You can’t help but wonder what the results would have been if Jordan Travis was healthy. Although, that really shouldn’t matter. An undefeated Florida State got snubbed out of the CFP. Rightfully so, the football program was not happy about that.
“The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far reaching, and permanent,” Alford said in a statement released just minutes after the playoff field was revealed. “Not just for Florida State, but college football as a whole.”
Not only did FSU go undefeated, but against all odds they won the ACC Championship without both Travis and his backup Tate Rodemaker. They won with a true freshman Brock Glenn starting at QB.
“The argument of whether a team is the ‘most deserving or best’ is a false equivalence. It renders the season up to yesterday irrelevant and significantly damages the legitimacy of the College Football Playoff. The 2023 Florida State Seminoles are the epitome of a total TEAM. 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 becomes the first undefeated Power Five team to be left out of the CFP in the 10 years of the four-team playoff format’s existence. The Selection Committee Chairman was right, FSU is a “different team” without Travis. Though, that’s no reason to leave an undefeated team out of the playoffs. Even after losing their starter to a season-ending leg injury… they continued to get the job done.
The idea of taking injuries into consideration and creating a statement that a team is ” more deserving” is a nebulous concept. No team is more deserving than an undefeated team.
The choice was hard for the committee, I’ll give them that. Who were they to leave out? An undefeated UW or FSU? A 12-1 Texas who dominated in the Big 12 Championship? Or leave out the SEC with Alabama beating Georgia? But to leave out an undefeated team is like saying that the best teams aren’t the most deserving.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell also agreed with Alford about the committee’s decision.
“I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games,” Norvell said. “What is the point of playing games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games? We are not only an undefeated Power Five conference champion, but we also played two Power Five non-conference games away from home and won both of them. I don’t understand how we are supposed to think this is an acceptable way to evaluate a team.”
If Travis were healthy, there’s probably no question that FSU would have made it in. Though, it’s ridiculous that the committee chose a 12-1 team over an undefeated Florida State. If the 12-team playoff format were going into effect this season, there’s again no question that FSU would be hosting a first round game against a group of five opponent.
“The fact that this team has continued to close out victories in dominant fashion facing our current quarterback situation should have ENHANCED our case to get a playoff berth EARNED on the field,” Alford continued in his statement. “Instead, the committed decided to elevate themselves and ‘make history’ today by departing from what makes this sport great by excluding an undefeated Power Five conference champion for the first time since the advent of the BCS/CFP era that began 25 years ago. This ridiculous decision is a departure from the competitive expectations that have stood the test of time in college football.”
“Wins matter. Losses matter. Those that compete in the arena know this. Those on the committee who also competed in the sport and should have known this have forgotten it. Today, they changed the way success is assessed in college football, from a tangible metric — winning on the field — to an intangible, subjective one. Evidently, predicting the future matters more.”
“For many of us, today’s decision by the committee has forever damaged the credibility of the institution that is the College Football Playoff. And, saddest of all, it was self-inflicted. They chose predictive competitiveness over proven performance, subjectivity over fact. They have become a committee of prognosticators. They have abandoned their responsibility by discarding their purpose — to evaluate performance on the field.”
“Our players, coaches and fans — as well as all those who love this sport — deserve better. The committee failed college football today.”
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