On December 3rd, 2023 the College Football Playoff Committee released their top four teams that will be competing in the playoffs. Their rankings were Michigan (1), Washington (2), Texas (3), and Alabama (4). Ranking fifth and sixth were Florida State and Georgia, respectively. Just moments after rankings aired, the College Football world took to social media. “The system stinks!” host Mike Greenberg said on the show Get Up! on ESPN.
Former players and coaches, and of course alumni, shared their opinions on the rankings all over social media. Florida State fans took it the hardest, after going 13-0 and winning the ACC championship, they were not selected for the college football playoffs. This is the first time ever that an undefeated, conference champion was not selected to play in the playoffs. It was decided that without their starting quarterback, Jordan Travis, Florida State was deemed “a different team” by a member of the selection committee. When they say “a different team,” the committee means that they feel Florida State would not play at the same level of competition that they would if Jordan Travis had not suffered a season ending injury in week 11.
Former NFL Quarterback, Robert Griffin lll, posted a tweet saying “Florida State EARNED their spot in the CFP (College Football Playoffs) on the field. With and without Jordan Travis.” The question is, Is the committee able to take into account the players’ availability for the game?
In the second section of the College Football Playoff Committee Protocol, it states that “The selection committee will select the teams using a process that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering: Conference championships won, Strength of schedule, Head‐to‐head competition, Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory), and, Other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.” According to the playoff committee protocol, Florida State has a key player that is unavailable to play, which is a justifiable reason for them to be left out of the playoffs. Regardless of how fans, football analysts, coaches, and players feel about the decision, the playoff committee has procedural precedent for the playoff rankings.
Although the decision to keep Florida State out is justified, did the committee really pick the best four teams in the country? Will there ever be a year that everyone is content with the playoff rankings? Even though college football is implementing a 12 team playoff bracket as of next year, unfortunately the answer is most likely no because college football fans will never be convinced by the committee.