By Elias Barcena 
Photo Credit: FSU ATHLETICS
Tallahassee, FL-
A perfect regular season. Top-25 ranked away wins versus Clemson, LSU, and an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship trophy against Louisville.
In an unprecedented move, the Florida State Seminoles became the first undefeated team not to qualify for the CFP from the “Power 5” Conferences (ACC, SEC, BIG10, BIG12, PAC12). Throughout the week, there was speculation about how the committee would select the playoff teams: who they thought the best or most deserving teams were. Revealed in their final rankings released Sunday, December 2nd, the committee decided Michigan (13-0), Washington (13-0), Texas (12-1), and Alabama (12-1) to be among the best four teams, leaving the Florida State Seminoles out. Their reasoning, in the words of committee chair Boo Corrigan- the Seminoles football team is simply a “different team” after losing star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury. “FSU” and “Jordan Travis” quickly became trending topics on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sports broadcasters immediately began debating the topic. On ESPN, pundits such as Booger McFarland, a former professional football player, called the selection a “travesty to the sport” after the Sunday afternoon selections. Soon after, head coach Mike Norvell released a statement stating he was “disgusted and infuriated” with the committee’s decision. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips berated the committee, calling the move “unfathomable.” FSU fans around the country were devastated, with many comparing FSU’s situation to the 2014 Ohio State Football team, who won the 2014 National Championship with a 3rd string quarterback at the helm.
The decision not only prompted reactions from those involved with football but drew in comments from various politicians as well. State and national government officials offered their thoughts on the decision, with many being critical of the selection. Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla) called the selection a “corrupt decision” fueled by “TV money.” Byron Donalds (R-Fla), an FSU alumnus, was highly critical of the move, calling the committee “trash” while explaining why the Seminoles were more deserving of the playoff bid.
Former president Donald Trump said Florida State was “treated really bad,” in an apparent political move where he blamed Ron DeSantis for a “bad lobbying effort.” Ron DeSantis also criticized the decision while congratulating the team for their ACC Championship win. Trump and DeSantis are currently engaged in a fight to attain the 2024 Republican nomination. Trump currently leads DeSantis by 46 points, holding 59 percent of votes compared to thirteen, respectively.
In a letter released by the office of Rick Scott, Florida’s Junior Senator and former governor, he demanded answers from the College Football Playoff committee. Scott called the move “shocking” and demanded “total transparency” regarding how Florida State was dropped from the rankings despite being ranked fourth just the week before. According to the letter, the decision resulted in FSU and the ACC being denied around two million dollars in revenue distribution.
“There are countless other concerns and arguments that could be voiced here, but the main issue is the justified perception of an unfair system that has wrongly disregarded the known strengths of an undefeated team over the speculated impact of losing a single player,” Scott wrote. “While I doubt the committee’s decision will be reversed to rightly reward FSU for its hard-fought, undefeated season as the committee has done for other undefeated Power Five conference champions in recent years, I do believe that total transparency regarding how this decision was reached would do tremendous good for the committee, the CFP as a whole, and the college football community.”
According to a report by Front Office Sports, legislation may be on the table regarding decisions made by the committee. Former Florida State and Philadelphia Eagles player Corey Simon, a current senator within Florida’s legislature, accused college football of being “corrupt” while saying “lawsuits should be filed.”
It is unclear what legislation could be on the table, but according to the report, it is something being considered. In 2017, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Knights football team compiled a 13-0 season in the AAC Conference but was not chosen by the CFP committee. Rick Scott, Governor at the time, recognized the Knights as national champions within the Sunshine State. At the time, UCF’s football team was part of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), which made part of the “Group of 5”, a subdivision of the Football Bowl Division under the “Power 5” conferences.
Whether or not any legal or political action will stem from the Seminoles’ snub is still up in the air. What is for certain- Seminole fans around the nation were heartbroken with the committee’s decision. Florida State is scheduled to face off against Georgia (12-1) for the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens on December 30th. While this is not the matchup against the two teams many were expecting, many players are expected to sit out to avoid possible injury in anticipation of the 2024 NFL draft.