Dabo Swinney probably wishes he could take his vote and comments back about Ohio State.
The Clemson Tigers head coach made major headlines when he ranked Ohio State No. 11 in the country in his final Coaches’ Poll ballot.
“Obviously, they’re a great team. They’re plenty good enough and talented enough to beat us and good enough to win the national championship. But in my opinion, I don’t think that it’s right that three teams have to play 13 games to win it all and one team has to play eight. What universe am I living in? And it has nothing to with them.
It was about qualifying. And I didn’t think they were qualified, based on the number of games, versus all these other teams. … In my opinion — Texas A&M, Florida, Oklahoma, Cincinnati — they got punished for playing more games,” Swinney said.
His ranking and words came back to bite him as the Buckeyes destroyed his squad on Friday, 49-28, in the Sugar Bowl.
Following the game, Justin Fields was asked about Swinney’s ranking:
“I’m not even gonna comment about that,” Fields told ESPN. “I’m just glad we won.”
Fields let his play do all the talking as he burned the Tigers for 385 yards and six touchdowns. The Buckeyes will advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game to face No. 1 Alabama on Monday, Jan. 11.
