Dabo Swinney unloads on playoff format changes impacting conference championship games

As college football continues to evolve, particularly when it comes to the postseason, coaches are split on how the sport should proceed. Conventional wisdom says that with playoff expansion, conference championship games are likely on the cutting block.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney chimed in on that possibility in a recent conversation with former Alabama quarterback turned ESPN analyst Greg McElroy on the Always College Football podcast. He was blunt.

“I hate to see the championship games go away, but also I get it,” Swinney said. “I played in the first ever championship game, the 1992 SEC Championship Game. I hate to see that go away. I think it’s just awesome to be a part of that. There’s a lot of people out there that want it to go away because they can’t ever get to it.”

Swinney is no stranger to conference championship games. Forget his time as a player at Alabama; he’s been to 10 ACC Championship Games with Clemson as a coach. He’s won nine of them.

The long-time Tigers coach explained the main driving factor behind potentially losing conference championship games in the sport. It’s simple math, really.

“If it goes to 24, if it goes to 16 or whatever, I mean those championship games, I mean those are high-level quarterfinal, semifinal type matchups that nobody else is having to play,” he said. “So I get that aspect of it, plus you’re trying to shorten the season, end the season sooner and start the games quicker and not have as much time in between.”

There’s one other problematic element to doing away with conference championship games, though. Teams might get even harder to evaluate for those playoff spots.

Conference championship games have often been a deciding factor. If they’re gone, schedule disparity could continue to increase.

“My philosophy is always let’s play 10, let’s play a Group of Five,” Swinney said. “Now, again, you schedule Troy, that’s a pretty good Group of Five. I wouldn’t recommend it. App State. But maybe it’s a year that they’re not good. We don’t control that. Then for us we’ve always played an FCS school in state and that’s just kind of been a way to support football in the state of South Carolina, if you will.

“Those will probably go away, I guess. But I just think there has to be some type of level playing field in that we are playing, the power conferences should be playing 10 power conference games. … That’s why you’re expanding the playoffs and creating opportunity for everybody, and then you settle it on the field when you get to it.”

But the bottom line: Swinney isn’t a huge fan of the idea that conference championship games might disappear. He’ll adjust, if that becomes the case, but he’s vocal about his stance for now.

“I would hate to see the championship games go away but I also understand that’s probably inevitable,” he said. “But prior to ’92, that’s the way it was every year. Somebody just… you’re the champ. There was some type of process.”