Clemson's Swinney Doesn't Worry About ACC's Perception
In a year that has featured a number of oddities, the newest may be the fact that the Atlantic Coast Conference is currently the premiere league in college football.
With the addition of Notre Dame this season, the ACC currently features four teams in the most recent AP Top 25 ranking. That is more than any other conference.
Graphic courtesy of Fox Sports
Last year, the ACC (minus Clemson) went 3-21 in games against the other Power Five conferences. Clemson was 3-1 with the only loss coming to LSU in the national title game. The ACC has had a reputation for poor showings in the past, but the league takes the spotlight Saturday when Clemson hosts Miami.
"I don't really care about what other people think," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Tuesday of the conference's perceived abilities. "We play good people every year. We've been in four national championship game and five playoffs. We've had to earn our way there, you're either good enough or you're not to win those type games."
Swinney said the main reason his teams have been so successful is what they see week in and week out from other members of the conference.
"People make up their own narratives that are oftentimes not reality," Swinney said. "I just worry about what I can control and that's our team and our program. This is a really good football team we're getting ready to play."
Swinney said Saturday's game is a rematch of the ACC championship game from two years ago. The Tigers recently defeated Virginia, a team they knocked off in last year's conference championship.
"These are good teams we will have to navigate through in order to win this league," Swinney said.
You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page.
