On Tuesday's show, Diesel brought up a good point, one that I hadn't really considered leading up to Clemson's matchup with the Buckeyes of Ohio State.
We all know that Dabo Swinney is one of the best in the nation when it comes to inspiring his team to play. The "family" mentality is one that every player buys into, and one that has driven Clemson to ridiculous levels of success over the past few years. Swinney's ability to get his team to coalesce around each other and play with chemistry is arguably the number one reason for that success.
But Dabo, who is the model for not speaking like a regular coach, may have given just a bit of that same inspiration to the Buckeyes days before they squared off in New Orleans for a shot at the Championship game.
Let's start with this: everything that Dabo Swinney said was correct. Ohio State, playing only six games, did not show the same results on the field that Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame, and the other teams in the top ten did. We know that. And, for the majority of people I spoke with, that wasn't "fair."
But, as my old man used to tell me, "life's not fair."
The country believed Ohio State was one of the best four teams, and they got a shot. The moment they were paired up against Clemson was the moment Dabo Swinney should've kept their name out of his mouth, and focused on the game.
He didn't.
Instead, he talked about how they didn't deserve to be there. He ranked them #11 in his very public coach's poll ballot. He told the world, without saying it, that he didn't respect them as a national semi-finalist.
You think he respects them now?
Had Dabo said nothing, Ryan Day would've had the same card to play as every other coach who's team enters a playoff with a low seed - "no one believes you deserve to be here except you, so go out there and prove them wrong."
Instead, Day had another arrow in the quiver. A fat head of Dabo on the wall with a litany of quotes his players could've considered disrespectful, and a blown-up image of the ballot ranking Ohio State behind Cincinatti, Texas A&M, and others.
Now, I'm no sports psychologist. Hell, I'm not even qualified to be an armchair psychologist.
However, I'm pretty qualified to say that telling a bunch of top-tier athletes, well rested, that the guy lined up across from doesn't believe they're worth being there is a damn good way to bring out their best.
But - what about the other way around?
As much as one coach has the ability to influence the other team with his words, he has even more ability to influence the way his guys play as well - especially with the clout that Dabo has amongst his players.
What are the odds that Clemson footballers, hearing the exact same words that stoked the fire of the Buckeyes, believed Dabo? The chances that they figured "if Coach thinks they're only the eleventh best team in the country, so do I?"
I'd say the odds are pretty good.
There are three ways your message lands when you send one: the literal meaning, the way that it's delivered, and the way it's ultimately interpreted.
The literal meaning of what Dabo said, most people agreed with.
The way it was delivered? Probably a bit thick, which led to the way it was ultimately interpreted: as disrespectful to the Buckeyes, and perhaps just a bit too comforting to be of any use for his own players.
I know we get frustrated when coaches only talk in "coach-speech." People beg coaches to be more open and honest and human in their comments.
But there's a reason that they aren't, and a reason that they don't.
And Dabo just learned that reason.