, he has done a great job of just encouraging us and giving us perspective on what is still ahead.”