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Clemson Football: Dabo Swinney wants Notre Dame as permanent ACC member

By Shawn Spencer

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: K'Von Wallace #12 of the Clemson Tigers tackles Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: K'Von Wallace #12 of the Clemson Tigers tackles Ian Book #12 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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Dabo Swinney wants a permanent challenge for Clemson football in the ACC

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t want Notre Dame to go back as an independent after the 2020 season comes to a close.

At his weekly press conference previewing the upcoming game against Wake Forest, Swinney was asked about Notre Dame in the ACC and how much he keeps up with the conference throughout the season. On the Fighting Irish, here’s what he had to say:

"“I am happy they are in the league,” Swinney said. “Heck I wish they were a permanent member. I think that would be great.”"

Notre Dame joined the ACC as a temporary full-time member for the 2020 season following the move made by Power-5 conferences to play most conference-only games. The Fighting Irish are playing a 10-game ACC schedule- just like the other member institutions- and are eligible to compete for the ACC Championship game if they finish as one of the top two teams in the conference standings.

Clemson football would benefit from the addition of Notre Dame permanently

Having Notre Dame in the conference for just one season- during a pandemic- and then allowing the Irish to move back to their normal life after this year would be a shame on the ACC’s part.

The ACC had the most leverage it was ever going to have with Notre Dame during these negotiations and could’ve very well made a pitch to get them as a full-time member. After all, that is the ultimate goal with this partnership between the conference and the university.

We all know that the Clemson football program would benefit from having an opponent of Notre Dame’s caliber in the conference on a full-time basis. Even when the Fighting Irish aren’t good, they still bolster strength of schedule and conference perception based off of their brand alone.

Next. Takeaways from the Depth Chart 2020. dark

It will be interesting to see what happens with Notre Dame and the ACC following this football season, but Dabo Swinney and several other ACC coaches have made their desires clear: They want the Fighting Irish ‘All In.’

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