Do Preseason Rankings Matter at All to Swinney?

Dabo Swinney’s Clemson team is just days away from kicking off the 2024 season against Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 31.

It’s the highest-ranked Week 1 contest in college football, with the Tigers ranked No. 14 in both the preseason AP Top 25 and preseason Coaches Poll, and Georgia ranked No. 1 in both polls.

Ahead of the Aflac Kickoff Game, Swinney answered questions leading up to the highly anticipated matchup, including whether preseason rankings really matter to coaches like himself.

“Not a lot, other than there’s people that like to make projections and things like that,” said Swinney, whose Tigers enter the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff format looking to make the playoff for the first time since 2020.

“But in my experience, we’ve been unranked and won the league. We’ve been ranked 12 ^th and went all the way to the national championship, and we’ve been ranked high and didn’t finish as well.”

Last year, Clemson (9-4, 4-4 ACC) began the 2023 season ranked No. 9 in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, before concluding the campaign at No. 20 in both polls.

Meanwhile, Georgia (13-1, 8-1 SEC) opened 2023 as the No. 1 team in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll, coming off back-to-back national championships. But the Bulldogs, who ultimately missed the College Football Playoff last season, ended up being ranked No. 3 in the final Coaches Poll and No. 4 in the final AP Poll.

“So, it’s fun,” Swinney said of preseason rankings. “I think it creates conversation and buzz about the upcoming season everybody’s excited about. But in college football, it’s all about where you are in November and December, not where you are in July and August.”

The Aflac Kickoff Game is set to kick off at 12 p.m. Aug. 31 and will be televised on ABC.

A limited number of signed footballs from Clemson’s 2022 class are still available.  Get yours while supplies last!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!