Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama were selected to the College Football Playoff on Sunday, making Florida State the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the four-team field.
Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington will play Texas in the Sugar Bowl in the Jan. 1 CFP semifinals. The national championship will be decided Jan. 8 against Houston.
The final season of the four-team playoff before it expands to 12 next year presented the CFP selection committee with its toughest decision in the 10-year history of the postseason system.
The Seminoles (13-0) lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury two weeks ago, but continued to win with a backup and then a third-string quarterback. But the committee is instructed to judge the teams for what they are heading into the playoff and decided FSU without Travis was not among the best four in the country.
That steered the committee to Alabama, which upset Georgia to win the Southeastern Conference championship, and Big 12 champion Texas, which beat the Crimson Tide on the road in September.
No matter which team was left out it would have had a good argument to get in. That created unprecedented controversy.
The SEC had never missed the playoff. Alabama, which is in for the eighth time, kept that streak alive.
Texas would have been just the second Power Five team with only one loss to be left out. Instead, the Longhorns will be making their first appearance in the CFP in their last season as a member of the Big 12. Texas moves to the SEC next year.
Big Ten champion Michigan is making its third straight appearance in the CFP, still looking for its first playoff victory.
Washington is in the CFP for the second time, breaking the Pac-12’s playoff drought after six years, and doing so the year before it leaves the conference for the Big Ten.
Florida State, which was No. 4 in the previous CFP rankings, appeared to be on the way to its second playoff appearance in mid-November when the trajectory of their season changed drastically. Travis suffered a serious injury in the first quarter against North Alabama and was lost for the year.
The Seminoles beat rival Florida last week with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker playing. Then Rodemaker missed the ACC championship against Louisville with a concussion. Florida State stayed unbeaten with a strong defensive performance, but scored only one touchdown.
The four-team version of the College Football Playoff is going out with drama and controversy.
Championship weekend created as many questions as answers for the CFP committee and the selections Sunday will be the first in the 10-year history of the system where the field is truly hard to predict.
No. 2 Michigan (13-0) and No. 3 Washington (13-0) appear to be safely in. There are three — and maybe even four — teams in contention for the final two spots that in most years would have cruised into the CFP.
Not this year. And it won’t be a problem next year when the playoff expands to 12 teams.
No. 4 Florida State (13-0), No. 7 Texas (12-1) and No. 8 Alabama (12-1) gave the 13-member committee a lot to think about Saturday night.
The Seminoles finished a perfect regular season with an Atlantic Coast Conference championship, leaning on their defence to beat No. 15 Louisville while playing a third-string, freshman quarterback.
No unbeaten Power Five champion has ever been left out of the CFP, but with injured star quarterback Jordan Travis out for the season is Florida State really one of the four best teams?
“It’s entertaining to have the conversations, but I don’t think you need a conversation,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell told reporters. “This is a team that is deserving. This is a team that earned it.”
Here are a few other things that have never happened before that very well might Sunday.
— The No. 1 team heading into championship weekend had never missed the CFP, even with a loss. After losing to Alabama, top-ranked Georgia’s quest to become the first team to win three straight national titles is in critical condition.
“When you talk about the four best teams, watch the game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Go ask the NFL talent evaluators. Go ask NFL scouts. It’s about the best teams.”
The Bulldogs (12-1) had a 29-game winning streak snapped in the Southeastern Conference championship game, but they might not even be a big part of the committee’s discussion for one of the final two spots.
— No team ranked outside the top six of the second-to-last CFP rankings has ever jumped into the final four. Both Alabama and Texas, which romped over No. 19 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game, have a chance to make that leap Sunday.
— The SEC champion has never been left out of the College Football Playoff. Six times the CFP champion has been from the SEC and twice the conference has had both participants in the title game.
“So we’re the best teams, and do we want the best teams?” Smart asked.
The only thing that is certain heading into college football’s selection Sunday is that a few fanbases are bound to be unhappy with the committee’s choices.
from Sportsnet.ca
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