College football has a major controversy. Will Congress get involved?
Why Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff
Florida State's football team went undefeated this season — but it's not good enough.
The omission of the 13-0 Seminoles from the College Football Playoff has "sent shockwaves through the sport," CNN reported. It's the first time an undefeated major conference team has been snubbed in CFP's 10-year history. Why was FSU left out? Because the team's first- and second-string quarterbacks both suffered dramatic injuries in the final weeks of the season, leaving the team supposedly undermanned. "Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks," CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan explained after the decision was revealed on Sunday.
The controversy has spilled beyond the sports pages: Politicians from the Sunshine State were enraged. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) ripped the committee: "What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results," he wrote online. Donald Trump, DeSantis' rival for the GOP presidential nomination, ripped DeSantis: "Really bad lobbying effort," he wrote on Truth Social. "Lets blame DeSanctimonious!!!" And The New York Post reported that some Florida lawmakers are considering taking the case to court. "Lawsuits should be filed tomorrow," thundered State Sen. Corey Smith, a former FSU player.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Congress might get involved. Politico reported that Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) "is demanding answers" from Corrigan, sending a three-page letter requesting "total transparency" about the decision. "The main issue is the justified perception of an unfair system that has wrongly disregarded the known strengths of an undefeated team over the speculated impact of losing a single player," Scott wrote.
'A beauty pageant'
The decision to omit Florida State from the playoff is proof that "results on the field don't matter," argued USA Today's Nancy Armour. The decision is more suspicious since Alabama — which has one loss but is "college football royalty" — did make it into the final four. Yes, the CFP committee had a difficult choice about which teams to include and which to leave out. "Somebody was going to be disappointed." But the most conclusive metric in sports is wins and losses. Snubbing FSU "isn't the pinnacle of competition. That's a beauty pageant."
"Florida State got screwed," Gregg Doyel acknowledged at The Indianapolis Star. But Florida State also isn't as good as Alabama or Texas, another one-loss team in the playoff. But without its starting quarterback, Jordan Travis, "Florida State is not as good as it was through 10 games, when it had a quarterback playing like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate." The sad truth? "We don't always get what we deserve."
"It's a joke," David Hale countered at ESPN. College football's champion used to be determined by end-of-season rankings: The whole reason for a playoff is to "let a champion be crowned by the actual results on the field." The Florida State snub suggests the actual games played are pointless. "It is an absolute slap in the face to every player who has ever put on a helmet."
'Behind closed doors'
Florida State's future may not be determined on the playing field, but in a court of law. Sportico's Michael McCann suggested the university "could argue the committee failed to accurately apply its own methodology in excluding the Seminoles" from the playoff. There's money at play: Florida State lost a $2 million payday because it was left out. But any lawsuit, McCann acknowledged, is a "longshot." Any challenge to the CFP decision "wouldn't help this year's FSU team, but might prevent another situation like it."
Scott, meanwhile, seems quite serious about making the snub into a federal issue. The Hill reported he "wants all emails, text messages and other written communications" from the College Football Playoff committee to see how it arrived at its decision to pick Alabama over Florida State, which he said was made "behind closed doors." In the meantime, there is still football to be played. Michigan will take on Alabama on January 1, followed by Washington versus Texas: The winners of those games will play for the national championship on Jan. 8.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Nuclear near-misses
The Explainer From technical glitches to fateful split-second decisions, the world has come to the brink of nuclear war more times than you might think
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
What is cloud seeding and did it cause Dubai's severe rainfall?
The Explainer The future is flooded
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The cost-benefit analysis of hosting the Olympics
In Depth Hosting an Olympic Games may not be as economically beneficial as you would think
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Scottie Scheffler: victory for the 'pre-eminent golfer of this era'
Why Everyone's Talking About Masters victory is Scheffler's second in three years
By The Week Staff Published
-
Can MLB solve its uniform crisis?
Today's Big Question See-through pants and sweat stains draw derision from players and fans alike
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Inside MLB super agent Scott Boras' dreadful winter
In the Spotlight The man grew to great heights. Is a fall from agent grace imminent?
By David Faris Published
-
Is legalized betting hurting sports?
Today's Big Question A 'building avalanche of gambling scandals' threatens competition
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How the NFL's new kickoff rules could change football
Under the Radar The play will resemble the kickoff structure seen in the much-smaller XFL
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The England kit: a furore over the flag
Why everyone's talking about Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
By The Week UK Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published