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I don’t regret anything: Dabo Swinney not backing down from his Coaches Poll ranking of Ohio State

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Well, Dabo Swinney isn’t going to retroactively adjust his Coaches Poll ranking of Ohio State, even if the Buckeyes did just roll his Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl.

On Friday, Ryan Day led his Ohio State squad to a masterful performance against Clemson. Despite many national analysts not giving much of a shot to the Buckeyes, star quarterback Justin Fields provided a performance for the ages in the massive upset.

After the game, Swinney was asked about his decision to rank Ohio State at No. 11 on his final Coaches Poll ballot. Though Swinney explained his ranking was solely based on the Buckeyes not playing more than six games, it certainly ruffled some feathers and provided an extra bit of motivation for Ohio State.

That’s the reality of the situation, even if Swinney doesn’t regret his ranking, which he indicated after the game:

“No, I don’t regret any of that,” said Swinney. “The polls have nothing to do with motivating, both teams were highly motivated to play…I don’t have any regret about that, the only thing I regret is I didn’t do a good enough job getting my team ready.”

While Swinney believes he didn’t add any fuel to the fire, it is likely the Buckeyes feel quite differently. Either way, Swinney was trolled and trolled hard for that poll as Ohio State rolled in New Orleans.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.