Dabo Swinney is no stranger to big games, or to people doubting his team.
Clemson football is now inside a week until their season-opening tilt against the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta in the Aflac Kick-off Game. Slated for 12 noon next Saturday, the #14 ranked Tigers will face the #1 ranked Bulldogs as a massive two-touchdown underdog. Something that does not matter to Dabo.
“(Rankings don’t matter) a lot other than, you know, there’s people that like to make projections and things like that,” said Swinney. “But in my experience, we’ve been unranked and won the league (ACC), we’ve been ranked 12th and went all the way to the national championship, and we’ve been ranked high and didn’t finish as well. So, you know, it’s fun and creates conversation and buzz about the upcoming season and everybody’s excited about it, but in college football it’s all about where you are in November and December.”
Dabo Swinney
Swinney has been a part of countless big games on the national stage in his Clemson head coaching tenure which began 16 years ago in 2008. Under his leadership, the Tigers rose as a national power and blueblood program. Even after so much time, Swinney still gets pumped up for matchups like this year’s opener.
“First of all, you’re excited just to play,” he said. “In our world, unlike baseball or basketball where you play every day or every other day, in football you might have 15, 16, 17 days out of a year that you actually get to play the game that you spent all this time working, preparing, and training for. It’s always exciting to get that first game, then you throw in the fact that you’re playing in a kick-off classic at a neutral site in a great venue like Mercedes-Benz, and by the way, you’re playing the number one team in the nation, you better believe that adds a little spice to it. It’s a lot of fun”
Dabo Swinney
Atlanta is, of course, in close proximity and driving distance of both Clemson and Georgia, and Coach Swinney sees a benefit of playing a neutral site game to start a season. The Tigers are no stranger, perse, to playing the opener in Atlanta. In 2008, Clemson faced Alabama and lost. They have also faced Auburn in the same game and won. It places the Tigers back on a very visible national stage and they are ready to put any negative perceptions about the state of their program to rest.
“Eyeballs, a lot of TV sets tuned in,” said a smiling Swinney. “A lot of viewers. People love college football. You can just track college football in general and you can get some of the craziest matchups and people still will watch. You throw in two teams that have won more national championships than anybody, we’ve won two national championships in the last eight years and (Georgia has) as well, and then it’s Clemson/Georgia that are about 80 miles apart with a lot of history, a lot of tradition, you best believe a lot of people are going to tune in to watch that one.”
Dabo Swinney
Dabo added, “It’s great for college football. It’s a great stage. It’s a big-time matchup early on. Obviously, the team that wins the game can create a lot of momentum early on.”
Ultimately, playing in big, neutral site, kick-off showcase games is about facing a challenge. Clemson will face no bigger challenge than they will next Saturday against the Bulldogs. For Swinney, it is about undertaking a proverbial litmus test to see where his team stands. A close game, win or lose, and you would expect the Tigers to have a great season.
For Swinney and Clemson, there is a desire, even if understated, to show the country that Clemson football has not gone anywhere and are still a threat to win it all.
“It’s a challenge,” Swinney added. “When you go and play games like this, you put yourself out there. But I think that’s how you teach. That’s how you expose your team to what it takes to win at the highest level. We’ve been to four national championships, six college football play-offs, we’ve won this league seven out of the last nine years, are the second winningest team in the country the last 13 years, us and Alabama, and I believe a big part of that is how we’ve scheduled over the years.”
Dabo Swinney
Clemson and Georgia will kick-off at noon next Saturday, August 31st, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA on ESPN immediately following the conclusion of College Game Day.
