By Malcolm Butler
If I’m Florida State, I’m ready to tomahawk chop the head off the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee. Following an undefeated season by the Seminoles, they are left on the outside looking in following Sunday’s announcement that Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama are the four selected to play for a national title.
Florida State Athletics Director Michael Alford released a statement following the selection show and didn’t mince words.
“The committee failed college football today,” said Alford.
I can’t say I disagree.
“The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far reaching, and permanent. Not just for Florida State, but college football as a whole,” Alford said. “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.”
Amen.
Sunday was full of opinions and reasons and suggestions and name-calling across all social media avenues. It was very entertaining to say the least. I shared mine, and I will share some of it here.
To the committee’s defense, Alabama beating Georgia in the SEC Championship game Saturday in Atlanta was the absolute worst thing that could have happened for them. It was the perfect storm as far as the committee was concerned, at least in my opinion.
Now they had to face the serious thought of a CFP without an SEC team. Unheard of, right?
It’s a league that has won four straight national titles and six of the nine during the current CFP system. I get it. The SEC has been really, really good.
I admit that I am not in the room, and I have not “studied the numbers” nearly as much as those folks on the committee. I do feel like I can at least look at this from an unbiased view because I don’t have a dog in the fight. I am not a fan any of the final eight teams.
So how does undefeated Florida State get left out?
The loss of Florida State starting QB Jordan Travis to an injury a few weeks ago what the only weakness in the Seminoles’ CFB armor. But should it have been enough to keep them out?
If I had a vote the Final Four would have been Michigan, Washington, Florida State and Texas. Yes. No SEC school in the CFP in my Final Four. Let me say I think any of the Great Eight (Michigan, Washington, Texas, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon) have the ability to win the national title.
I think you could throw all eight teams in a hat and draw four out and have a fantastic “tournament.”
I do understand that losing Travis makes Florida State’s path much more difficult and the Seminoles the biggest underdog of the eight probably. But does that mean they shouldn’t get the chance? Not in my book. They are an undefeated Power 5 team … the first ever to not make the College Football Playoffs.
Here is one of my biggest issues with the CFP committee’s decision yesterday.
The committee had the Seminoles ranked No. 4 in last week’s CFP rankings, this a few weeks after Travis went down to a season-ending injury. They had seen the Seminoles play without Travis a few times. Yet, they still had the Seminoles No. 4.
Texas was No. 7 and Alabama was No. 8.
Then Saturday Florida State defeated No. 14 Louisville 16-6 in the ACC title game to finish a perfect 13-0 season. And their reward from the committee? They see No. 7 and No. 8 jump them.
It’s a real head scratcher for me.
The CFP committee used the reason of the loss of Travis. Well why wasn’t that an issue the previous week when the Seminoles were No. 4 according to the CFP? Buehler? Buehler?
I’ve seen people say it was because the Seminoles 16-6 win over Louisville wasn’t pretty offensively. Well, how about a pretty damn good defense by Florida State? One that held the potent Cardinals offense to only 14-of-36 passing. One that sacked UL seven times. One that allowed just 2.2 yards per rush.
That’s pretty salty. Who said you can’t win a national championship with a great defense and a run-oriented offense? Could they have done just that? I don’t know. We will never know. But they sure deserved the chance to try in my opinion.
Here is another theory.
I believe if Georgia had beaten Alabama, Florida State would have remained in the Final Four (Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Florida State). But when the Crimson Tide pulled the “upset” over Georgia, it forced the committee’s hand.
How do they include Alabama without including Texas? After all, the Longhorns defeated Alabama in Tuscaloosa this year. And the Longhorns were ranked ahead of Alabama in last week’s CFP committee rankings due to their win over Alabama.
So in order for the CFP committee to send an SEC team — in this case Alabama — to the playoffs, they had to include Texas, right? That’s a theory, right or wrong.
Let me play the what if game? What if Georgia had defeated Alabama but lost their starting QB Carson Beck in the second half of the game? Would the CFP committee have left out Georgia? What if Alabama had lost starting QB Jalen Milroe Saturday against Georgia and still won. Would they have left Alabama out?
What if Michigan had lost starting QB J.J. McCarthy to injury in their win over Iowa in the Big Ten title game Saturday night. Would the CFP committee have left the Wolverines out?
My guess is no in all three cases.
It’s an intriguing debate, and it’s easy and hard to argue many of the scenarios. The only locks after Saturday’s results were Michigan and Washington. That left two spots. Oregon was the only team that was probably out after their second loss of the season to Washington. The rest of the seven all had pretty strong cases.
I personally have a tough time with Florida State not getting in after an undefeated season. They beat four Top 25 teams. They were 2-0 against the SEC, including a 45-24 win over LSU in Orlando and a road win at Florida. Have I mentioned its the first time an undefeated P5 team has been left out?
The question is should it be the best four teams at end of year or the four most deserving based on the full resume of the season? The answers are different and both are subjective. And I’m not sure the goal posts weren’t moved this year by the CFP committee.
I believe that all of those players and coaches on the 13-0 Seminoles football team shouldn’t be penalized because of the loss of one player.
I won’t be surprised if Alabama wins the national title. Or Texas. Or Michigan. Or Washington. I’m also not surprised Florida State got left out due to the SEC impact (or the Greg Sankey impact).
At the end of the day it’s just more proof of why they are extending the CFP to 12 teams next year.
In the meantime, the Seminoles made history this year. Unfortunately, the wrong type.
