Clemson’s defensive line is among the top 3 in the country. We thought we knew that and it was confirmed Monday night during the 41-10 victory against against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The rest of the defense isn’t too bad, either. And the special teams added 2 blocked punts.

The offense on the other hand … it continues to be a work in progress.

It’s easy to place all the blame for the disjointed offense on D.J. Uiagalelei. He’s the quarterback and he’s a former 5-star prospect. But Uiagalelei is never going to be what Clemson fans want him to be. He’s not the next coming of Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson. Those were 2 once-a-decade type of quarterback talents that Clemson was lucky enough to get for a span of 6 of 7 years.

Uiagalelei has talent. He can throw the ball down the field and physically he looks so much better than he did a year ago. Hopefully the offense will play to his strengths more than try to force him into a style of play that is uncomfortable.

Can 4th-ranked Clemson win the ACC with Uiagalelei? Without a doubt.

Can Clemson get to the playoff with Uiagalelei? Maybe.

It’s not going to be pretty at times for the Tigers. It wasn’t last year, but they still managed 10 wins and the 3 losses were by a combined 23 points. They will grind out some victories that will be closer than expected through strong defense and a decent rushing game.

There are some good signs on offense, too. Running back Will Shipley looks just as fast and explosive as ever, and Beaux Collins looks like a legitimate top receiver.

It’s hard to take too much out of Week 1. There’s no need to be a hot take machine. Miami probably is a year away. Florida State is probably 3 years away. N.C. State needed some breaks to survive the opening week and the Wolfpack has to show it can handle the pressure of being on the favorites in the conference.

Pittsburgh is going to be tougher than expected and this week’s game against Tennessee will give us all a better idea of what the ceiling is for the Panthers this year. Wake Forest has to survive half the season without Sam Hartman.

Clemson, as imperfect as it might be, still is the team to beat in this conference.