Syracuse head coach Fran Brown isn’t paying much attention to Clemson’s 1-2 record.

Brown, who is now in his second full season with the Orange, sounded very similar to Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney during his weekly press conference on Monday, noting that the Tigers are just one or two plays away from being 3-0.

“I think they are a good football team,” Brown said. “They could easily be 3-0. It’s a couple of plays. They could easily be 3-0. They can easily still be talked about as one of the better teams in the country, and I think that is who they are.”

After beginning the season ranked inside the Top 5, Clemson has now fallen completely out of the AP Top 25 after its 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech as time expired. While the Tigers may be experiencing some early-season struggles on the offensive side of the ball, what Brown sees is a team littered with talent that just has yet to play up to its potential.

“They got one of the better coaches and teams,” Brown added. “I mean, they got (Adam) Randall at running back. (Gideon) Davidson at running back. Those receivers. They are loaded on offense. And then Cade (Klubnik) to go with all of those guys. I am excited to go compete against those guys. Those are some good football players.”

When Brown was asked about Clemson’s defensive line, the head coach went into full Swinney mode, calling out numbers rather than names. Brown specifically referenced Peter Woods, DeMonte Capehart, TJ Parker, Will Heldt and Stephiylan Green, while raving about the entire front seven.

“They’re ——- nice,” Brown said, breaking into a smile. “11, 90, 19, they are ridiculous. Especially 11. I like 11 a lot. I think he is a good player. They are good. Really good. I can’t wait to play against them just to see where we are. Offensive line going to compete their butts off, but they’re nice. 13. There’s a bunch of them. They probably got one of the better front sevens in the country. They do a good job. Watching them on tape, you’re like damn.”

Clemson opened as a 16.5-point favorite, and it has now moved to 17.5 points over the past two days. That is a challenge Brown is welcoming with open arms.

“I don’t care what Vegas says,” Brown said. “I don’t really pay attention to that. I am not allowed to gamble. I like being the underdog. I have been the underdog my whole life.”

Photo by Brett Davis-Imagn Images