Dabo Swinney on preseason rankings: 'I don't really care about that stuff'

Preseason rankings mean nothing to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. Although his Tigers enter the 2022 season ranked No. 4 in the first Coaches Poll, he knows how little it will matter if they fail to win games.

Speaking with reporters Monday, Swinney pointed to last season as a perfect example of that fact. Clemson entered that year at No. 2 in the preseason Coaches Poll, but ultimately dropped three games and finished at No. 16.

“It’s kind of like I tell our players every year, ‘Bryan, did you get that text I sent you congratulating you on preseason All-American? Trenton, you got that text right?'” Swinney said. “And they all look at me and I’m like, ‘Good. You’ll never get that text.’ I don’t really care about that stuff. Where were we ranked last year? We finished 15th. That’s the only thing that mattered at the end of the year.

“…It’s just something to talk about right now. It doesn’t have anything to do with December or November. All that will be determined by what happens on the field, kind of like those recruiting rankings. They do that re-rank every year — somebody does it — and very seldom have we not been ranked higher four years later than we were when we signed ’em. That’s all based on performance and not potential. I think we’ve got a chance to be a good team, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Last year’s three-loss season marked the first time in six years that Clemson failed to make both the College Football Playoff and ACC Championship Game. Prior to that, the Tigers claimed national titles under Swinney in both 2016 and 2018.

Despite enduring what many fans considered to be a down year, Clemson enters 2022 with a clean slate and sky high expectations once again. How close they come to reaching those expectations will hinge on the play of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who finished this past season with more interceptions (10) than touchdown passes (nine). Many believe both Uiagalelei and Clemson can turn things around, with the Tigers also ranking first in the preseason ACC media poll and leading the conference with six first team preseason All-ACC players.

But no matter how high his team finds itself in preseason rankings, Dabo Swinney won’t allow the Tigers to buy in to the hype. If they are truly going to bounce back from last season, they’ll have to prove themselves on the field first.

Clemson is set to kick off the 2022 season on Sept. 5 against ACC foe Georgia Tech.