Preseason rankings are hardly ever a popular subject among college football coaches. But especially for the coach annually ranked No. 1.

That is Clemson’s Dabo Swinney this year, and he offered his immediate thoughts shortly after the Tigers were ranked No. 1 by the first Associated Press poll of the season on Monday.

“I guess that means that people think we’ve got a good team coming back, and that probably means that we were a good team last year,” Swinney said, and added that he doesn’t care all too much about preseason rankings.

Swinney also told reporters, “I guess that beats not being ranked at all because everybody thinks you stink.”

The Tigers are an overwhelming favorite to win their fifth consecutive ACC championship and widely expected to have a fifth straight appearance in the College Football Playoff.

Clemson finished 15-0 in the 2018 punctuated by a 44-16 victory against Alabama in the national championship game in January.