WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Consider Aaron Rodgers among those who believe the College Football Playoff got it wrong.
The former Super Bowl champion and New York Jets quarterback, who played college football at California, said Tuesday on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he believes undefeated Florida State should have been part of the four-team playoff over one-loss Alabama.
"That was my team growing up. That was my team," Rodgers said of the Seminoles. "I think they should have got in and Texas."
Alabama, which lost to Texas at home in September, was ranked No. 8 in the penultimate playoff poll. Still, the Crimson Tide jumped Florida State for the fourth and final playoff spot after beating Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship game.
Texas, which was No. 7 in the second-to-last playoff poll, also jumped FSU after winning the Big 12 Conference championship. The Longhorns are joining the SEC next season.
Meanwhile, Florida State was left out, despite beating Louisville 16-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game with third-string quarterback Brock Glenn. The Seminoles became the first Power 5 conference champion to be excluded from college football's final four in the playoff era.
Instead, Florida State will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium later this month.
Rodgers, who has been on the sideline since an injury on the first offensive series of the Jets' season opener, once told ESPN that he wanted to play football for the legendary Bobby Bowden at Florida State, but most major college football programs didn't want him. Instead, he played football at an Oregon junior college, was discovered by then-Cal head coach Jeff Tedford and became a first-round NFL Draft pick after three standout seasons with the Golden Bears. Rodgers is a four-time NFL MVP, having spent his first 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers before signing with the Jets earlier this year.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he's set aside $1 million in his proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year for "any litigation expenses" that may come from FSU's playoff snub.