Dabo Swinney voted Ohio State 11th in final Coaches Poll |
Ohio State was ranked No. 3 in the college playoff rankings on Sunday and will square off against No. 2 Clemson in the All-State Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.
The Buckeyes were unable to play a full regular-season schedule, which means fewer bumps and bruises on the players. Some schools have been going after it for around 21 straight weeks with practice, like Clemson and others. The mental grind can be just as tough as players have been isolated from their families for much of the year. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney wasn't shocked that Ohio State was included in the top four despite their small season sample size. "Well, I mean, not surprised, because that's what the committee has demonstrated over the last few weeks," he told ESPN. "So that's the decision the committee made, and congratulations to those guys," he said. All 60 coaches besides Swinney put the Buckeyes at No. 6 or higher in the latest Coaches Poll. 46 of the 61 coaches voted them in the top four. However, Swinney went outside the box and picked Ohio State No. 11 in the poll behind Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Iowa State, and Coastal Carolina. The votes were public information and released on USA Today. In case you were wondering, Ryan Day was not on the panel of 61 coaches that voted this season. Dabo Swinney's individual ballot for Coaches Poll: 1. Alabama 2. Clemson 3. Notre Dame 4. Texas A&M 5. Florida 6. Georgia 7. Cincinnati 8. Oklahoma 9. Iowa State 10. Coastal Carolina 11. Ohio State 12. North Carolina 13. Brigham Young 14. Indiana 15. Miami (Fla.) 16. Louisiana-Lafayette 17. Oklahoma State 18. North Carolina State 19. Northwestern 20. Southern California 21. Texas 22. Iowa 23. Liberty 24. San Jose State 25. Army Swinney, Smart & Saban among 7 coaches voting Ohio State outside Top 4 in USA Today coaches poll. Where they ranked OSU
11. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
6. Kirby Smart, Georgia
5. Nick Saban, Bama
5. Jamey Chadwell, Coastal
5. Butch Davis, FIU
5. Dana Dimel, UTEP
5. Gary Patterson, TCU
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