Clemson Football: UGA fans should be thankful for SEC bias

Many Georgia fans are upset about Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney’s comments, but they should be thankful for SEC bias.

Dabo Swinney came out firing after leading Clemson football to a 38-3 win over in-state rival South Carolina.

His comments had nothing to do with the Gamecocks, the rivalry, or anything pertaining to the game Saturday afternoon. Instead, Swinney answered a question having to do with national relevance and it caught many off-guard.

Swinney pointed out the bias from the CFB Playoff committee when it comes to the SEC. He pointed out how Clemson football had to go undefeated to make the playoff, but Georgia could still be ranked inside the top-four despite losing a game to the Gamecocks at home earlier in the season.

Perhaps the most telling sign to back up Swinney’s point is the narrative that was placed on the two teams following the lowest point of their respective seasons:

• When Clemson beat UNC by one point on the road- a team that beat South Carolina, by the way- the media narrative was that something was wrong with the Tigers and there were actually analysts saying that Clemson football could go undefeated and still miss the CFB Playoff.
• When Georgia lost to South Carolina at home against the Gamecocks’ third-string quarterback, the narrative the following day was how the Bulldogs weren’t eliminated from the CFB Playoff contention and how the path to the playoff was just as clear as before.

Why? Because they play in the ‘vaunted SEC.’

UGA fans took exception to Dabo Swinney’s comments, but they missed the point: Swinney wasn’t calling out Georgia, he was calling out the media and the Bulldogs were just an example.

However, Georgia fans should be thankful for the SEC bias. Instead of getting angry at Swinney, you should be thanking the CFB Playoff committee that they look fondly upon your program.

Though Bulldog fans want to pretend that Clemson’s schedule is a ‘cakewalk,’ they already lost a game to a team on the Tigers’ schedule. Guess what? If you were in the ACC, the game you are playing this weekend wouldn’t matter at all because you’d already be eliminated from CFB Playoff contention with your ‘weak schedule.’

You have no room for error if you play Clemson’s schedule. If you’re in the SEC, though, you’re guaranteed a built-in loss.

Let’s not pretend that Clemson would struggle with Georgia’s schedule, either. The Bulldogs play in the SEC East, which has one formidable team outside of the Bulldogs, in Florida. Georgia played Texas A&M (so did Clemson) and Auburn out of the SEC West and nearly lost that one.

Honestly, there’s no guarantee that Georgia would go undefeated in ACC play, considering they lost a game to South Carolina- a team that went 0-2 against ACC teams.

This post isn’t to say that the ACC is strong. This post is to point out that there is an extreme amount of SEC bias that exists in the national media and the CFB Playoff committee. And UGA fans should be thankful for it.

Without the notoriety of their conference name to fall back on, they’d likely be sitting behind Utah and Oklahoma in the race for the final spot in the CFB Playoff.