Dabo Swinney defends Clemson’s schedule with funny comment

One of the few criticisms of the Clemson Tigers is the fact that they play in a mediocre ACC and didn’t really challenge themselves in their non-conference schedule. Coach Dabo Swinney isn’t buying that.

Swinney humorously defended the 11-0 Tigers on Tuesday, saying they weren’t playing “Village Idiot University” and had played — and beaten — some decent teams.

Dabo Swinney on #Clemson's 11-0 start: "Look at college football with all the parity. We've beaten some good teams. It's not like we've played Village Idiot University." #VIU

— Scott Keepfer (@ScottKeepfer) November 20, 2018

Of Clemson’s non-conference foes, only Texas A&M was a real challenge. They sit in the top 25 right now, and the Tigers beat them by two on the road. They also easily saw off ranked opposition at the time in NC State and Boston College, and they handed Syracuse one of their three defeats on the season. On the other hand, one of those opponents seemed far more impressed with another of Clemson’s potential top-four rivals, so it’s hard to judge them right now.