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While Dabo Swinney and former Alabama coach Nick Saban are friends, the Clemson coach won’t miss squaring off against Saban on the gridiron.
Saban and Swinney’s respective programs set the stage for the most consistent matchup in the four-team College Football Playoff era.
Clemson and Alabama met four consecutive years between 2015-18. The Tide and Tigers split the four meetings with Alabama edging Clemson, 45-40, in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Glendale, Ariz., in January 2016.
A year later, Clemson pulled off a 35-31 upset in Tampa. Hunter Renfrow caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson with 1 second left to give the Tigers their first national championship since 1981.
In a No. 1 vs. No. 4 seed showdown in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day 2018, Alabama shut down Kelly Bryant and the Tigers’ offense in a dominant 24-6 victory in New Orleans. The Tide went on to beat Georgia in the national championship game on Tua Tagovailoa’s walk-off touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith.
Sure enough, the Tide and Tigers would meet again in January 2019. Both were 14-0 entering the game. Only in that game, Swinney’s team gave ‘Bama a stunning 44-16 beatdown in Santa Clara, Calif.
As it turned out, that game would mark the final time Clemson faced Alabama with Saban as coach. Saban retired in January and is now an analyst with ESPN. Swinney said back in the spring that he’d called Saban after his retirement and that the two had enjoyed a private conversation.
At his annual summer media gathering with reporters Tuesday, Swinney light-heartedly expressed relief that he wouldn’t have to go up against Saban.
“It’s good to know that he’s not gonna get a rematch from that last one,” Swinney joked in response to a question from 247Sports’ Austin Hannon. “He’s gonna have to live with…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/greatest-ever-dabo-swinney-says-202505744.html
Author : Clemson Wire
Publish date : 2024-07-17 20:25:05
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