While four teams celebrate the opportunity to play for a national title on the field, undefeated ACC champion Florida State is on the outside, where coach Mike Norvell said he was “disgusted and angry” as the Seminoles became the first undefeated Power 5 conference winners Never Miss College Football Playoff game.
“I am disgusted and angry at the committee’s decision today to take away what was won on the field because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the matches,” Norvell said in a statement. “What’s the point of playing games? Do you tell players it’s OK to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of getting injured? Where is the motivation to schedule tough non-conference games?”
“Not only are we undefeated P5 conference champions, but we’ve also played two P5 games on the road and won both. I don’t understand how we’re supposed to think that’s an acceptable way to evaluate a team. … What happened today goes against everything that is right And it’s true in college football.”
“It’s unfathomable,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips added.
While Michigan (13-0, Big Ten champion), Washington (13-0, Pac-12 champion), Texas (12-1, Big 12 champion) and Alabama (12-1, SEC champion) were the first four teams to reach the playoff game, and the Seminoles (13-0) were doomed by a series of surprising injuries at the quarterback position.
“The consequences of surrendering to the narrative of the moment are devastating, far-reaching and lasting. Not just for the state of Florida, but for college football as a whole,” NFL athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement. “The argument about whether a team is ‘the most deserving or the best’ is a false equation. It makes the season up until yesterday irrelevant and greatly damages the legitimacy of the College Football Playoff.
“…the committee failed in college football today.”
Florida State, as a No. 5 seed, will face the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs (No. 6) in the Orange Bowl.
“Their exclusion calls into question the selection process and whether the committee’s own guidelines were followed, including the great importance of being an undefeated Power Five Conference champion,” Phillips said in his statement. “My heart breaks for the talented student-athletes and coaches of the NFL and their passionate and loyal fans.
“Florida State deserves better. College football deserves better.”
The committee appears to be focused on how competitive the Seminoles will be in the playoff hunt without quarterback Jordan Travis, who suffered a season-ending leg injury in mid-November. FSU started backup Tate Rodemaker in its final regular-season win over the Florida Gators, but a concussion kept him out of the ACC title game.
“I wish I had broken my leg earlier in the season so you all could see this team as much more than just a quarterback,” Travis posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
Destroyed. Heart broken. In much disbelief, I wish I had broken my leg earlier in the season so you could all see this team as much more than just a quarterback. I thought the results were important. 13-0 and this roster matches any team in the top 4 rankings. I’m very sorry. Go Knowles!
– Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) December 3, 2023
Quarterback injuries forced Norvell to go with freshman Brock Glenn in Saturday’s ACC title game — a win over Louisville in which the Seminoles’ defense led the way.
“The 2023 Florida State Seminoles are the epitome of a complete team,” Alford said in his statement. “Excluding them from the opportunity to compete for a national championship is an inexcusable injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is inexcusable.
“The fact that this team has continued to finish wins in dominant fashion against our current quarterback situation should have strengthened our case for an earned playoff berth on the field. Instead, the committee decided to elevate itself and ‘make history’ today by going beyond “It makes this sport great by eliminating an undefeated Power 5 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.”
Florida State was ranked No. 4 in the previous CFP rankings, and before Sunday’s selections, no team ranked outside the top six of the CFP’s second-to-last rankings had jumped into the final four. Both Alabama and Texas accomplished this feat on Sunday.
“Florida State is a different team than it was the first 11 weeks,” CFP Selection Committee Chairman Boo Corrigan told ESPN. “When you look at who they are as a team right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamism that he brings, they are a different team and the committee voted Alabama a four and Florida State a five.”
Alford vehemently denied that this mattered.
“Wins matter. Losses matter. And those who compete in the arena know that,” Alford said. “Those on the committee who also competed in the sport and should have known that had forgotten that. Today, they have changed the way success is evaluated in college football, from a tangible metric — winning on the field — to an intangible, personal metric. 1. From Obviously, predicting the future is of greater importance.
“For many of us, the decision the committee made today has forever damaged the credibility of the institution that represents the College Football Playoff. Sadest of all, it was self-inflicted. They chose predictive competitiveness over proven performance; subjectivity over fact.” They became a committee of forecasters. “They have abdicated their responsibility by ignoring their goal – which is to evaluate performance on the field.”
Norvell said the Seminoles overcame adversity by continuing to win despite quarterback injuries.
“I feel pain for our players who have shown a tremendous amount of resilience and responsiveness this season,” Norvell said. “…A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win whatever it took on the field was cheated out of today. It’s a sad day for college football.”
Georgia’s quest for a third straight national championship was derailed by one ill-timed loss. The Bulldogs (12-1) have won 29 straight games, but Saturday’s loss to Alabama in the SEC title game left Georgia on the outside watching. As a result, the Bulldogs became the first No. 1 team in the penultimate CFP rankings to fall out of the top four after losing in Championship Weekend.
The SEC champion has never been left out of the College Football Playoff. Alabama, making its eighth appearance, kept that streak alive.
The SEC has won the past four national championships (Georgia twice, Alabama and LSU), and six of the nine titles overall during the CFP era. Two SEC teams have played twice for the championship: Alabama beat Georgia for the 2017 title, and Georgia topped Alabama for the 2021 title.
ESPN’s Andrea Adelson contributed to this report.
