Unbeaten Florida State ‘snubbed’ in controversial final…..

Unbeaten Florida State ‘snubbed’ in controversial final College Football Playoff selections

The final season of the four-team College Football Playoff turned out to be the most controversial with an unprecedented snub. (AP/Erik Verduzco){ }{p}{/p}
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On Saturday, October 7, 2017, in Tallahassee, Florida, during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game between Miami and Florida State, Malik Rosier of Miami is sacked. Miami prevailed 24–20. (Photo by Steve Cannon/AP)

Florida’s Tallahassee (Associated Press) — With an unprecedented snub, the four-team College Football Playoff final season proved to be the most contentious.

Sunday’s selections were Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama; Florida State, the only undefeated conference champion, was left off of the field.

 

On January 1, Washington plays Texas in the Sugar Bowl; on January 2, Michigan plays Alabama in the Rose Bowl; and on January 8, the winners play for the national championship in Houston.

The selection committee faced its most difficult decision in the 10-year history of the structure before the CFP expands to 12 teams the following year—an expansion that was postponed by a year due to internal strife among the conference commissioners that oversee the postseason system.

Boo Corrigan, the head of the selection committee and the athletic director of Florida State’s Atlantic Coast Conference foe, stated, “Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks.”

Two weeks ago, star quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury, but the Seminoles (13-0) managed to win even with a backup quarterback and then a third-string quarterback. However, the committee was told to evaluate teams based on their performance before the playoffs, and they concluded that FSU, without Travis, is not one of the top four in the nation.

The committee’s decision to take away what players earned on the field because a small group of people believed they knew better than the game results disgusts and enrages me. What use does playing games serve? Coach Mike Norvell of Florida State stated.

“What went on today contradicts everything that is true and right in college football,” he continued.

A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It’s a sad day for college football.”Travis is a sixth-year player whose development into one of the best quarterbacks in college football has fueled Florida State’s resurgence over the last three years.

“Devastated. heartbroken,” Travis posted on the social media platform X. “I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry.”

The controversy also brought out a response from Gov. Ron DeSantis who said, “What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results.”

DeSantis proceeded to congratulate the Florida Seminoles on an outstanding season.

Whichever team was left out had a good argument to get in. That created unprecedented controversy and the committee passed over FSU to pick Alabama, which upset Georgia to win the Southeastern Conference championship, and Big 12 champion Texas, which beat the Crimson Tide on the road in September.

The SEC had never missed the playoff. Alabama, which is in for the eighth time, kept that streak alive. The Crimson Tide have won the playoff three times, most recently in 2020.

Texas would have been just the second Power Five team with only one loss to be left out. Instead, the Longhorns will be making their first appearance in the CFP in their last season as a member of the Big 12. Texas moves to the SEC next year.

Texas and Alabama were ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the committee’s penultimate rankings and are now the first teams to jump from outside the top six in the second-to-last rankings into the playoff field. Georgia became the first team to enter championship weekend No. 1 and fail to make the field.

“We’ve never had a year with eight teams at the top as good as these are. And the five conference champions (ranked) one through five, we’ve never had it come out that way,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. “My feeling is it probably was the toughest (decision ever for the committee).”

Big Ten champion Michigan is making its third straight appearance in the CFP, still looking for its first playoff victory. The Wolverines, who have stayed unbeaten amid an NCAA investigation into allegations of in-person scouting and sign-stealing, are the favorites to win the national title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Michigan, looking for its first national title since 1997, opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite against Alabama. The Tide have won six national titles under coach Nick Saban.

“We’re not going to go in there saying, ‘Oh, this is Alabama, a team that’s won and won and won and won and won. No. We’re that team,” Michigan running back Blake Corum told reporters.

Washington is in the CFP for the second time, breaking the Pac-12’s playoff drought after six years, and doing so the year before it leaves the conference for the Big Ten. The Huskies opened as a 4 1/2-point underdog to Texas and former Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. The two played last season in the Alamo Bowl and Washington won.

Georgia’s slim hopes of trying for a third consecutive national title also came to an end. The Bulldogs (12-1) had a 29-game winning streak snapped by the Crimson Tide, but leaving them out of the CFP didn’t seem nearly as controversial as snubbing the Seminoles — even in a system ripe for criticism.

In 2014, Ohio State, playing with its third-string quarterback, vaulted over Baylor and TCU and into the playoff with a Big Ten title game blowout of Wisconsin. The Big 12 teams still haven’t gotten over it, but the Buckeyes went on to win it all. Ohio State has been on the short end a couple of times, too, winning the Big Ten in 2017 and ’18 and not getting in. But this year, the committee faced a truly vexing problem.

Florida State, which was No. 4 in the previous CFP rankings, appeared to be on the way to its second playoff appearance in mid-November when Travis suffered a serious injury in the first quarter against North Alabama and was lost for the year.

The Seminoles beat rival Florida last week with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who then missed the ACC championship game against Louisville with a concussion. Florida State stayed unbeaten with a strong defensive performance, but scored only one touchdown.

“To eliminate them from a chance to compete for a national championship is an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is unforgivable,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips referred to leaving out the ‘Noles as “unfathomable,” joining conference leaders in delaying the expansion process by a year after the SEC’s plan to add Texas and Oklahoma was made public in 2021.

According to Phillips, “their exclusion raises questions about the selection process and whether the committee’s own guidelines—which include the significance of being the undefeated Power Five conference champion—were followed.”

Florida State will take on Georgia in the Orange Bowl as the ACC champion.

“I truly believe that our team earned the right to be here, but it’s unfortunate that some good teams had to be left out,” Saban stated on ESPN.

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