Dan Patrick questions Dabo Swinney’s latest comments on Notre Dame

Dan Patrick pushed back this week on comments from Dabo Swinney about Notre Dame and the advantages some of college football’s biggest brands have financially.

During an interview with Greg McElroy, Swinney talked about Clemson continuing to carry a chip on its shoulder despite competing against programs with larger alumni bases and more resources.

“We don’t have the alumni base that some places have,” Swinney said. “Notre Dame has their own TV station, and they make their own rules, and they print their own money. They’ve got a money machine in the backyard or something.”

Patrick later addressed the comments on his show and questioned why Clemson’s recent issues were being connected to schools like Notre Dame or Ohio State.

“If you’re good enough to beat everybody, then what’s the complaint?” Patrick said. “Guess who had nine players drafted this year? Fourth-most nationally. Most in the ACC. And they went 7-6.”

He also pointed toward Clemson’s handling of NIL and the transfer portal during the early stages of both changes.

“You used to beat these teams. Well, what changed?” Patrick said. “You weren’t embracing the transfer portal to begin with. We said that about NIL. Dabo didn’t want any part of that.”

Swinney also pointed to Clemson’s track record against some of the sport’s top programs while explaining why he still believes the Tigers can compete at the highest level.

“We’ve beat Texas A&M a couple of times. We’ve beaten Oklahoma a couple times. Won four in a row versus Auburn. We’ve beaten Nick Saban and Alabama in two national championships,” Swinney said.

Later in the interview, Swinney added that Clemson has “punched above our weight class” for years despite not having the same built-in advantages as schools like Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State.