Football fans across the nation are questioning whether the College Football Playoff Committee made a mistake by ruling that Florida State University cannot be in the college football playoffs over Christmas over Christmas. Before we dig into the issue, what do you think?
The Seminoles had a very successful season, being undefeated (13-0) and winning the ACC Championship against Louisville, so they seem to have earned a spot in the playoffs. Despite this, the College Football Playoff Committee thinks Florida State shouldn’t play, citing the “unavailability of key players” since their star quarterback, Jordan Travis, broke his leg in a game against Northern Alabama and missed the final two games of the season. Essentially, they are saying that FSU did not make it to the playoff because their first-string starters must be on the field and capable of playing rather than subbing in a second or third-string player. According to Boo Corrigan, the College Football Committee Chair, “As you look at who they are as a team, right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team.” But many fans and players–including Jameis Winston, the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints–think this is just an excuse.
In case you aren’t familiar with the process of selecting teams for the championship, here’s how it works: the College Football Playoff Committee consists of 13 members. Rather than simply choosing teams with winning records to be in the playoffs (the different scheduling of games is why they cannot be based on wins and losses), the committee decides using a variety of factors. To help them make the decision, they rank teams based on things like their performance, any conference championships, the strength of their schedule, and head-to-head competition. This year, the committee selected Michigan (whose record was 13-0, and they also won the Big 10 Championship), Washington (who also has a record of 13-0 and won the Pac 12 Championship), Texas (with a 12-1 record along with the Big 12 Championship), and Alabama (whose record is 12-1 and includes the SEC Championship). All are great teams with impressive records, but we could say the same thing about Florida State, which won the ACC Championship.
Given the teams that did make it into the playoffs, we might ask if the “availability of players” issue is really the issue. SEC schools, such as Alabama, are known to dominate college football, while the ACC (Florida State’s conference) is an underdog when it comes to football (but, to be fair, excels in basketball). As an SEC team, Alabama football makes around $130.87M per year, while FSU makes $9.7M. We have to ask if money plays a part in the decision. Is this about securing sponsors who will pay big bucks to advertise during the games?
Another interesting thing to consider is that there’s a rumor going around that FSU is trying to leave the ACC. Allegedly, they have been trying to raise $120M in revenue for their program–and that happens to be the amount that it would cost Florida State to leave the ACC. It makes sense that FSU might want to join the SEC along with the University of Florida. After all of the drama surrounding this year’s playoffs–and the disrespect that this ACC team feels–they may just decide to make that move.
Now that you know a bit more, I ask you the same question I asked you in initially. Do you think FSU should be in the College Football Playoffs?
