Dabo Swinney takes a shot at ESPN's College GameDay

Any time Dabo Swinney has a microphone in front of him, there's the potential for something notable to be said. That's because he's always open to saying whatever comes to mind, even if that means he's speaking hyperbolically.

On Monday night's weekly radio program, Swinney made news by throwing ESPN's flagship college football pregame show, College Gameday, under the bus in a way. That's because he intimated that the television network wanted to have this weekend's rivalry game with South Carolina moved to Friday but, according to Swinney, he wouldn't accommodate that request so GameDay decided not to head to Clemson this weekend.

"It's the highest-ranked rivalry game in the country -- how cool is that? You'd think GameDay would be here, but I think they're mad at me for not moving the game to Friday," Swinney said according to a social media post by Chapel Fowler, who reports on Clemson sports.

While we will never know if what Swinney is intimating about ESPN's desire to move the game up a day is the truth, his remarks are still a bit hyperbolic. That's because the Clemson vs. South Carolina matchup isn't the highest-ranked game of rivalry weekend.

If you go by the latest A.P. rankings, that distinction goes to Texas vs. Texas A&M. The Longhorns currently sit at No. 3 in the rankings while the Aggies are No. 20. Meanwhile, the Tigers are No. 12 and the Gamecocks are No. 16.

Average the rankings of the two games out and the teams in the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry have an average ranking of 11.5 while Clemson and USC have an average ranking of 14. Of course, that may just be splitting hairs to some and Swinney obviously views his team's game as the marquee event of rivalry week.

Still, he shouldn't be upset that GameDay will in in College Station, Texas this weekend. After all, the Aggies and the Longhorns haven't met on the football field since 2011 when the Aggies left the Big 12 for the S.E.C.

Now, those two heated rivals will renew their hatred for one another after over a decade of dormancy. But that's not all. The winner of that game will be headed to the S.E.C. Championship Game to face Georgia.

Swinney also seems to be forgetting that ESPN has the S.E.C. football television rights. Therefore, any chance that the network has to promote an S.E.C. game as the week's biggest event, they are going to take it.

GameDay was never going to go to Clemson this weekend to promote an ACC game, even though that game could be a play-in contest for the College Football Playoff. Rather, ESPN is always going to find a way to maximize the visibility of its precious S.E.C. because when the S.E.C. scores higher ratings, ESPN wins big.

So who knows why Swinney made the remarks he did? Were they an off-the-cuff moment or was he trying to make some sort of statement and get more attention for his team ahead of a critical game that will define his team's season and which could also propel the Tigers into the playoff?

With Swinney, it is anyone's guess. But at least he continues to say things that are worth taking note of. Even if what he says isn't always exactly true.