Dabo Swinney promises giant pizza party if Clemson makes playoffs

Clemson’s Memorial Stadium is also known as Death Valley, but it could have a far happier nickname if the Tigers make this year’s College Football Playoff, as Dabo Swinney has promised a massive pizza party if the team makes the cut.

Clemson’s Memorial Stadium is also known as Death Valley, but it could have a far happier nickname if the Tigers make this year’s College Football Playoff, as Dabo Swinney has promised a massive pizza party if the team makes the cut.

The first CFP rankings came out on Tuesday night, and Clemson’s 8–0 record earned the team a No. 1 ranking. But before the announcement, Swinney said he would only celebrate once the final poll came out in December, according to The State.

“The only poll that we’re excited about is Dec. 6, and I promise you we’ll have the biggest poll party you’ve seen. We’ll open up Death Valley and serve pizza to everybody. That’ll be a time to celebrate a poll. Until then, it doesn’t matter.”

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Memorial Stadium can pack 81,500 fans into the stands and even more if school officials let people on to the field, so South Carolina pizzerias might want to start stocking up on cheese and dough, because it wouild take a lot to feed all those people.

Swinney is no stranger to ordering lots of pizza, as Campus Rush’s Brian Hamilton discovered recently when the coach told a story about an attempt to eat some of Chicago’s famous deep dish pizza. Swinney's wife, Kathleen, ordered while the other coaches talked, and they ended up sharing their feast on the streets.

 When the servers delivered the food, it was clear her calculation was off: They had ordered 

seven

 pizzas—

four

 of the stomach-distending deep-dish variety—for 10 people.

They did not finish their meal.

"We were staying at the Hilton Chicago," Dabo says, "so we fed the homeless on the way back."

"We sat the pizzas right in front of them," Kathleen says.

– Brendan Maloy