Everyone is trolling Dabo Swinney at halftime of the Playoff semifinal
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Leading up to the Clemson-Ohio State College Football Playoff semifinal, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was surprisingly vocal in his defense of ranking the Buckeyes No. 11 in the Coaches Poll, arguing that OSU’s 6-0 record, while other teams played nine or more games, disqualified Ryan Day’s squad being ranked in the top 10.
He defended his ranking in an interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi:
โIt means something to me. Itโs my poll. I do it. โฆ It has nothing to do with Ohio State โ absolutely zero,โ Swinney said. โYou can change the name to Michigan or Georgia or Florida or Tennessee or Nebraska. Anytime you have a top-10 (ranking), it should be that special. This year itโs like really, really, really special and I wanted it to be that way.
โAnd so, I wanted to recognize the teams that played 9 games or more. And so, if you didnโt play 9 games, I just didnโt consider you for the top 10. Thatโs why they were 11. โฆ
โObviously, theyโre a great team. Theyโre plenty good enough and talented enough to beat us and good enough to win the national championship. But, in my opinion, I donโt think that itโs right that 3 teams have to play 13 games to win it all and 1 team has to play 8. What universe am I living in? And it has nothing to do with them. It was about qualifying. And I didnโt think they were qualified based on the number of games.โ
Swinney’s ranking and media defense of his ranking has made him a target for social media trolling as OSU lead 35-14 at the half.
Here’s a small of what’s being said on social media. Michael Jordan memes from “The Last Dance” are predictably popular:
Dabo Swinney: Iโm ranking Ohio State 11th
Ohio State: pic.twitter.com/nU43bMzHHr
— Dan Lust, Esq. ? (@SportsLawLust) January 2, 2021
Dabo Swinney on the sidelines tonight after he voted Ohio State out of the Top 10…. pic.twitter.com/vpqc5GbBLk
— Michael D. Ruscher (@RuscherMichael) January 2, 2021
At halftime, Dabo Swinney is going to inspire his squad by detailing how there are 10 teams in the country better than Ohio State. #SugarBowl #CollegeFootballPlayoff
— Ryan Black (@RyanABlack) January 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/JimMWeber/status/1345196967304040450
I wonder if Dabo Swinney would rank Ohio State in the top 10 now? #CFBPlayoff
— NunesToons (@keifer4994) January 2, 2021
Maybe Dabo Swinney will put Ohio State in his Top 10 after this game ?#SugarBowl
— kofodfsu (@kofodfsu) January 2, 2021
Dabo Swinney was really clowning when he put Ohio State at 11th man ?
— Charles (@Charles11501) January 2, 2021
Dabo Swinney might wanna consider resubmitting his Coaches Poll ballot at halftime with Ohio State listed slightly higher. #CFBPlayoff
— Chris(to?๏ธher) Larsen ? ? ? (@ESPNChrisLarsen) January 2, 2021
Make Dabo Swinney should've ranked #OhioState a little higher. #Ijs ??โโ๏ธ #OSUvsClem #SugarBowl
— ??ัโข (@ZaeMartin5) January 2, 2021
#ClemvsOSU
Dabo Swinney: Ranks tOSU #11 on his coachโs ballotOhio State: pic.twitter.com/NiexlCnsdX
— Resting Dad Face (@duckinspokane) January 2, 2021
Whether or not Ohio State ends up winning, some HAS to ask Dabo Swinney post game if he still thinks the Buckeyes should be ranked 11th.
— Hunter Miller (@MillerHHunter) January 2, 2021
Dabo Swinney talked all that mess about Ohio State and Clemson is getting dog walked and Fields is outplaying Lawrence so far.
— Bryson B. (@BrysonButcher10) January 2, 2021
Dabo Swinney probably shouldn't have ranked Ohio State 11th
— MettaWorldCrazy (@MettaWorldCrazy) January 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/_joshuaterry/status/1345198257601916930
https://twitter.com/adarsh9pai/status/1345199966243987456
Remember when Dabo Swinney wanted to rank Ohio State 11th? ?
— Danny Meatballs ??? (@RealLittleDanny) January 2, 2021
When Ryan Day saw Dabo Swinney had Ohio State ranked 11th pic.twitter.com/BPq6RTrDsj
— Riley (@RilesIsTall) January 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/effie_garcia/status/1345200859680935938
Dabo Swinneyโs No. 11 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes arenโt looking too bad!! #putsomerespectonourname pic.twitter.com/bKAktlj2aP
— Timothy Southers (@TSouthers) January 2, 2021
https://twitter.com/TheSportsTruth1/status/1345201611195305985
I wonder if Dabo Swinney stills thinks Ohio State should be ranked 11th.
— Josh White (@_JoshRWhite) January 2, 2021
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaign of Fred Taylor.
