What happened on Sunday afternoon was a disgrace to sports.
More than 100 college kids’ lives were drastically altered — and not for the better — thanks to the opinions of what has to be the most odd combination of 13 people you’ll ever meet.
Those 13 people make up the College Football Playoff committee, which had the unenviable task of selecting four teams to compete for college football’s national championship. But there was only one problem: Six different teams had strong cases to be included in the four-team field.
In the 10-year history of the CFP, which is ironically expanding to 12 teams next season, there has arguably never been a decision as tough as what the committee had to face on Sunday afternoon.
The committee had to cut a six-team field of Michigan (13-0), Washington (13-0), Texas (12-1), Florida State (13-0), Alabama (12-1) and Georgia (12-1) down to just four teams.
Setting aside conference titles and head-to-head results, any non-college football watcher would rather easily deduce the three undefeated teams — Michigan, Washington and Florida State — should all be in.
The fourth spot would seemingly be up for grabs between Texas, Alabama and Georgia, all of which held 12-1 records.
But it wasn’t that simple.
What should have been a three-teams-for-one-spot debate turned into a four-teams-for-two-spots one for a variety of reasons.
The argument centered around Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, who recently suffered a season-ending injury. Since Travis’ injury, the Seminoles have looked mediocre at best, but they’ve continued to win.
Meanwhile, Alabama claimed the best win in the country with its defeat of No. 1 Georgia, ending the Bulldogs’ 29-game win streak.
Just hours before Alabama’s huge win, Texas throttled Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game.
To make matters even more interesting, Texas beat Alabama by 10 points in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, back in September.
While undefeated Michigan and Washington sat comfortably on Sunday morning leading up to the selection show, Florida State, Alabama, Georgia and Texas were all on pins and needles waiting for the announcement.
An undefeated Power Five champion — in this case, Florida State — had never been left out of the playoff in its 10-year history.
But the Seminoles had been looking very suspect without their star quarterback, and they weren’t one of the four best teams in the country without him.
The committee quickly decided Georgia, the only team of the bunch that didn’t win its conference championship, should be eliminated and Texas’ resume was good enough to put the Longhorns into the playoff.
With Michigan, Washington and Texas seemingly in and Georgia out, the debate came down to 13-0 Florida State and 12-1 Alabama.
In short, the committee sided with Alabama, which was a cowardly move and a complete disgrace to anyone associated with Florida State.
Florida State is 10 times more deserving than Alabama, and that’s a hill I will die on.
I want to be clear. If Alabama and Florida State played on a neutral field tomorrow, I’d predict the Crimson Tide to win by 14 or more.
But that’s not the point. Is Alabama the better team? Yeah, probably. But they didn’t do enough to put themselves in the CFP. At least not in this wild year.
What else was Florida State supposed to do? Their quarterback got hurt, and all they did was keep winning. All 21 other starters continued to do their jobs. All the work they put in throughout the offseason was done with an end goal of 13-0 in mind.
They did it, but the committee hosed them.
It’s a disgraceful move by the 13 people in that small room in Grapevine, Texas. The bias toward the SEC has never been stronger, and I feel awful for Florida State players, coaches and fans.
They were robbed in favor of the bright, shiny toy that is Alabama.
