BY JC RUIZ
Is anyone ever really happy when the College Football Playoff Committee makes a decision on who gets to play for the National Title? And this year was no easy choice either for the CFP. The biggest complaint was how did a 13–0 FSU team who won their conference championship get left out? Yes, they deserved to be there and then they also didn’t. So technically the College Football Playoff Committee got it right and wrong at the same time.
You’re asking how could the CFP get it right and wrong at the same time?
FSU deserved to be in because of their undefeated record and by winning the ACC Conference Championship. Based on that, they deserved to be in. But let’s be honest, this isn’t the same FSU team without Jordan Travis. Don’t believe me just look at the atrocious play against Louisville in the Championship game.
They had 55 yards in the air. 55 yards. And against the Gators they had 135 yards.
What the College Football Playoff Committee didn’t want was a repeat of last year’s championship game. Remember when TCU came in and sucked it up. FSU would have done the same with their backup quarterbacks. And that is the honest to god reason why they didn’t get in.
The CFP even has criteria listed on their website talking about how they decide who gets in. Look at last bullet point
“Other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.”
And with a two game sample it was clear to see that FSU was not the same team without Jordan Travis. Their defense is elite but without Travis under center their offense is not the same.
Do you want another repeat of the TCU blowout? Of course not. You want competitive games that keep viewers glued to the TV. No one is going to stick around for a blowout.
Now if you want to argue Alabama getting in over Georgia or Ohio State, have at it. Alabama beat Georgia and was the SEC champion. They get in. Sorry Georgia, it was a nice run.
The notion that Alabama barely beat Auburn doesn’t phase me. They almost lost people say, but they didn’t. A lot of teams had to come back to win games. Right FSU? It’s college football. Anyone can win on any given Saturday.
And Ohio State? Please. Cry me a river.
Do you really want to ensure the College Football Playoff Committee selects the best teams to get in every year? Start having powerhouse teams play real teams instead of cupcakes all season and then when they lose their conference title game they whine and cry about how they deserve to be in there. And I’m still looking at you Ohio State.
There shouldn’t be any complaints or drama next year when the playoffs expand to 12 teams. I’m sure some team with 2 or 3 losses is going to complain they deserve to get in because of X,Y or Z.
No one is ever going to be truly happy with the selection of teams from the CFP. And now there are state representatives in Florida who want to pass a bill to explore why FSU wasn’t selected. They want to see if there was some shady deals to let Alabama in to keep the SEC streak alive. And as someone who lives in Florida I rather those lazy and inept legislators focus on real issues for Floridians like the out of control housing and insurance crisis.
I get FSU is unhappy and will probably never get over it. Those kids deserved a shot, but not without Travis.
And no one is every happy with what teams get selected. The online squabbling makes sure everyone knows everyone is upset. That being said the rules clearly state the committee can take into consideration if a key player(s) is out.
It’s unfortunate, but based on the clearly defined rules, the committee was well in their right not to select them and they were right not to.
Now FSU can print t-shirts that say “Unconquered. Undefeated and Unselected.”
