Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has proclaimed multiple times throughout the 2018 season that his Tigers are just a part of the “rest of y’all” behind No. 1 Alabama.
“Back when I was a player we kind of had the big-time bus and then the R.O.Y. bus – the rest of y’all. It is kind of Alabama and the rest of y’all,” Swinney said when the first College Football Playoff rankings were released in October. “We are just kind of glad to be on the R.O.Y. bus right now and still have a chance.”
While Swinney has downplayed Clemson’s success in 2018, in reality the Tigers are closer to Alabama than to the rest of the college football world.