“We’ve scheduled tough,” Swinney said. “All you can do is play the schedule that you have. It is what it is. We basically have an SEC-Big Ten invitational; that’s basically what we’ve got in college football. So you’ve just got to focus on what you’ve got.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney doesn't hold back his thoughts on perceived College Football Playoff favoritism for SEC and Big Ten.

Here are three takeaways from the third round of the College Football Playoff rankings, unveiled Tuesday night on ESPN. As the Mustangs spend their third straight week on the outside looking in, one has to believe that the CFP committee has made its stance pretty clear: Win your conference or you’re not invited.