Considering Alabama had played one game in the past month-plus leading up to the title game, the whole "Did the SEC grind wear Alabama down heading into the national title game?" line of questioning that emerged from this year's media days circuit was mostly nonsense.
That said, so was Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney's response.
"Listen, the SEC is a great conference, but I don't think they've been as deep the last few years. I think they've had two or three really good teams and then it's kind of been hit or miss from there," Swinney told ESPN.