Dabo Swinney Criticizes College GameDay Hosting for Texas vs. Texas A&M: 'They're Mad at Me!'

ESPN College GameDay will be making their second trip to College Station as the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 3 Texas Longhorns face off in the first Lone Star Showdown game since 2011.

Nov 16, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney reacts against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

When ESPN's College GameDay announced that they would be heading to College Station to cover the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry game, many people either expected the decision or just weren't surprised.

The panel that features former NFL player Pat McAfee and legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban, amongst others, visited Aggieland earlier this year for the season opener between Texas A&M and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

While games like the "Iron Bowl" between Auburn and Alabama and "The Game" between Ohio State and Michigan both hold prestige of their own, none strike a chord quite like the battle between the Longhorns and the Aggies, a rivalry that splits many a Texas household and makes for some interesting conversations at Thanksgiving.

Not to mention, a trip to the SEC Championship is on the line for this game.

One person that didn't take any of it well, however, is Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney.

The two-time national champion coach put his two cents in on why he believed the spotlight should've shined on his Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks, a game that also holds some CFP implications, dubbing their rivalry as one of the best in the country.

"It's (Clemson-South Carolina) the highest-ranked rivalry game in the country, how cool is that?" Swinney said on his radio show last night. "You would think GameDay would be here, but I think they're mad at me for not moving the game to Friday."

For those unaware, the ACC and ESPN Network had talked with Swinney about moving the game to Friday, planning some sort of "Black Friday showcase" and setting it as Friday night's main event.

Swinney, however, would stand his ground that the game should be played on a Saturday, and talked about the playoff implications that rest on that game, as well.

"Somebody's gonna wake up on Sunday morning happy, and somebody's gonna wake up pissed off," Swinney continued. "We have a chance to play our way into the playoff, and South Carolina does, too. This is high stakes."

Swinney does have a point. Like the game between the Aggies and Longhorns, the winner of the game between the Tigers and Gamecocks could make their path to the playoffs much easier, with the loser likely packing up and starting on the game plan for 2025.

This is not the first time recently that the Aggies have been accused of "hogging the spotlight," as Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin let his thoughts be heard about Texas A&M repeatedly being given prime time game slots, something Kiffin's Rebels didn't get much of this year.

Luck? Jealousy? You be the judge.

Whatever it is, you can expect College Station to be rockin' all day Saturday, from College GameDay in the morning all the way to the game itself at 6:30 p.m. at Kyle Field.

After all, the two schools have 13 years of pent-up aggression to unleash on each other.

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