On Sunday, the college football playoff released its final rankings: 1. Michigan (13-0), 2. Washington (13-0), 3. Texas (12-1), 4. Alabama (12-1). Most notably, the undefeated ACC champion Florida State was left out of the playoff being ranked number 5. The committee’s reasoning for Alabama’s inclusion over Florida State and Georgia was that it wanted to select the “best 4 teams in college football”. Let’s break down why this line of reasoning is everything that is wrong with college football.
First and foremost, I’m no statistician but a team with a record of 13-0 should generally be selected in front of a 12-1 team. Now, the argument could have been made back in 2017 that the Central Florida Golden Knights were undeserving of entering the college football playoff with a record of 13-0, and that was understandable since they played a relatively weak AAC schedule with their most impressive wins being against Big 10 lightweights Maryland, and fellow AAC school Memphis.
However, the same argument cannot be made with Florida State. The Seminoles went undefeated in a power 5 conference with notable wins over the 5th ranked LSU Tigers, who were led by Heisman front runner Jayden Daniels, the 14th ranked Louisville Cardinals, who they met in the ACC championship game and beat with their third string quarterback, and most notably they traveled into Death Valley and became the first team to defeat Clemson on their home turf since 2016. These are serious wins that build an impressive resume, s0 why was Florida State left out of the college Football Playoff?
Everything was going perfect for the Seminoles’ season until star QB Jordan Travis broke his leg in a week 11 rout of North Alabama. This is why Florida State is not in the college football playoff. The playoff committee views Florida State as too weak of a team without its starting quarterback. Yes, they are inarguably a weaker team without Travis at the helm, but the Seminoles still managed to travel down to Gainesville and defeat the rival Florida Gators 25-14 in their own Swamp. This game more than anything showcased that Florida State’s real strength lay in its defense; in only one game this year did the opposing team put up more than 20 points against the Seminoles.
If not the Seminoles, then who? Well, you know em’ and you’re sick of em’, but it’s the Alabama Crimson Tide. Stumbling out the gates early, Alabama lost a head-to-head bout against Texas in Tuscaloosa by the score of 34-24. And after that things went from bad to ugly against lowly South Florida, who Alabama struggled mightily to beat by a score of 17-3.
After this brutal stretch, Bama found its quarterback in Jayden Milroe and proceeded to rattle off 8 straight victories in SEC play. This culminated in the most impressive win of the season with their 27-24 win over the previously undefeated and two-time defending national champ Georgia Bulldogs. In a head-to-head, would Alabama most likely beat Florida State? Probably, and that’s why they’re in the college football playoff.
Ignoring the record of a team when deciding the best four teams in college football completely goes against the spirit of the sport. Football is famous for its any given Sunday mantra where any team can win any given game regardless of their record. But any given Saturday, your team could be withheld their deserved chance to prove themselves all because they “look too weak”. If the criteria for selecting the playoffs is based on who seems like the best four teams regardless of their record, then why do we even play the games?
If we were to select the top four teams regardless of record then there is no way the Georgia Bulldogs should be omitted. On the backs of one of the most historically dominant defenses in college football, Georgia bulldozed through the SEC passing the “eye test” with flying colors. I challenge you to find anyone who thinks Texas has been a better team than Georgia. Yet, the best four teams argument seems to only come up when including Alabama over Florida State. How convenient.
Imagine if this happened in the NFL. If the 11-6 Steelers were left out of the playoffs in favor of the 10-7 Chargers because the Steelers are down a starting quarterback and Justin Herbert is just so dang good, would that be fair? While admittedly the Steelers are a chore to watch, that should never disqualify them from any opportunities they earn. The Seminoles winning games in spite of adversity is something the playoff committee should have celebrated, not punished.
From now on Florida State can only be left to wonder what could have been. Sports are supposed to be the great equalizer and the fact that some schools are given the benefit of the doubt while others schools are shafted even when they do everything right leaves a bad taste in the mouth to say the least.
