Overcoming adversity.
It’s a prevailing theme across sports at all levels.
The athlete; the coach; the team; the person — it’s about facing each obstacle head on, finding the strength and will to power through to succeed at your craft.
That’s exactly what Florida State did during the 2023 season: overcome adversity. The Seminoles began the year with a dominant victory over Playoff-favorite LSU and ran the table, culminating in a hard-fought ACC championship victory over No. 15 Louisville, 16-6.
But the end of the season is when the adversity came.
Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a broken leg against North Alabama on Nov. 18, keeping him off the field for the remainder of the season. Against the rival Florida Gators a week later, backup Tate Rodemaker led a comeback to help the Seminoles stay perfect. However, Rodemaker would suffer a head injury that kept him out of the ACC title game.
In stepped third string quarterback, freshman Brock Glenn. It wasn’t pretty but he got the job done. Florida State won its conference and improved to 13-0 on the season. They did everything that was asked of them.
But it wasn’t enough.
Sunday morning, ESPN Radio’s commentators were insufferable, arguing that the Seminoles should be left out in favor of Texas and Alabama. They said things like:
“The SEC has never been left out of the playoffs.”
“Alabama is the best team in the country.”
“It’s about the best teams, not who deserves it.”
“Half of the ratings come from that part of the country.”
“It just means more — to have Alabama in the playoff.”
Despite ESPN’s own playoff predictor estimating Florida State’s inclusion in the playoff, its talking heads argued in favor of Alabama (which had less than a 50% chance of earning a bid).
Then, the Shadow Council knowns as the College Football Playoff Committee released its rankings: Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama — agreeing with ESPN’s commentators. For the first time in its decade-long history, the committee left out an undefeated Power 5 in favor of keeping the SEC in the picture after Georgia’s loss.
And the excuses began.
Instead of the playoff picture being decided on the field, the Committee rigged the system to maximize ratings and revenue. A group of old folks sat in a room and decided it was better to have Texas and Alabama in the playoff than Florida State because the brands are larger and would garner more interest.
And in the process they’ve lost credibility.
Their arguments made in defense of the decision range from deciding — and putting in — who’s best over who’s deserving, placating the SEC and not wanting another blowout in their championship game akin to Georgia’s dismantling of TCU last year.
If it’s about putting the best teams in and not the deserving ones, why bother with the games? Why let student-athletes risk injury for a chance at glory when doing all the right things don’t matter? The argument against FSU is there was no definitive possibility that Rodemaker would return in time for the game, and that Glenn would be in over his head as a third-string (ignoring Cardale Jones and Ohio State doing this in Year One of the playoff).
And blowouts happen every single gameday in college football. Texas blew out BYU on Oct. 28, 35-6, and Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, 49-21. Michigan throttled the rival Spartans, 49-0, on October 21 — and went undefeated without their head coach for half the season. Again, why do we bother playing the games when on-field accomplishments are ignored and blowouts aren’t attractive?
The fact is simple: money. ESPN and the CFP want to maximize revenue with the most attractive television matchups, damming the integrity of the sport in the process.
They’ve rigged the system in their favor.
It doesn’t matter if you do everything that has been expected to earn a shot at a national championship, if your star players get hurt or you struggle: you’re out.
(And we’re ignoring Alabama’s miracle against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. 4th-and-31 anyone?)
But it does need to be said.
Alabama is also deserving to be there.
Late Sunday morning, TPM published its playoff predictions. Most of the staff thought Alabama would not make it in favor of Texas with the three undefeated making it. Texas did beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa to start the year, but…
Texas should probably be the one out and Alabama is just fine at the fourth spot.
While the Longhorns beat Alabama in enemy territory, Texas lost to its own rival at home. Meanwhile, Alabama overcame adversity against its rival and then toppled the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs — and ending a 29-game win streak to boot. Texas had the easier conference title game.
Precedent and wisdom, then, should have prevailed with Michigan, Washington, Florida State and Alabama earning playoff bids.
The Committee broke precedent — and their own rules — in favor of making the most cash. They’ve lost credibility with many college football fans and those who aren’t fans to begin with.
Why should anyone new come into the sport when, unlike the NFL — a far superior product, the game isn’t decided on the field but in a boardroom filled with cigar smoke?
