Ralph Russo of The Athletic spent several days in Clemson before and after covering the Tigers' comeback win over North Carolina.

Russo is trying to wrap his mind around the complicated questions surrounding legendary coach Dabo Swinney if this season ends up being more of the same after last year's six-loss disaster.

Can Clemson still be a national contender? Is Swinney's roster management a hindrance to that aspiration?

Will Clemson be a regular contender for the ACC championship, or does the current reality for the Tigers point more toward them being middle of the pack?

Lots of questions that are hard to answer through three games, but Russo believes the next couple months in Tigertown are going to be very interesting.

Before joining The Athletic, Russo spent 20 years as the lead national college football writer for The Associated Press. He also previously worked as the AP's Mississippi-based sports writer and did a stint with The Denver Post.

Ralph is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Fordham University.

For the past two years Ellis Johnson has lived in the Clemson area to be closer to his son Charlie, a tight end on the Tigers' football team.

Johnson has some thoughts about this Clemson team as it sits 3-1 with a major challenge against Miami on Saturday night in Death Valley.

The team's two biggest obstacles right now, in Johnson's mind:

Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds learning on the job, and an interior defensive line that hasn't supplied the disruption and pressure that is needed to have a consistently high-level defense.

"I think Miami has to help Clemson for them to have a shot," he said. "There's that much difference in the way the two teams are playing right now. I do think Clemson is capable of winning. But they have to do something to help Tait Reynolds. They have to run the football, and then they have to be careful with what they ask him to do. And they have to get some takeaways on defense."

Johnson was an assistant coach at Alabama in the early 1990s when Dabo Swinney played there. He then moved on to Clemson to work for Tommy West from 1994-96.

Johnson was South Carolina's defensive coordinator under Steve Spurrier from 2008 to 2011.

Terrence Oglesby recently signed a two-year extension with ESPN, putting himself a step closer to his dream of being the top college basketball television analyst.

The former Clemson guard under Oliver Purnell is expected to make at least 35 appearances for the network with his assignments split roughly 50/50 between studio shows and game coverage.

All told, Oglesby is expected to make more than 60 appearances across ESPN, Field of 68, and the Charlotte Hornets this season.

He's come a long way since getting paid in hot dogs to broadcast Division II basketball games at Anderson University.

Oglesby also gives his thoughts on this week's news that Zac Foster suffered a re-torn ACL during a weekend scrimmage against College of Charleston.

Oglesby believes this is still a team capable of reaching the NCAA Tournament, even if Dillon Hunter isn't eligible.

Last week, David Hale of ESPN published a comprehensive -- and rather scathing -- deep dive into the current state of Dabo Swinney's football program.

Hale's article painted the picture of a program headed in the wrong direction.

An excerpt:

Clemson's downfall is not the result of one clear failure, according to more than a half dozen coaches, agents and pundits who spoke with ESPN about the program's status. Instead, it has been a death by a few dozen cuts. At the center of all of them, however, is the same culprit: Swinney's refusal to adapt -- or worse, to admit there's a problem.

One source close to the program called Swinney's approach "stubborn," and lamented the coach's regular rebuffs of criticism, instead insisting the team was "just a few plays away" or offering reminders that Clemson made the playoff -- as the 12 seed -- just two years ago.

"It's like there's nothing wrong [to him]," the source said.

Or, as an opposing coach noted: "If you don't know the problems, you can't find solutions."

Hale joins the podcast to discuss his reporting for the article and whether he's received any blowback from Clemson folks over the last week.

And with the Tigers at 3-1, he also frets about a "Dabo was right" butt tattoo he promised if Clemson finishes 11-1 as Swinney said was still possible after a 41-point humiliation against LSU.

ESPN's Tom Luginbill, long a respected voice in college football, recently visited Clemson and watched the entirety of an August-camp practice.

He came away impressed with what he saw and heard.

Luginbill says there is a different edge to Dabo Swinney in the wake of last season's six-loss debacle that came nowhere close to the Top 5 expectations just about everyone had -- including Swinney himself.

Luginbill is also high on Clemson's offensive line. He says quarterback Christopher Vizzina is managing the offense crisply, and he loves the dynamic that freshman Tait Reynolds can bring with his size, arm strength and ability to run the ball.

Luginbill believes this team is every bit capable of getting back to Charlotte, challenging for an ACC title and landing in the College Football Playoff.

Roddy Jones recently spent time at Clemson's football facility visiting with Dabo Swinney and others.

Jones is high on this team's chances of getting back to the ACC championship game, but he still senses uncertainty after last year's six-loss disaster.

"I think they think they're good," said the ESPN analyst and SiriusXM Radio co-host. "But I don't know if they know they're good yet. And I understand how that feels as a player. You wouldn't say this out loud, but LSU is going to prove to them that they're good or it will confirm some doubts they have. I think it's a team that's cautiously confident."

Jones played A-back for Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson from 2008 to 2011. He ranks first in the school's record books in career games started (52), third in career games played (52) and 12th in career rushing yards (1,846).

Jon Blau has been in Baton Rouge for two months. It feels more like 10 months.

Seems there's a new controversy every other day involving Lane Kiffin and LSU football. Blau's job is to follow it all in his new position covering Kiffin's program for The Advocate/Times-Picayune newspaper.

Blau, who spent the previous five years covering Clemson for The Post and Courier of Charleston, shares why he decided to make the move.

He also shares that he hasn't had an introduction to Kiffin because Kiffin isn't much for one-on-one conversations. Quite the change-up from the always approachable Dabo Swinney.

Blau has spent years covering games in one Death Valley. This Saturday he'll get his first experience in LSU's Death Valley when Kiffin plays host to Swinney.

Once upon a time, Clemson was preparing for a game against LSU and not many folks gave the Tigers a chance.

Eric Mac Lain was a player then, back in December of 2012, and he remembers how a brutal few weeks of bowl practices ended up giving Clemson the mental and physical toughness to hang with Les Miles' powerhouse program.

The 25-24 triumph will always go down as one of the landmark breakthroughs of the Dabo Swinney era.

"We went into that game wondering who we were and what we were about, and then we decided to kick the door down," Mac Lain said.

Is a similar breakthrough possible Saturday night in Baton Rouge?

Mac Lain thinks so, and he explains why in a return visit to The Clemson Dubcast.