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There's no question FSU football deserves to be in CFP with an ACC championship
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- There's no question FSU football deserves to be in CFP with an ACC championship
Seriously?
Some media and fans alike have suggested that even if No. 4 Florida State beats Louisville in Saturday's ACC Championship , it could be omitted from the four-team College Football Playoff.
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Hogwash.
The undefeated Seminoles win, they are in .
And, to be perfectly clear, the College Football Playoff committee would be unforgivably wrong if it decided otherwise.
"Not including a 13-0 Power Five conference champion in the current season's situation would not only contradict CFP precedent but would call into question its methods and motives," FSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford told the Tallahassee Democrat.
It couldn't have been said any better.
Washington was the first to punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff on Friday when the third-ranked (and underdog) Huskies outlasted Oregon 34-31 in the final Pac-12 football game as conference realignment continues to uproot the game.
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No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 FSU had their opportunities to join the CFP on Saturday.
It was fun to watch.
Georgia lost to No. 8 Alabama; Michigan beat No. 16 Iowa; and FSU upended Louisville.
Giving FSU football credit: Mark Richt, Kelsey Riggs, Joe Tessitore believe undefeated FSU belongs in playoff field
Where does FSU lie in the College Football Playoff equation?
Most probably agree this has been the most complicated the CFP selection process has been since its inception in 2014.
Why?
It's because of conflicting messages from the CFP committee, the strong resumes of one-loss teams and the possibility that the SEC could be left out of the final four.
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If one or more of the remaining three teams lose Saturday, expect all heck to break loose.
If FSU loses, it's out. No hard feelings and a tip of the cap to a magical, incredible, remarkable season. But nobody should question FSU's worthiness after it beat Louisville, regardless of style points or if Old Mother Hubbard is behind center.
Debates rage because the committee always says it's picking the best teams, and not specifically the most deserving.
It further explains on its website that it will consider "factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team's performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance."
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Last week, outgoing CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock also said, "'Most deserving' is not anything in the committee's lexicon. They are there to rank the best teams in order, and that's what they do."
The good news is the CFP committee also says it favors conference champions and has never seriously considered leaving out an unbeaten power conference champion.
FSU, in fact, pointed out that in the 25 seasons dating back to the beginning of the BCS in 1998, no undefeated Power Five team has been denied an opportunity to play for a national championship in favor of a team with a loss. The only undefeated P5 team to not play in a BCS National Championship Game or make CFP was Auburn in 2004, when USC and Oklahoma also were undefeated.
"That is absurd to think that a team in the Power Five could be left out of the CFP with no losses," former FSU quarterback Charlie Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy and led the Seminoles to the program's first of three national titles in 1993, told the Democrat.
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"In this day and age, it could happen, but it shouldn't happen. We just have to make sure we are able to take advantage of being in the conversation at the end of the day. We can't cancel ourselves out with a loss (Saturday)."
FSU not the same team without Jordan Travis , but still deserving
How the committee, media and even some fans view the Seminoles at times has been interesting.
The Seminoles lost dynamic quarterback Jordan Travis for the season due to a lower left leg injury suffered against North Alabama on Nov. 18 that required surgery.
While FSU is obviously not the same team without Travis, it still beat Florida 24-15 behind backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker , dynamic playmakers and a stingy defense.
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The Seminoles were also be down to third-string quarterback Brock Glenn against Louisville since Rodemaker was not cleared. He suffered an apparent head injury against the Gators and did not participate in all practice drills during the week, coach Mike Norvell confirmed Friday.
In terms of history, according to FSU, in the first nine years of the playoff, 13 teams have started multiple quarterbacks in the season they made the CFP — including national champions Ohio State (2014), Alabama (2015), Clemson (2019) and Georgia (2021).
Bottom line, it's a team game.
Another reason why FSU's accomplishments have been eyeballed is because of the uneasiness focused on the SEC. It could get shut out of the playoff since Alabama beat Georgia on Saturday. And one-loss Texas also beat Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game. Keep in mind the Longhorns beat Alabama earlier this season.
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Saturday, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in an interview on ESPN's "College GameDay," the thought of his league being left out of the four-team College Football Playoff isn't the "real world." Sankey added a case could be made that both the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide deserve to be in the playoff.
Regardless of how Saturday plays out elsewhere, FSU deserves to be in the CFP if it beats Louisville.
Want star power?
FSU produced a program-record 25 All-ACC selections this season, including at least one at every position, and led the conference in first-team, second-team and third-team selections. Plus, Norvell was voted Coach of the Year.
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What resilience?
FSU has four wins in games it trailed in by at least 10 points — tied with Appalachian State for the most in the country — and won those four games by an average of 19.75 points.
What do people want?
FSU is one of four teams ranked in the top 12 in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
If the Seminoles win and are left out?
"It would mean they made a decision not on resume and actual accomplishments but, instead, on predicting the outcome of potential future matchups," Alford said.
"It would be more than simply getting it wrong, it would mean the committee is, essentially, changing its method of assessing teams. It would require a lot of explanation, would dismiss and minimize what's happened on the field in the regular season."
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football deserves College Football Playoff with a Louisville win
