CLEMSON – Painted shop windows, solid orange Fridays and cooler weather means one thing in Clemson– football season.

And for the last five weeks, it’s been all football in the Upstate of South Carolina.

The Tigers (3-2, 2-1 ACC) have played games in five consecutive weeks to start off their regular season, most recently traveling to play California in Berkeley before embarking on a cross-country trip back home to take on No. 4 Miami at Memorial Stadium.

Now, after a 41-13 loss at the hands of the Hurricanes, Clemson players and coaches get some much needed rest, especially since their busy season during fall camp began far before their first kickoff in Baton Rouge, La., just over a month ago.

“We need some rest,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’ve been going since August 1 or whenever it was. We’ve been wide open and we’ve had some weird games and late starts and a little bit of everything.”

To Swinney’s point, the Tigers started the season playing in three consecutive games affected by weather delays, amounting to more than six hours spent waiting in a locker room. Against Cal, the first non-delayed game, they did not get much of a respite– kicking off at nearly 11 p.m. Eastern time. It marked the first time since 1951 that Clemson played four of its first five games at night.

Along with some grueling travel and time changes, the Tigers are also currently dealing with several injuries during the open week. Some date back to spring and fall practices, like defensive tackle Kourtney Kelly’s ACL tear, while others, like nickleback Corian Gipson’s meniscus injury, were sustained during the first five games.

These are some serious examples of current Tiger ailments, but many other Clemson players are also dealing with the expected bumps and bruises that come in any football season. The free week will give these athletes time to recover and help other players stay in their best game shape and health.

“You got to make sure you stay conditioned because a lot of a lot of guys want to completely relax on these types of weeks, and I don’t think that’s the smartest thing to do,” wide receiver Tyler Brown said. “You want to keep your conditioning up while also being smart about your body, listen to your body on these types of weeks. You want to just spend extra time in the treatment room, in the (wellness) castle, just getting extra treatment, massage guns, and just staying up to date with all that stuff.” 

According to the players, though, the open date will not just serve as a time to get healthy, but also as a time to assess individual performances through five games and hone in on important details ahead of the second half of the season.

For defensive end Will Heldt, Clemson’s leader in sacks and tackles for loss, this means singling out a few, specific areas of growth to focus on before the Tigers’ second stretch of competition.

 “I feel like we know we’re in a good spot, but we also know that we’re not where we need to be,” Heldt said. “I think it’s a good time for everybody to look and find those two, three, four things that you know what you specifically need to do to get better. You can’t focus on doing somebody else’s job or trying to see a bigger picture than you know what you can control. So, I think it’ll be a good reset for us.” 

Above maybe everything, the bye week will allow Clemson players to disconnect from full days spent on the practice fields behind the Allen N. Reeves Football Facility, at least this weekend.

In the meantime, Heldt plans on going home to Indiana to see his family and fiancée. Brown, as mentioned, looks forward to time spent in the Facility’s 100-yards of Wellness. And for linebacker Sammy Brown, an off week means it is time to take advantage of deer hunting season.

“I’m trying to figure out where I want to go, but I’ll definitely be in the woods,” the junior said.

In the days directly following Brown’s hunt, the Tigers will get back on the prowl as they prepare to take on Charleston Southern at Memorial Stadium next Saturday.