Clemson's Dabo Swinney Explains Why He Voted Ohio State Outside Top 10

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney has opened up about his controversial decision to vote Ohio State at No. 11 in the final Amway Coaches Poll released on Dec. 20. 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Swinney said the ranking "has zero to do with Ohio State" and was about the difference in games played between teams this season. 

"I just don't think it's right that three teams have to play 13 games to be the champion and one team has to play eight," he said. 

Swinney also noted he "didn't rank anybody who played nine games or less in the Top 10," but the Buckeyes are certainly "good enough to beat us" and win a national championship.

Of the 61 coaches who voted in the final poll, eight didn't have Ohio State ranked in their top four. 

From that group of eight, six of them had the Buckeyes ranked No. 5 and the seventh had them ranked at No. 6. Swinney was the only person who voted them outside of the top 10. 

Ohio State's schedule became a talking point over the final two weeks of the regular season. Big Ten rules established before the season required teams to play at least six games to qualify for the conference title game. 

The Buckeyes had three games canceled due to COVID-19 issues, including their Dec. 12 game matchup with Michigan. The conference amended its minimum-games requirement rule, allowing Ohio State to play in the Big Ten Championship Game despite playing just five games. 

Ohio State defeated Northwestern 22-10 to win the conference title. The College Football Playoff selection committee ranked the Big Ten champs third in its final standings, pitting them against Clemson in a semifinal game on Jan. 1. 

The Tigers beat the Buckeyes in a College Football Playoff semifinal last year 29-23.