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Dabo Swinney triples down on ranking Ohio State No. 11: ‘I could probably run for governor in Michigan’
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Dabo Swinney isn’t done talking about his final coaches poll.
Last week, Swinney caused some outrage after he ranked No. 3 Ohio State at No. 11 in his final coaches poll.
Then on Saturday, he doubled down and said Ohio State didn’t qualify for his top 10 because of how few games it played.
On Monday morning, Swinney addressed his vote once again as Clemson prepares to face the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff.
“People take it personal but it’s nothing personal at all,” Swinney said on the call. “I could probably run for governor in Michigan and have a pretty good chance.”
He repeatedly said it wasn’t anything personal toward the Buckeyes.
Dabo went a good 5-6 minutes on voting Ohio State No. 11. Said it was nothing personal, just number of games played. "I could probably run for governor in Michigan and have a chance. I was not going to say, 'Let me put them here and do something I absolutely do not believe in.'"
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) December 28, 2020
Dabo on voting Ohio State No. 11 in Coaches Poll.
"I just don’t think it’s right that three teams have to play 13 games to be the champion and one team has to play eight."
And…
"It has zero to do with Ohio State."— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 28, 2020
Right off the bat, Dabo Swinney gets asked about ranking Ohio State 11th in the Coaches Poll.
“There's no doubt, Ohio State is good enough to beat us, they're good enough to beat anybody,” but decided he wouldn't rank anyone who played fewer than nine games in top 10. pic.twitter.com/JqBcr6mroO
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 28, 2020
It’s worth noting Swinney has changed his tune quite a bit since Clemson was able to cross the 10-game threshold. This quote is from Sept. 16:
Dabo on if he has problem w/ Big Ten in CFP despite less games: "Shoot, in a year like this, no. It's a crazy year. Who knows how many games anybody is going to have? You have some of the best teams & coaches in that league. It's not their fault. They've worked their butt off."
— Anna Adams (@AnnaH247) September 16, 2020
Ohio State and Clemson are getting very familiar with each other. The two played in the College Football Playoff last year, as well, with the Tigers coming out on top.
Kick off for the Sugar Bowl is at 8 p.m. ET on Jan. 1, 2021.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.