Swinney on 2020 Champion: 'Whoever Wins it, Wins it'

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney believes a college football championship this fall won't count any less without the Big Ten and Pac-12, but his heart goes out to the players and coaches who won't get to compete in 2020.

Will a championship without the entire Power 5 onboard this fall mean anything less?

That's going to be a highly discussed topic if the ACC, SEC and Big 12 do in fact play the 2020 college football season and the four-team College Football Playoff without the Big Ten and Pac-12.

The latter two opted to cancel football for the rest of this calendar year and look toward planning a spring football season in 2021. Meanwhile, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney sees no need for any sort of asterisk put on the winner of the fall's title game. 

"When it's all said and done, whoever wins it, wins it," Swinney said. "It's the same way in every sport. Basketball got disrupted, but they're going to crown a champion. Golf got disrupted. If somebody wins it they crown a winner.  Somebody's gonna win the baseball. In MLS soccer, they're playing, somebody's going to win a championship. 

"Maybe it's a shortened season, maybe it's not as many teams, whatever, but you best believe whoever wins it is going to have to earn it. Nobody's gonna give nothing to nobody. You control what you can control. We just hope we have the opportunity to play."

The top-ranked Tigers are eyeing their sixth consecutive trip to the CFP and their third national title since 2016. The road to get there might've gotten easier with the elimination of No. 2 Ohio State from the competition field, but there will be plenty of unknowns along the way as the ACC is playing an enhanced 10-game conference schedule with one non-league contest, which Clemson has yet to schedule. 

"I think it is what it is, four best teams and you go play," Swinney said. "We've been one of those four for five years in a row so in my opinion, it doesn't change anything for us. We're trying to be the best Clemson we can be whoever we play every week. You try to win that game and you try to keep moving forward."

As for the Big Ten and Pac-12 not playing, Swinney said he understands making the decision that they think is best for them. He's all for coaches and players being given the opportunity to opt-out of football this fall due to COVID-19.

"This is completely voluntary. So they chose not to play and I don't judge them at all," Swinney said. "I'm not in their situation so they made that decision. That's for them. I'm just grateful and thankful that our presidents in the ACC, SEC, Big 12 have continued to believe in our protocols and what we're doing and supporting us and these players in what they're trying to do and having a season. Hopefully, we're all able to move forward."

The conferences that opted out said their health experts didn't think it was worth the long-term risks to put their players on the field. Medical experts in the ACC, SEC and Big 12 believe they have safety protocols and guidelines that will keep their players and coaches safe all fall. 

Two Power 5 leagues will be watching and waiting to see if they did in fact make the right call, but it's been a tough week for players and coaches who wanted to compete in 2020.

"I hate it for those guys. I know how I would feel," Swinney said. "I know the type of work that they put in to get ready and pour it into their team, do everything that they can. My heart breaks for those guys because this is what we'd love to do. We all know like to make our own risk assessments, so I'm sure they're very, very disappointed."

As for the Big Ten's plan to play its season in the spring of 2021, the NFL, a short turnaround to the next fall and not knowing where we'll all be with this virus presents reasons against it. Count Swinney among the many people who think it can't work. 

"Hopefully, I don't have to worry about that, but I think it'd be very difficult," Swinney said.