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Swinney takes up for his players, demands they get respect they deserve

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday’s famous rant that went viral following Saturday’s win over rival South Carolina was something he needed to get off his chest. It was what he called a “season’s worth of rhetoric” that has been hovering around his program ever since the Tigers took down Alabama in last year’s national championship game.

“It’s like ‘the opponent was tired’ or whatever and all of that type of stuff,” Swinney said during Sunday’s ACC conference call to preview next week’s ACC Championship Game against Virginia. “Then you come into this season and it seems like every week … I even had to answer a question when the (ESPN) First Take Show was here, about ‘a lot people think if you go undefeated you should not be in the (College Football Playoff).