Stephen A. Smith Suggests Unbeaten Florida State Would Have Made CFP If Coached by Deion Sanders

In College Football Playoff’s final year of utilizing a four-team system, it finally spit out a truly unpopular choice.

The CFP’s selection of Alabama—a 12-1 team with several close calls under its belt—over 13-0 Florida State has ruffled feathers across the country. Overnight, the Seminoles and injured quarterback Jordan Travis became a national cause célèbre ahead of their Orange Bowl date with Georgia.

The controversy attracted commentary from across the country, including perhaps America’s most famous living sports media personality: ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith.

On Monday morning’s episode of First Take, Smith insisted that the Seminoles would have made the CFP if Colorado coach Deion Sanders were in charge in Tallahassee.

“I bet if Prime Time Deion Sanders was the coach, they wouldn’t have gotten left out,” Smith said. “Why do I bring him up? Because if Prime Time had an undefeated team, the sizzle he brings to the sport matters. We want to act like it doesn’t matter, but it matters because it is a business.”