Florida State Football

College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock explained the committee's decision to give undefeated Florida State the No. 5 ranking to a group of politicians that included United States Senator Rick Scott, who demanded transparency regarding the final standings.

"Everyone on the Committee understands the disappointment felt by Florida State fans," Hancock wrote in a letter sent on Friday, per ESPN's Andrea Adelson. "We recognize that no matter what decision was made, fans somewhere would be disappointed. ... The Committee members are confident they made the right decisions in ranking the best four teams in the country based on the protocol and we all look forward to great playoff games."

However, Scott was left unsatisfied with Hancock's explanation. He claimed that there was still "no transparency" in the letter in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

🚨BREAKING: The @CFBPlayoff just responded to my letter with more excuses & still NO TRANSPARENCY.@FSUFootball was #4 before beating #14 Louisville without Jordan Travis…but then after that win, the CFP thinks #FSU is a weaker team? It makes no sense. ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS! pic.twitter.com/nCGPSiJ7qE

— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 15, 2023

In the Week 13 edition of the CFP rankings, the Seminoles ranked No. 4 with a perfect 12-0 record. Although head coach Mike Norvell's team defeated Louisville in the ACC Championship Game to remain unbeaten, they fell out of the College Football Playoff picture due to Alabama's upset win over Georgia combined with Texas easily toppling Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Although an undefeated Power Five team missing the CFP is hard to fathom, Florida State lost standout quarterback Jordan Travis for the season due to a leg injury that he suffered in the team's 58-13 win over North Alabama in Week 12.

"In so much disbelief [right now], I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y'all could see this team is much more than the quarterback," Travis said in a post after the final rankings were released. "I thought results matter."

Nick Saban has sympathy for Florida State and the other teams that just missed out on reaching the College Football Playoff.

Saban's squad in Alabama, along with Michigan, Washington and Texas, will be the four teams featured in this year's CFP. The Crimson Tide were the last team in after beating Georgia in the SEC Championship.

After the game, Saban did his best to promote his team for the playoff. The legendary coach discussed his pitch on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday.

"My responsibility and obligation is to our team," Saban said. "I did the best job that I could to promote what we've been able to accomplish in winning 11-straight games or whatever, beating the number one team in the country in Georgia. And we're a different team now than we were earlier in the season, so that was my obligation to our players and our team and I'm proud of them for the way they responded to it, I'm proud of them for the way they played in the SEC Championship game."

"We've won 11 straight games & beat the number 1 team in Georgia..

I'm proud of how we played in the SEC Championship & we've been on the outside looking in..

I also have compassion & feel bad for the teams that have an argument to get into the CFP & didn't" ~ Coach Saban pic.twitter.com/s8AiGapdOZ

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 7, 2023

Saban knows what it's like to just miss out on the College Football Playoff. Last season, Alabama was the No. 5 team in the final CFP rankings. That experience has helped him relate to some of the teams that were left out of the field.

"We've been on the other side of this. We've been on the outside looking in," Saban said. "We've been the team that didn't get in. We've been the fifth place team, so we kind of know how it feels."

While Saban is ultimately glad his team reached the CFP, he said that he has sympathy for some of the first teams out, like Florida State, which posted an undefeated record and an ACC Championship.

"I actually feel bad about it, because there really are a lot of teams this year who could make an argument to say, 'We should be there.' I get that," Saban said. "I feel great for our team, our team's worked hard. I'm glad that they have the opportunity to do what they have to do, be it playing another No. 1 team in the country in the Rose Bowl, they've worked hard for it, but I also feel bad for the teams that have an argument to into the playoff that didn't."

Saban and Alabama will take on Michigan in the CFP Semifinal on Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET.

After being snubbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee, Florida State is set to lose one of its best players to the NFL draft.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported on Wednesday that Seminoles wide receiver Johnny Wilson said he's foregoing his final year of eligibility to declare for the draft. The redshirt junior is reportedly projected as a top-100 pick, and he said he plans to play in the Senior Bowl.

Florida State was surprisingly left out of the top four for the College Football Playoff despite going 13-0 and winning the ACC championship. The Seminoles are set to face Georgia in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.

Wilson ranked second on Florida State with 41 catches, 617 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He opened the year in promising fashion with back-to-back 100-yard games, but an undisclosed injury caused him to miss time and ultimately impacted his production. He showed what he can do when fully healthy with 45 receptions for 897 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, including a monster performance in the Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma when he finished with 202 yards on eight catches.

At 6'7" and 237 pounds, Wilson is a huge target on the outside who can take the top off a defense. Over the course of his four-year collegiate career, he has an average of 17.2 yards per reception. He spent his first two years at Arizona State before transferring to Florida State prior to the 2022 campaign.

Wilson will be a part of a talented wide receiver class that includes his teammate and Flordia State's leading receiver Keon Coleman, Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Jr., LSU speedster Malik Nabers and Washington standout Rome Odunze. Wilson will have a lot of work to do to vault into consideration as a first-round pick in 2024.

After spending the 2023 season at Oregon State, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei reportedly could be on the verge of a return to the ACC.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, the two schools that have emerged as Uiagalelei's top suitors are Florida State and Louisville. Mississippi State has also shown some interest. He has one more year of eligibility left after spending his first three seasons at Clemson.

Thamel described Uiagalelei as "one of the top quarterbacks available" in the transfer portal this year. Despite the reported interest from those three schools, he has no visits scheduled at the moment.

In his lone season with the Beavers, Uiagalelei threw for a career-high 2,638 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a passer rating of 145.0. He also added six rushing touchdowns as he led Oregon State to an 8-4 record. The team lost to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game and will face Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 29.

A 5-star recruit in the class of 2020, Uiagalelei began his career as the backup to star quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He made waves when he threw for 439 yards and two touchdowns against Notre Dame in his second career start when Lawrence was sidelined with COVID-19.

When he took over as Clemson's full-time starter in 2021, Uiagalelei struggled to find consistency and threw 10 interceptions against just nine touchdowns that season. He had a better showing in 2022 but was benched during the ACC Championship game in favor of Cade Klubnik, which led to his decision to transfer to Oregon State.

Uiagalelei is an experienced starter with a 30-10 career record, so he will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the team with whom he chooses to end his collegiate career in 2024.

Count Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill among those who believe undefeated Florida State should not have been left out of the College Football Playoff in favor of one-loss Alabama.

"I wasn't too happy," he said on his It Needed to be Said podcast (20-minute mark). "I was in the locker room letting Tua [Tagovailoa] hear about it, letting Jaylen Waddle hear about it. … I was letting all those Bama guys on our team hear about it. How do y'all make the top four when there's an undefeated FSU team?"

While Hill surely had some fun teasing his teammates who went to Alabama about the preferential treatment the Crimson Tide received, he expressed sympathy for the Florida State players who did everything asked of them throughout the season on the way to an undefeated record.

Yet the CFP selection committee kept the Seminoles out of the field because star quarterback Jordan Travis is sidelined by injury, which impacts the team's ability to compete with the best in the nation and win a championship.

CFP selection chair Boo Corrigan said as much during an appearance on ESPN:

Corrigan: "You can lose a running back, you can lose a receiver but when you lose a quarterback as dynamic as Jordan Travis, it changes their offense in its entirety and that was a really big factor."

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 3, 2023

While Florida State may not have looked as dominant during wins against Florida and Louisville as it did when Travis was under center, it still earned those victories. And the win over Louisville gave it an ACC championship and added a victory over a top-15 team to its resume.

Still, it wasn't enough to prevent it from becoming the first undefeated Power Five conference team to be left out of the CFP in the history of the event.

For his part, Travis said he wished his injury came sooner so his team had more time to prove it was worthy of a selection without him:

devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!

— Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) December 3, 2023

Instead, Florida State will face Georgia in the Orange Bowl, while fourth-seeded Alabama will play against top-seeded Michigan in the first round of the CFP.

Things will be different next season when the playoff field expands from four teams to 12, but that—along with Hill's sympathy—is surely of little solace to Florida State and its fans at this point.

The announcement of Heisman Trophy finalists is always going to come with its fair share of controversy and debate.

But a little over 24 hours after receiving the most shocking College Football field in the 10-year history of the competition, this year's finalists have caused a bit more of an uproar among college football fans than usual.

While the four finalists—LSU's Jayden Daniels, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix, and Washington Michael Penix Jr.—have all had spectacular seasons, the outrage has been about those that got snubbed.

Namely Florida State's Jordan Travis and Alabama's Jalen Milroe.

Travis was in the middle of a sensational campaign when he went down with a gruesome leg injury in the Seminoles' penultimate regular season game against North Alabama. Since then, despite going undefeated and winning the ACC title, FSU was left out of the playoff.

The reason being FSU didn't look the same and weren't the same team without Travis—who was a Heisman hopeful.

As for Milroe, following an early-season loss at Texas, there haven't been many better quarterbacks in the country as he's completed a turnaround of Alabama's season and sparked a return to the CFP after a win in the SEC title game.

Milroe has 42 total touchdowns to go along with 2,718 passing yards and 468 rushing yards.

And college football fans were ready to hammer the powers that be over this latest controversial decision.

Jordan Travis too good for FSU to make the playoff but not good enough to be a Heisman finalist 🤔 https://t.co/DihaKpp5ni

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 4, 2023

Florida State QB Jordan Travis isn't good enough to be invited to the Heisman Ceremony, but he's good enough to keep his team out of the College Football Playoff.

Absolute. Garbage.

— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) December 4, 2023

Awesome group. Congrats to all. Strange though not seeing the most important player in all of college football. Jordan Travis was so good there wasn’t even a team without him. Must’ve been an oversight. https://t.co/6uDQAqe1l6

— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) December 5, 2023

https://twitter.com/jontweetssports/status/1731791927580729413

https://twitter.com/alex_kirshner/status/1731825961346498640

—Alabama QB Jalen Milroe should've damn well been a Heisman finalist.

—He beat a two-time national champion Georgia that had won 29-straight.

—He beat Jayden Daniels' LSU.

—He vaulted a one-loss Bama into the CFP over a 13-0 P5 champion Florida State.

— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) December 4, 2023

marvin harrison jr as a heisman finalist over jalen milroe is certifiably inanse.

— Kyron Samuels (@kyronsamuels) December 4, 2023

They claim Jordan Travis is so pivotal to this Florida State team that it keeps a P5 undefeated team out of the playoffs but he’s not good enough to be a finalist for the Heisman? Make it make sense. This is the downfall of sports.

— Barstool FSU (@FSU_Barstool) December 5, 2023

Jordan Travis deserves a Heisman invite if his absence literally kept an undefeated team out of the CFP.

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) December 3, 2023

Jordan Travis - too good for the playoff committee, not good enough for the Heisman https://t.co/oSECYzzguf

— Jon (@pupperstate) December 4, 2023

The Heisman ceremony will take place Saturday night in New York City. And while the winner will be deserving, there will aways be a section of the college football world that feels someone got robbed of an opportunity.

The College Football Playoff selection committee knew just how controversial it would be to leave out the undefeated ACC champions, Florida State, in favor of one-loss teams Texas and Alabama.

"All of us had the emotional tie, like, 'Holy s--t, this is really going to suck to do this,'" a committee member told ESPN's Heather Dinich. "We talked about that over and over, and we just kept coming back [to] are they good enough with what they have to win a national championship, and it just kept coming back [to] we didn't think they could."

The main justification for the snub was the injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis, out for the season with a broken leg. In two games without him under center, the Florida State offense was hardly imposing.

The decision wasn't a popular one, especially for anybody with ties to Florida State. The team's head coach, Mike Norvell, said he was "disgusted and infuriated." ACC commissioner Jim Phillips called the snub "unfathomable." Travis said he was "heartbroken."

devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!

— Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) December 3, 2023

But the committee had made up its mind, and Florida State was the odd team out. Next year, with a 12-team format, Florida State—and other one-loss teams like Georgia and Ohio State—will be in. But this year, the committee didn't deem the Seminoles worthy.

"At the end of the day, everybody had the same goal in mind—do we have the four best teams?" a committee member told Dinich. "And we all felt pretty good that we do."

After getting bypassed for the College Football Playoff, Florida State didn't exactly receive a sympathetic ear from one of its most distinguished alumni.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders told 247Sports' Carl Reed there was "no way" both Alabama and Georgia would miss the playoff and that "it ain't no playoff" with neither in the semifinals.

"You're not going to leave Georgia AND Alabama out. It ain't no playoff if you do that."@DeionSanders when asked if the CFP committee made the right decision in putting in Alabama over Florida State 🗣️

WATCH📺: https://t.co/HZQdMMBhOu pic.twitter.com/FRVMRODeLd

— 247Sports (@247Sports) December 4, 2023

Sanders echoed his comments during an appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show:

Coach Prime thinks Bama should've made it over FSU 👀

"This is entertainment but this is business"

(via @LeBatardShow)pic.twitter.com/esQ5lR8ggk

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 4, 2023

Thanks in effect to Jordan Travis' season-ending injury, going 13-0 and winning the ACC wasn't enough for Florida State to claim a top-four seed. Alabama moved into the top four on the strength of its SEC title game victory over Georgia, with Big 12 champion Texas leapfrogging the Seminoles as well.

Emotions were understandably raw in Tallahassee and inside the ACC's offices.

Absolute fire from Mike Norvell. He is 100 percent right pic.twitter.com/soMDH0g5dV

— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) December 3, 2023

Statement from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, who calls the CFP’s decision to exclude FSU “unfathomable.” pic.twitter.com/9dQ0nZAMeB

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 3, 2023

Sanders' comments summed up the pragmatic viewpoint on the situation, one the CFP selection committee basically deployed. Without Travis, Florida State probably isn't one of the four best teams in college football. On paper, Alabama matches up better with Michigan in the semis.

Sanders also cut to the ultimate truth about the College Football Playoff: It's a television spectacle. When push comes to shove, everyone involved will choose the path that's guaranteed to deliver the biggest viewership and most revenue.

The committee didn't have enough cover to put a one-loss Notre Dame in ahead of 12-0 Cincinnati during the 2021-22 season due to the Bearcats' head-to-head victory over the Fighting Irish. In 2022, TCU and Ohio State were the only one-loss Power Five teams in the country, so they were locks for the playoff despite not winning their respective conferences.

This year, the selection committee had firm enough ground to omit Florida State.

As many have pointed out, the Seminoles would've easily qualified for the playoff under the 12-team format due to arrive in 2024.

This time next year, fans will be arguing over seeding and which team was most deserving of the last Power Five bid.

Florida State was snubbed by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee on Sunday, being left out of the CFP in favor of Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama despite going 13-0 and winning the ACC title.

Part of the reasoning from the Committee was the season-ending injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis. He offered his own response on Sunday:

devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!

— Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) December 3, 2023

CFP Selection Chair Boo Corrigan said during an appearance on ESPN that Florida State was a "different team than they were in the first 11 weeks," referencing the Travis injury.

CFP selection committee chair Boo Corrigan on the decision to leave FSU out of the #CFBPlayoff. pic.twitter.com/bfRgqP75MU

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 3, 2023

"You can lose a running back, you can lose a receiver but when you lose a quarterback as dynamic as Jordan Travis, it changes their offense in its entirety and that was a really big factor," he continued. "Feel horrible for Coach Norvell and those players. But again, they're a different team than they were earlier in the year. You know it's been a long couple of days."

That was the Committee's decision. But more than a few folks on social media were furious on Florida State's behalf:

Florida State should be furious. Don’t care about losing their quarterback, those players earned a spot.

— Ryan Phillips (@RumorsandRants) December 3, 2023

The committee basically said that Florida State's first 10 games don't count. What a joke.

— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) December 3, 2023

Florida State scheduled an SEC powerhouse. They won a power five conference. They won all their games, overcoming adversity along the way. This isn’t figure skating, judges should never have been a part of it. #FSU #CFP

— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) December 3, 2023

That is some straight up BS on Florida State.

— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) December 3, 2023

And then there was the response from ACC commissioner Jim Phillips and FSU athletic director Michael Alford. Neither held back:

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips calls it “unfathomable” that Florida State was left out. “Florida State deserved better. College football deserved better.”

Statement from him: pic.twitter.com/3BYozQOSog

— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) December 3, 2023

FSU athletic director Michael Alford: “The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far reaching, and permanent. Not just for Florida State, but college football as a whole. … It is unforgivable.” pic.twitter.com/JtCdy7rCHJ

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 3, 2023

It was a tough spot for the CFP Committee. Michigan and Washington went undefeated and won conference championships without major injuries. They were going to get in. Texas won the Big 12 with one loss and beat Alabama, while the Crimson Tide won the SEC and beat the former No. 1 team in the country in Georgia to do so. Both of those teams made strong cases to be selected.

Florida State, meanwhile, managed just 219 yards of offense in a 16-6 win over Louisville on Saturday night in the ACC Championship Game. Third-string quarterback Brock Glenn was 8-of-21 for just 55 yards in the contest against a defense that gave up 244 passing yards per game this season.

And second-stringer Tate Rodemaker didn't exactly light up the Florida Gators in his lone start this season, finishing 12-of-25 for 134 yards.

The Seminoles won without Travis—who threw for 2,755 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions on the season while adding seven rushing scores—behind a stout defense and solid running game.

But how would a one-dimensional offense have fared against far more complete teams like Michigan or Washington in the CFP? For that matter, would Florida State even be favored against some of the top teams that missed out on the Playoff like Georgia or Ohio State?

We'll find out when the Seminoles and Bulldogs face off in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30. A blowout loss against Georgia may justify the CFP Committee's decision in the eyes of some. At Florida State, however, the fury felt Sunday may never fade.

Let the debate begin.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee went with Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama as its CFP participants this year, snubbing a 13-0 Florida State team that won the ACC title.

Florida State reacting to missing out on the #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/K0SwbkLwZm

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 3, 2023

The decision ultimately came down to, in part, the season-ending injury that Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis suffered in November.

"Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks," CFP Selection Committee chair Bob Corrigan said on ESPN Sunday. "... If you look at who they are as a team right now, without Jordan Travis and the offensive dynamic he brings, they are a different team."

So that was the justification. But a good portion of college football fans and pundits alike were pretty furious—and at the very least, surprised—regarding the decision:

Florida State, 13-0 and ACC champions, left out of the CFP. That is stunning.

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) December 3, 2023

The goal is winning all your football games. Florida State did that. I understand the QB situation isn't excellent and they probably aren't better than Alabama right now. But now you're punishing FSU for their Qb getting hurt. Feels wrong

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) December 3, 2023

Florida State scheduled an SEC powerhouse. They won a power five conference. They won all their games, overcoming adversity along the way. This isn’t figure skating, judges should never have been a part of it. #FSU #CFP

— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) December 3, 2023

Florida state went 13-0 and won a major conference. They just beat a top 15 team on the fly and they would have had a month to settle and figure it out. They got hosed https://t.co/mW96NYAFiu

— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) December 3, 2023

https://twitter.com/tyduffy/status/1731368430673039777

Florida State got hosed. Period.

Guess playing the games (and winning them all) doesn't matter.

— Gary Davenport (@IDPGodfather) December 3, 2023

So a bunch of old guys sitting around talking football decided they preferred Alabama to FSU because, well, just because they liked them more.
Picking the CFP teams is like Commissioner power in sports: whatever they think is "right."

— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 3, 2023

The committee couldn’t resist the urge to do one more completely pathetic thing, huh?

— Kevin Kaduk (@KevinKaduk) December 3, 2023

Games don’t matter in college football. Just win, baby, does not apply.

— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) December 3, 2023

The committee basically said that Florida State's first 10 games don't count. What a joke.

— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) December 3, 2023

And then there was Florida State's response, which went about as you'd expect:

FSU athletic director Mike Alford: "The committee failed college football today." Calls the decision to leave out FSU "unforgivable." https://t.co/9uZZ9dBaJG

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 3, 2023

But this was a debate for a reason, and there were those folks out there who believed that an SEC champion like Alabama—who just beat the previous No. 1 team in the country, Georgia—was a better team right now than a Florida State team without Travis.

Those folks argued in favor of the Selection Committee's decision (or at least saw the logic in it):

Florida State fans have every right to be upset but ….. the committee got it right.

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) December 3, 2023

The CFB Playoff Committee had no choice but to consider the strength of Florida State without Jordan Travis and they did what had to be done

— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) December 3, 2023

We said it all week… Even with win Florida State never had a chance. Committee got it right. And these playoff matchups are pure 🔥🔥🔥

Can’t wait for next year with 12.

— Adam Schein (@AdamSchein) December 3, 2023

There’s not another sport in the world where 120 teams play in 10 different leagues of wildly varying strength and they try to pick an overall champion at the end.

We *know* going undefeated in one conference is not the same achievement as going undefeated in any conference. https://t.co/FArfnJL7PA

— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) December 3, 2023

I feel terrible for Florida State, but these matchups are going to be AWESOME.

There was no right answer this year, but this is probably how I would have had it shake out. https://t.co/ObYLOwsFPk

— Jacob Camenker (@JacobCamenker) December 3, 2023

No matter what decision the Committee made this season, the limitations of a four-team playoff format meant that a deserving team was going to be left out this year. Thankfully, that system will be gone next year in favor of an expanded 12-team field.

Granted, that will simply move the goalposts regarding which teams deserve to be in and out. Get ready to debate vociferously whether this two-loss team is more deserving than that three-loss team.

But the days of an undefeated Power 5 conference champion being left out of the CFP are assuredly over. Good riddance.