Don't Ask Dabo Swinney if Clemson is Better Than Alabama

For the first time in what seems line forever, Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide will not be heading into the new college football season as the prohibitive favorites to take home the national championship. Given all the hype surrounding his program and his superstar players, it would be easy for Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney to get caught up in the hype and make bold declarations about how good the Tigers are.

Instead, Dabo is taking the high road, ignoring the noise and the chippiness and focusing on what he can do to ensure a Clemson repeat.

“I’m not worried about that," Swinney said of the inevitable comparisons between his program and the one down in Tuscaloosa. “That was last year. It is what it is. We won the [championship]. We won and you move on."

Given the fact that star quarterback Trevor Lawrence will be at Clemson for at least two more years and stars like linebacker/safety Isaiah Simmons, running back Travis Etienne, and the dynamic duo of wideouts in Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross are all along for the ride, the Tigers do look like they could end up head and shoulders above everyone else when the dust settles.

However, the latest betting odds from the Westgate Superbook have Clemson even with Alabama in the race for all the marbles. Oddsmakers have been burned a few times doubting Saban and the Tide, it must be said.

Part of what helped forge the foundation of this Clemson dynasty is Swinney's ability to keep a level head and not let his team get full of itself. Sounds like business as usual in Death Valley.