Alabama – Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
The College Football Playoff committee selected 1 loss (#8) Alabama over the undefeated ACC champions (#4) Florida State prompting immediate backlash.
College football fans are some of the most passionate fans in all of sports. When it comes to conference championship weekend everyone is locked in on every game. On Saturday, December 2, the #1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs faced the #8 Ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. With the season Alabama had thus far versus the then undefeated dogs coming off back-to-back national championships, everyone favored the dogs.
Surprisingly, Alabama muzzled the dogs for the fourth straight time in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium winning 27-24. This left the College Football Playoff committee with a tough decisions for the 4 team playoffs.
Previously no team ranked lower than #6 had ever made the playoff final four.
When noon hit yesterday December 3, all eyes were on ESPN as the final four was set to be revealed live. When the smoke cleared #8 Alabama, #7 Texas, #3 Washington, and #1 Michigan were selected for the playoffs. Instantly everyone noticed #4 Florida State was left out one day after winning their conference championship while remaining undefeated.
Additionally, the College Football world was instantly sent into shambles with people calling Florida’s exclusion egregious.
The conference president Jim Phillips immediately responded questioning the process by which teams were selected, according to ESPN. Furthermore, he ended his open letter by stating “College football deserved better”.
To make the screw job worse cameras were on hand to film Florida State’s reaction to the devastating news.
The Backlash To The Florida State Robbery Begins
Florida State HC Mike Norvell echoed the same sentiments but questioned how should he even break the situation down to his team. Additionally, he questioned why his team should even accept risks while scheduling opponents if the team won’t be rewarded in the end.
Also, if you’re wondering why FSU was left out it boils down to their star QB not being available for the playoffs due to an injury. That excuse isn’t a solid one but after TCU’s blowout loss to Georgia earlier this year in the Championship game we understand the logic.
However, the team wasn’t alone in their frustrations and was backed up by several high-profile members of the media and even fans from opposing teams. Click the jump to see reactions from the sports world to the FSU Finesse.
