In the college football world, there is a new sherriff in town. His name is Dabo Swinney.
Sorry, Nick. But Dabo is the main man right now after his team shocked many with a dominating win over Saban’s team in the national title game — easily the worst beating of his Alabama tenure.
Sensational freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns in the 44-16 rout in the fourth consecutive playoff meeting between the Tigers and Tide.
Clemson evened the series and beat ’Bama for the national championship for the second time in three years. Clemson is the first college football team to finish 15-0 since the 1800s, and the first team since the playoff started five seasons ago to get through a season unscathed.
Alabama has been preseason No. 1 in the AP poll the last three seasons, matching a record held by Oklahoma, which started No. 1 each season from 1985-87. Another preseason No. 1 in 2019 would make Alabama the first team to ever start four consecutive seasons top-ranked since the preseason poll started in 1950.
Clemson has never been preseason No. 1, but my guess is that will change in August.
From everything I have seen and read, Swinney is a class act, a man who isn’t afraid to talk about his faith as a christian.
He proved that again this week when he won the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award for a record third time, bringing Woody McCorvey, a Clemson administrator and his former position coach during his playing days at Alabama, on stage with him after he was announced as the winner.
"He's just been my mentor for a long time," said Swinney. "He ought to have his name on that trophy for sure."
It’s good to see good things happening to a great person. His way is much different from Saban’s, but both seem to work just fine.
Dabo just seems to make things fun for his players.
Swinney has come a long way from a walk-on wide receiver at Alabama to a real estate agent to a surprise interim Clemson head coach.
His real estate gig didn’t last long. Lucky for him, I think this coaching thing is working out just fine.
The Tigers are 55-4 over his last four seasons. Saban has that same record.
These two programs — and coaches — are now on the same level, but don’t mention the D-word just yet.
“We’re a long way from a dynasty,” he said.
Maybe they are, but the Tigers are on equal ground with the premiere program in the country and might even take a step ahead if Clemson can reload on defense in 2019.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
