Injury to top weapon makes life even harder for Clemson

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have got to be feeling the pressure right now.

They're 3-4 after a loss to SMU on Saturday, and high-profile college football analysts like Paul Finebaum are saying that Swinney has lost his championship touch.

Clemson is certainly out of the College Football Playoff race, but there's a world where the Tigers lose a few more heartbreakers this season. Remember, Troy played them tough in Week 2, and three of the Tigers' four losses have come against unranked teams.

Things have also gotten harder for Clemson with an injury to its top pass-catcher this season, sophomore wide receiver Bryant Wesco Jr.

Wesco was fielding a punt in the 35-24 loss to SMU when he was hit low, which caused him to flip up in the air and ultimately land directly onto his head and neck. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound receiver was able to jog off the field after the play, but he never made it back onto the field and was taken to the hospital with a back injury.

On Monday, Swinney relayed that Wesco will be out for the remainder of the season after that scary moment. He also elaborated on it.

"It was a very, very scary injury, and the doctors did an amazing job," Swinney said, according to Andrea Adelson of ESPN.

If there's any good news coming out of this situation, it's that Wesco's young and promising football career should continue after this upcoming offseason.

"The doctors are very confident he'll make a full recovery," Swinney said. "Definitely something that'll keep him out the rest of this season, but thankful that all indications are he's going to be OK. Just a real blessing for that."

Clemson could be in trouble without Wesco

While that's great news for Wesco's future, it's not great news for Clemson's present.

From Midlothian, Texas, Wesco has been one of Clemson's only bright spots this season. He's been quarterback Cade Klubnik's favorite target, and he'll finish this season with 31 catches for 537 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 17.3 yards per catch.

If you were to extrapolate his current statistical pace over the remaining five games on Clemson's regular season schedule, he was on pace for 53 catches, 921 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a freshman, he finished with 41 receptions for 708 yards and five touchdowns.

A player of Wesco's caliber won't be easily replaced for the rest of this season, and there are several big games left on Clemson's schedule. That includes games against Florida State and No. 19 Louisville over the next two weeks.