That was not his point. The point was the 2016 defense gave up 65 pts over the next 8 games (8.1 pts) before the Clemson game. Point being we got a lot better on D after that game and we can do the same this year even though this year's D is not the '16 D.There's only one problem with that example.
That team went on to give up 420 yards and 35 points to Clemson, in a loss. So that is still an ominous sign. The difference of course is how much better this year's offense appears to be, but still...