While the NFL preseason gives coaches and fans alike an evolving picture of their teams throughout August, college coaches don't get to see their players compete against another team until Game One of the regular season.
Dabo Swinney wouldn't mind changing that.
"Absolutely," Swinney told The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday when asked if he'd like preseason games at the college level. "Man, I would love to have the opportunity, even if it wasn't in public, I'd love to have the opportunity to go scrimmage another opponent. Someone you don't know much about. (Teammates) know all each other's nuances and when you're on a practice field day in and day out. ... It'd be nice to be one team on a sideline and play against another opponent. I think it'd be awesome. That's why the NFL does it. They go practice, they have preseason games, because you can only get so much done in practice."
Swinney's description sounds more like what NFL teams do with joint practices than actual preseason games. But he's clear enough on wanting an early look at his team against another.
Have at it, Dabo. It's actually not against the rules to hold a scrimmage.
Per NCAA Bylaw 17.9.5.1, a school "shall limit its total regular-season playing schedule with outside competition during the permissible football playing season in any one year to 12 contests (games or scrimmages)."
Translation: Clemson or any other FBS school could indeed play a preseason scrimmage, but they would then be limited to an 11-game regular-season schedule. Want two scrimmages? Sure, you get only 10 games. Athletic budgets being as all-important as they are, you won't see that at Clemson or anywhere else. Home-game revenue is too lucrative.
Swinney's idea doesn't require a rule change, per se, but unless the NCAA changes the allowed schedule to 12 games plus a scrimmage, he'll have a hard time finding a school to partner with for it.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread*.
