USA TODAY International Edition
Swinney would rather shrink playoff than expand it
Two weeks away from the College Football Playoff bowl games, the talk of expanding the field from four to eight teams has intensified, much of that as the result of a report published this past week by The Athletic featuring multiple key figures who are in favor of talking about expansion before the end of the playoff ’s contract with ESPN in 2026.
While there’s plenty of support for expanding, particularly from bubble teams and their fan bases, not everyone is on board with the idea, including Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, whose team has been in the playoff four of the first five years and won the national championship in the 2016 season.
He said he’s more inclined to favor moving in the opposite direction, rather than adding two or four teams to the playoff.
Swinney told reporters Friday after practice, via 247Sports.com: “I’d be more back to two, to be honest with you. I’m not more-is-better guy. I know there’s a huge crowd out there for that, but I think college football is unique, and now all of a sudden it just becomes like everything else when you do that, in my opinion.”
This year, Clemson is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 3 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl for a shot at the national championship game.
No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma are the other two teams this season, and they’re playing in the Orange Bowl. Both games are on Dec. 29, with the national championship game Jan. 7.
There are 39 Football Bowl Subdivision bowl games this season (not including the championship game), and Swinney said it’s “awesome” that 39 teams will win one more game and end the season on a positive note. But he thinks expanding the playoff could diminish the value of non-playoff bowl games even more.
More from Swinney via 247Sports.com: “I love all the funky matchups. I love the Funky Cold Medina Poulan Weed Eater Bowl. I love all of that. I like the crazy games. There’s obviously a market for it because them TVs love to put it on there. I love the trips that I’ve experienced as a player and a coach.
“I’m more traditionalist when it comes to that. And I get that. I mean we’ve benefited from being able to get in the final four. But it’s hard. It’s hard. I hate the fact that all of a sudden now it’s not cool to go to the Gator Bowl. Are you kidding me? I don’t like that mind-set.
“I think the more you expand the more that becomes. I know that falls on a lot of deaf ears. It doesn’t mean I’m right. That’s just my opinion. I’m not telling anybody else they’re wrong. They can have the opinion whatever they want to have. But I love the passion of college football, and I think the more you expand the less the season matters.”
But should the playoff expand at some point to six teams with the toptwo seeds getting a bye or eight teams, Swinney said he won’t fight it.
“If we expand I’ll embrace than and we’ll rock and roll,” he said. “I love my job. I love what I do. And I’ll embrace whatever people who make those decisions say. I don’t make those decisions. I just abide by the rules and go do it. But I’ve always believed in that.”