Why Florida State didn’t deserve a berth in the College Football Playoff

If you’re a Florida State football fan, chances are your Sunday wasn’t all that wonderful. The Seminoles were left out of the top four in Sunday’s College Football Playoff final selections, sliding to No. 5, with Alabama taking their position as the No. 4 team in the country.

Since their starting quarterback, Jordan Travis, sustained a season-ending injury against North Alabama three weeks ago, Florida State has been a subject of interest. Many wondered if Travis’ injury would knock the Seminoles out of the top four, considering that one of the criteria used by the committee to determine the four best teams is injuries to relevant players.

Despite Travis’ injury, Florida State won its next two games, including a trip to The Swamp to face rival Florida and the ACC Championship Game against No. 16 Louisville. They did it with both of their backup quarterbacks, second-stringer Tate Rodemaker against Florida and third-stringer Brock Glenn against Louisville.

The committee couldn’t possibly overlook a 13-0 ACC Champion Florida State squad, right? That is precisely what they did.

The College Football Playoff selection committee made the correct, but tough, decision

It was extraordinary, to say the least, if not downright brave, and this 13-member committee will be hearing about it for the rest of the season, when the structure changes to a 12-team bracket instead of just four. But there was never going to be a simple solution to the dilemma. This was by far the most difficult choice the committee has had to make to date, including back in 2014 when they reinstated Ohio State at No. 4 over TCU and Baylor.

That’s been a recurring theme in this year’s debates, given that the Buckeyes lost starting quarterback JT Barrett to injury in the Michigan game, forcing Cardale Jones to make his first start in the Big Ten Championship Game the following week, defeating No. 13 Wisconsin 59-0. With Jones at the helm, Ohio State defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl before defeating Oregon in the national championship game.

Because the Buckeyes had a significantly better showing in their conference championship game in 2014 than Florida State did on Saturday night, Alabama advanced four spots in the final rankings with their win over No. 1 Georgia. That put Alabama one spot ahead of the Seminoles, who really shouldn’t have been placed higher than Ohio State, whose only loss is now to the No. 1 team in the country, Michigan, in The Big House.

The committee’s decision to rank Florida State football fifth is possibly the most infuriating aspect of this entire situation, as it feels more like a consolation prize. You won the ACC championship, so you were still rather excellent. This year’s Florida State football team was good, but only without Travis; with him, they could be outstanding and worthy of a playoff spot.