For the first time in years, the College Football Playoff committee was faced with a difficult decision for the four-team playoff. And Florida State has every right to be furious about the teams the committee landed on.
Despite going undefeated and winning the ACC title, Florida State was dropped to No. 5 on the final CFP rankings, making them the first unbeaten team from a Power 5 conference to miss out on the playoff.
Instead, Alabama (12-1) jumped FSU after defeating then-top-ranked Georgia in the SEC title game. When that decision was announced, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell and his players were in visible disbelief.
You can tell just how upset Mike Norvell is for his players in this video.
All they did was win every game on their schedule.
An unforgivable and incompetent decision by the CFP that clearly just absolutely devastates this team: pic.twitter.com/bOabfKhRHJ
— Zach Blostein (@ZBlostein247) December 3, 2023
That was just the beginning. Shortly after the CFP selection show concluded, Florida State released a statement from Norvell. He didn’t hold back at all as the committee essentially penalized FSU for overcoming a tough injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.
From the head coach on today’s @CFBPlayoff Committee rankings#KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/cnP4n8mcpr
— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) December 3, 2023
The way the season played out was always going to leave one team disappointed, but it’s awfully tough to leave out an undefeated Power 5 champion. No wonder fans appreciated the statement from Norvell.
