Seminoles miss out on spot in College Football Playoff

Florida State won't get a chance to play for a national championship.

The Seminoles were left out of the top four in the final season of the four-team College Football Playoff, finishing No. 5 and instead relegated to the Orange Bowl, home of the Atlantic Coast Conference champion.

Florida State becomes the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to be left out of the playoff.

The Seminoles (13-0) lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury two weeks ago and backup Tate Rodemaker last weekend, leaving third-string quarterback Brock Glenn to helm the offense in the ACC Championship game. The Seminoles struggled offensively against Louisville but prevailed 16-6, thanks to Florida State's defense. However, the committee is instructed to judge the teams for what they are heading into the playoff and decided FSU without Travis was not among the best four in the country.

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"In the eyes of the committee, Florida State is a different team without Jordan Travis," College Football Playoff selection committee chairman and North Carolina State athletic director Boo Corrigan said. "One of the things we do consider is player availability, and our job is to rank the best teams, and in the final decision looking at that, it was Alabama at 4 and Florida State at 5."

Travis took to X, formerly known as Twitter, shortly after the pairings were announced, saying he was "devastated" and "heartbroken" by Florida State's omission.

"I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y'all could see this team is much more than the quarterback," Travis said. "I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!"

Colin Hackley/AP

No. 1 Michigan will face No. 4 Alabama (12-1) in the semifinal at the Rose Bowl, while No. 2 Washington (13-0) will take on No. 3 Texas (12-1) in the seminal at the Sugar Bowl.

Florida State, which is No. 4 in The Associated Press poll, dropped one spot to No. 5 in the final playoff poll, ahead of No. 6 Georgia (12-1), which had its 29-game winning streak snapped by Alabama in the Southeastern Conference Championship game.

"I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee's decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games," FSU head coach Mike Norvell said. "What is the point of playing games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games? We are not only an undefeated P5 conference champion, but we also played two P5 non-conference games away from home and won both of them."

The snub led to a scathing commentary of the College Football Playoff selection process by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips.

"It's unfathomable that Florida State, an undefeated Power Five conference champion, was left out of the College Football Playoff," Phillips said. "Their exclusion calls into question the selection process and whether the committee's own guidelines were followed, including the significant importance of being an undefeated Power Five conference champion. My heart breaks for the talented FSU student-athletes and coaches and their passionate and loyal fans. Florida State deserved better. College football deserved better."

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford agreed, chastising the selection committee.

"The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far-reaching and permanent," Alford said. "Not just for Florida State, but college football as a whole. 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. The 2023 Florida State Seminoles are the epitome of a total TEAM. To eliminate them from a chance to compete for a national championship is an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is unforgivable."

Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP

Alford went on to say that the way in which the Seminoles won down the stretch, "in dominant fashion facing our current quarterback situation should have ENHANCED our case to get a playoff berth EARNED on the field."

"Wins matter. Losses matter," Alford continued. "Those that compete in the arena know this. Those on the committee who also competed in the sport and should have known this have forgotten it. Today, they changed the way success is assessed in college football, from a tangible metric – winning on the field – to an intangible, subjective one. Evidently, predicting the future matters more."

Alford said the decision by the committee "has forever damaged the credibility of the institution that is the College Football Playoff. And, saddest of all, it was self-inflicted. They chose predictive competitiveness over proven performance; subjectivity over fact. They have become a committee of prognosticators. They have abandoned their responsibility by discarding their purpose – to evaluate performance on the field."

"Our players, coaches and fans – as well as all those who love this sport – deserve better," he added. "The committee failed college football today."

Even Florida's governor – a Republican presidential candidate – chimed in, congratulating FSU on its undefeated season and criticizing the playoff committee for its oversight.

"What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results," Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

The consolation prize for Florida State will be a return to the Orange Bowl, where the Seminoles will play Georgia for the first time since the 2003 Sugar Bowl.

"I'm proud of the work we have put in and the players I have the privilege to coach," Norvell said. "We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team in the Orange Bowl, and I believe in how our team will respond."

The Seminoles have won in each of their last two trips, including a 33-32 victory over Michigan in the 2016 game.