Dabo Swinney explains why he voted for Ohio State over Alabama in final poll

Dabo Swinney had an interesting comment in regards to his final Coaches Poll vote this season.

Swinney, along with the other coaches whose teams will be represented in the College Football Playoff — Nick Saban (Alabama), Kirby Smart (Georgia) and Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma) — spoke together at a press conference on Thursday.

The Clemson head coach reportedly said he voted for Ohio State over Alabama during a 3 a.m. bus ride home from the Tigers’ dominant, 38-3 ACC Championship victory over Miami last Saturday.

Why?

“I’m just trying to get rid of him, but I can’t shake him,” Swinney laughingly said during the press conference while pointing at Saban.

Here is the full exchange between Swinney and Aaron Suttles of TideSports.com:

Dabo Swinney voted Ohio State No. 4 in his final Coaches Poll vote. I asked him if he felt Ohio State was more worthy than Alabama to get into the CFP. He had fun with his answer. pic.twitter.com/TbxJDJ5deA

— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) December 7, 2017

Pretty good stuff.

While some people believed the two-loss, Big Ten champion Buckeyes were deserving of the No. 4 seed in the playoff, the committee gave the final nod to Saban’s one-loss squad.

Alabama and Clemson have battled for the last two national championships, with the Crimson Tide winning the first time around and the Tigers getting revenge last season.

This year, they’ll face each other in a Sugar Bowl semifinal on New Year’s Day in New Orleans.

Coaches are here. Press conference underway #RollTide pic.twitter.com/fQxhyoTAZc

— Chris Renkel CBS 42 (@Chris_Renkel) December 7, 2017

Cody McClure

Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.