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Clemson football: Dabo Swinney is right for not wanting to wait on Big Ten

By Shawn Spencer

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 13: Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney addresses the crowd during the "March for Change" protest at Bowman Field on June 13, 2020 in Clemson, South Carolina. The protests were in response to the death of George Floyd, an African American, while in the custody of the Minneapolis police. Protests calling for an end to police brutality have spread across cities in the U.S., and in other parts of the world. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 13: Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney addresses the crowd during the "March for Change" protest at Bowman Field on June 13, 2020 in Clemson, South Carolina. The protests were in response to the death of George Floyd, an African American, while in the custody of the Minneapolis police. Protests calling for an end to police brutality have spread across cities in the U.S., and in other parts of the world. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t want to wait for the Big Ten, Pac-12

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney met with the media Thursday evening and was asked about the potential of waiting on the Big Ten and Pac-12 to determine a CFB Playoff field.

Following the announcement by both the Big Ten and Pac-12 that the two conferences would be postponing their seasons with eyes on playing in the spring, things have changed immensely in the last couple of weeks and both conferences are beginning to walk back their comments.

While it’s not likely that either conference returns to action before November- though one can never be sure about anything in 2020- there has been talk among media analysts about what would happen if the two conferences returned later this fall, rather than in the winter or spring.

Some have speculated that the CFB Playoff could push its dates back to mid-to-late January and that we could see the two conferences included in a season that would see the National Championship end in February.

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney isn’t a big fan of that plan, though

Asked about his thoughts on waiting on the Big Ten and Pac-12, Swinney said he wouldn’t be in favor of pushing the season’s end date back that far into the winter/early spring.

"“No. No, no,” Swinney said. “We are ready to roll. That would be something I would not be in favor for. I’m all in favor of them playing. I would love for them to play, that would be great. I think the testing is a great opportunity for everyone for sure, but it would be kind of hard to start in November and then get in there.We wouldn’t want to push the season into February and all of that stuff. We are going to push forward and if something changes, it changes. But that is where we are right now.”"

While some along the West Coast, Midwest and Northeast won’t like Swinney’s comments, the truth of the matter is that he’s right.

Why would any program in the ACC, SEC or Big 12– or even the American or C-USA, for that matter- be in favor of the CFB Playoff being pushed back to include two conferences that made the decision to postpone and then turned around and attempted to put pressure on the other conferences to follow their lead.

The Big Ten has been completely void of leadership to this point and the other conferences simply aren’t going to trust them- even if they say that they are going to play a season. What if the Big Ten sets a start date for the first weekend of November and then two weeks out decides it’s going to cancel/postpone again? Then, all of a sudden, the CFB Playoff has been moved back to include conferences that, again, aren’t playing.

If the Big Ten or Pac-12 want to be included in the CFB Playoff, then they need to reverse course and plan to start their season in mid-October, or even shorten their season and start in late-October or early-November. Then, they’d be able to complete a season- even if it’s only eight games- and be involved in the CFB Playoff selection process, though they likely won’t be considered over an SEC, Big 12 or ACC team that has 10 games under their belt.

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Clemson football, as well as the other programs and conferences around the country, doesn’t want to cater to the Big Ten anymore and that’s being seen big-time among those conferences who are moving forward with a season currently.

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