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Ohio State holds off Indiana to stay towards the top of the Amway Coaches Poll
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest Amway Coaches Poll.
On Monday, Florida State football coach Mike Norvell lobbed what many perceived to be a direct shot at Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney.
“Football coaches are not doctors,” Norvell said. “Some of us might think we are …”
On Tuesday, Swinney returned service.
“We’re not doctors,” Swinney said during his weekly news conference. “I’m not trying to be a doctor. I just listen to the doctors.”
Clemson’s doctors gave the OK for Clemson to play Saturday at Florida State; Florida State’s medical team did not. The disagreement caused a postponement of the game three hours before the scheduled kickoff.
“I’m not really worried much about what they say down there in Tallahassee, that’s for sure,” Swinney said. “I’ve been in this league for 18 years and been a coach here 12. They’ve had three head coaches in four years, so the decisions that they make … I’m not going to worry about advice from Tallahassee.”
Swinney has been outspoken on the postponement since Sunday, when he suggested that the game should be considered a forfeit. When asked Tuesday what motivation Florida State, which was a 35½-point underdog in the game, would have for desiring a forfeit, Swinney said he had “no idea.”
“I didn’t say they wanted to forfeit the game – y’all don’t listen,” Swinney said. “I said it should be a forfeit. I didn’t say they wanted to forfeit. Big difference.
“We met the standard to play and we even offered to play Saturday, Sunday, Monday. In my opinion, we did everything we could.”
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Swinney also was asked if there is anything that could be done from preventing a similar situation from occurring again.
“You’ll have to take that up with the league,” Swinney said. “I know what the rules are. I know what they were, and I know we met the standard to play this past week and didn’t play.
“We’ve played eight games, so we haven’t had any issues all year and all of a sudden what was supposed to cancel a game changed Saturday. So you’ll have to ask somebody else other than me.”
ACC Commissioner John Swofford publicly supported Florida State’s decision to postpone the game when he spoke on ESPN late Monday.
“I don’t think anyone is in a position to question the decision making of a medical officer in this type of situation,” Swofford said.
“That’s where the decision lies, and in the eyes of our presidents and athletic directors, that’s where the decision should lie…I don’t think there’s any blame here. We’ve got to remember the world in which we’re operating right now. People are following the protocols as agreed upon before the season started and people are trying to make the best decisions for the right reasons and you respect that.”
Swofford also told ESPN that he has had conversations with both the presidents and athletic directors from both schools.
Meanwhile, John Thrasher, the president of FSU, wrote in a letter emailed to a booster Saturday night: ”The President of Clemson and I talked and he concurred with the decision.”
Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said previously that he expects conversations about the potential rescheduling of the game for Dec. 12 to begin this week. So far, Clemson has been adamant so far that it would expect Florida State to either reimburse the travel expenses for the first trip down to Tallahassee or be willing to play the game at Clemson in order for it to happen.
Norvell was also asked Tuesday morning about the fact that the postponement is still being discussed over 72 hours later. He again said the decision was made by Florida State’s medical personnel as permitted within the ACC protocols before putting the matter to bed, as far as he is concerned.
“It’s one of those things I don’t really have any control of what people want to spend their time or focus on …” Norvell said.
“I’m really pretty much done talking about it and we’re moving forward.”
Contributing: Curt Weiler, Tallahassee Democrat
