Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is no stranger to challenging the narrative that SEC teams face an inherently tougher road than anyone else. Back in August, in an interview with ESPN, Swinney questioned the SEC's perceived depth and whether Alabama was really that much more fatigued heading into the national championship game.
Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Swinney subtly doubled down on that assessment. In talking about The Citadel's 27-24 overtime win over Georgia Tech in Week 3, Swinney argued that the Bulldogs were Alabama's toughest game last season until the SEC Championship Game against Georgia while also taking a jab at rival South Carolina.
"That's college football," Swinney said via 247Sports. "The Citadel was probably Alabama's toughest game last year until Georgia. I'm just telling you the truth. The Citadel beat South Carolina."
Swinney is likely referring to the fact that Alabama and The Citadel were tied at 10 at halftime before the Crimson Tide went on to win 50-17 last season. As for The Citadel beating South Carolina? That was from 2015, the year Steve Spurrier retired.
In a big-picture sense, yes, anything can happen in any given week. For one game, the Citadel can sneak up on a rebuilding Georgia Tech or a downtrodden South Carolina and escape with a win. It can even hang with Alabama for a half under the right circumstances. That truth goes well beyond these examples; however, reasonable minds aren't confusing The Citadel with, say, Auburn who, for what it's worth, was also in a tight game with Alabama in the Iron Bowl the following week before the Crimson Tide pulled away.
You can make arguments about conference depth to suit whatever position you have. The big takeaway here is that teams like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and the like have been blowing through their schedules because they are largely ahead of everyone else.
