What Dabo Swinney Got Wrong in Recent Notre Dame Comments

Notre Dame football makes people feel a certain way at all times.

When Notre Dame is really good at football, those feelings only intensify.

For some, the passion of being a fan shows out only that much more.

For others, the fear that the football program that deep down, they want to see succeed, probably less than any other, shows out.

That seems to be the case with Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney. Swinney, who led the Tigers to national championships in 2016 and 2018, made an off-season appearance with Greg McElroy on "Always College Football".

That's when Swinney couldn't help but start taking jabs at Notre Dame.

Dabo Swinney Takes Shot at Notre Dame Fighting Irish football— And It Falls Flat

Speaking to Greg McElroy, Swinney went to his resume and spoke on what Clemson has done against some of the biggest names in college football. It didn't take long for him to bring up Notre Dame.

"We're 3-1 against Ohio State, we're 4-2 against Notre Dame," Swinney said, "I mean, Notre Dame has their own TV station, they make their own rules, they print their own money. They've got like a money machine in the backyard or something."

Dabo Swinney says Clemson is used to punching above its weight class and wins despite a lack of resources.

'Notre Dame makes its own rules, prints its own money.' pic.twitter.com/UKRjuCllX3
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) May 5, 2026

Much like the Clemson football program itself, Swinney seems to be focusing on what life was like in college football six or eight years ago instead of today.

How Dabo Swinney Misses the Mark on Notre Dame

Swinney is right, he holds a 4-2 record against Notre Dame. However, those records are about as relevant today as if Notre Dame were to claim it went undefeated against Ohio State from 1935 through 1994 (it went 2-0 in games played in 1935 and 1936).

Swinney went 3-1 against Brian Kelly and has gone 1-1 since Marcus Freeman took over. However, since the last meeting between the two was played in 2023, Notre Dame and Clemson are two programs that have headed in different directions.

Notre Dame has gone 27-4 and played in a national championship game since that last meeting, while Clemson has gone just 21-10, a poor mark considering this had been on the shortest lists of college football powers in the decade previous to that last contest.

Swinney also misses the mark on Notre Dame's TV deal. I get it, it's old habit to gripe about Notre Dame and NBC, but the fact of the matter is that NBC gives as much love to its Big Ten deal as it does Notre Dame these days.

Yes, the money from the deal allows Notre Dame to stay independent, but Notre Dame hasn't been the only team featured on NBC for years now.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

First off - thank you, Dabo Swinney.

If I'm Marcus Freeman, then in this NIL era, I'm going to have that clip about "Notre Dame printing money in its backyard" running on a loop and I'll be texting that to every recruit and portal target going forward.

If Swinney is trying to start adding fire to the Notre Dame-Clemson rivalry as its set to get underway annually in 2027, then great. I'm all for it. Notre Dame needs a rival to play and genuinely dislike since USC ran away and Clemson makes a great candidate for that - if they can be great again, anyway.

Related: Future Notre Dame Football Schedules

To me, Swinney comes off sounding like your co-worker who complains about Notre Dame, but doesn't understand anything that goes into Fighting Irish football.

"Oh, they get a special TV deal!"

"Oh, they get special treatment!"

Yeah, special treatment that saw it get shafted out of the College Football Playoff a year ago as an undeserving Alabama team took its spot? That all happened while ESPN threw up the smoke and mirrors of a Notre Dame-Miami debate to turn away from any focus on Alabama, mind you.

Notre Dame and Clemson are set to play each season from 2027 through 2038.

My question is - will Swinney still be coaching Clemson by the time this rivalry actually gets renewed, or will another 7-6 do him in in Death Valley?

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