Swinney Has Concerns with New 12-Team Playoff

Clemson head coach feels new format will take away from the regular season

CLEMSON, S.C. — Though Dabo Swinney welcomed the 12-team College Football Playoff format when told about the news following Friday’s practice, the Clemson head coach is not all that happy with it, either.

The CFP’s board of managers unanimously voted Friday to expand the CFP to 12 teams in 2026 when the current deal is expected to run out.

“Bring it on. Let’s go,” Swinney said. “Just tell us what the rules are. I think we all knew this was coming. So, tell us what the rules are and let’s go play. We will be ready.”

But not everything is Sunshine and Roses. When asked what the 12-team playoff could mean for the regular season, Swinney did not hold back his opinion.

“I think that is what the NFL is. Just like when we went to four and you were not in the four, all of sudden certain games do not matter anymore,” the Clemson coach said. “I think it is the same thing. It is just common sense. If you know you are in the playoffs and you have one more game and it is the end of the year, just like the NFL, they do not play a lot of those guys because they got the playoffs the next week.

“It is all about the playoffs. So, you are just trying to find a way to do well enough to get in the tournament and then you go try to win the tournament.”

Swinney, whose fourth-ranked Tigers open the season against Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Labor Day night, said the CFP going to a 12-team playoff is just another part of the new landscape in college football.

“It is just a different mindset. It is very different, as to where we are in college football today,” he said, “and certainly when we just had two teams and even when it was just voted on. Every game was live or die. It will definitely change a lot of that.”

Swinney continued by saying people can debate forever whether a 12-team playoff is good or bad for the game, but it is coming. He believes this is something the fans of college football have been wanting for a long time.

“This is all being driven. I think there are a lot of fans, that’s what they want and (are) being driven by where the game is,” Swinney said. “Again, tell us the rules and let’s got play. So, it is definitely going to impact the (regular) season. I think there is still some things to iron out. Who you start and how long you go and those types of things.

“I am sure it is exciting for all the fans. My job is to do everything I can to get our team ready for postseason, not that the regular season. The regular season, obviously, matters because it determines the postseason, but I do think there will be some teams that will punch their ticket early and it will change how they approach that latter part of the season. No different than the NFL.”

Swinney does believe the 12-team playoff can be good for the ACC

 “It helps everybody, I would think. If we want playoff football in college football, certainly going from four to twelve just mathematically gives everyone more of an opportunity. I do not think there is any question about that, but we have been there when it was four, six times. I don’t think going to twelve hurts our chances or anybody else in the league as well.”

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