By Nicole Auerbach, Stewart Mandel, Austin Meek, Sam Khan Jr., Kennington Smith III and Seth Emerson
The College Football Playoff is set, and the selection committee made the controversial move of leaving out undefeated ACC champion Florida State in favor of SEC champion Alabama. Michigan claimed the No. 1 spot while Washington came in at No. 2 and Texas jumped to No. 3 following a dominant win over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game.
The Seminoles are the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to miss the CFP.
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Michigan, boasting a 13-0 record, solidified its spot in the playoff for the third straight year by shutting out Iowa 26-0 to win the Big Ten title.
Washington also punched its ticket by capping a perfect regular season with a 34-31 win over Oregon in the final Pac-12 championship.
Though Florida State defeated Louisville 16-6 to win the ACC championship, the selection committee seemed to take into account the fact that the Seminoles lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending leg injury suffered in a game against North Alabama on Nov. 18. FSU started its third-string QB, freshman Brock Glenn, against Louisville.
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No. 1 Michigan will face No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 1. No. 2 Washington will follow against No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl at 8:45 p.m. ET.
Defending national champion Georgia won’t have a chance at a historic three-peat after the loss to Alabama knocked the Bulldogs to No. 6.
Shocking result for Seminoles
I am stunned that the selection committee left out Florida State. Absolutely stunned. That’s an undefeated Power 5 champion that won two critical games with backup quarterbacks. These players did nothing wrong, and they’re being penalized for it. They did everything they were supposed to — and that type of resume has gotten every other unbeaten Power 5 champion into the four-team field before it.
Instead of celebrating the resilience of Florida State, the committee penalized them. Even if the Seminoles aren’t the same offensively without Travis, they’ve got an elite defense and have done enough to beat an SEC opponent and rival as well as a top-20 Louisville team. — Nicole Auerbach, college football senior writer
Florida State reacting to missing out on the #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/K0SwbkLwZm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 3, 2023
This was always going to be controversial
Someone deserving of a CFP berth was going to be left out. But it feels like the committee did the less-controversial thing. More people would have been aghast at Alabama getting in over the Texas team it lost to in Week 2 than them leaving out an FSU team that did not look like a top-four team without Travis.
Still, leaving out a 13-0 Power 5 team is shocking. It’s never happened before, and, with the 12-team Playoff coming next year, will never happen again. But Bill Hancock was adamant that the committee picks the four best teams, not the most deserving, and based on FSU’s offensive struggles against Florida and Louisville, they apparently decided the ‘Noles weren’t one of the best. — Stewart Mandel, college football editor-in-chief
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Wolverines take top spot
Michigan got the No. 1 seed. Its reward is a Rose Bowl matchup against Alabama, the team nobody wants to play. By snubbing Florida State, the committee gave the Wolverines as difficult a path as any No. 1 seed can have. The goal is to pick the four best teams, so there will be no complaints from Michigan. The Wolverines will have to get ready because this game is going to be a war.
The Wolverines expressed a bit of disappointment Saturday night that they won’t get to face Georgia, the two-time reigning champ. Instead, Michigan will get the next closest thing: a semifinal against the SEC champion and arguably the most talented team in the CFP. If Michigan wins it all, the Wolverines will have earned it. — Austin Meek, Michigan beat writer
Texas peaking at right time
Texas is back to contending for a national championship. The Longhorns have completed an impressive turnaround of their program after being 5-7 just two years ago in coach Steve Sarkisian’s debut season. They have an explosive offense led by quarterback Quinn Ewers, a stout defense led by defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, and have won games a multitude of ways. “We’re a very complete football team,” Sarkisian said Saturday. “We don’t rely on one phase or one aspect of this team to win.”
In the last two weeks of the season, Texas played its best football, winning its final two games by a combined 78 points. That undoubtedly stood out in the eyes of the committee. The Longhorns have one of the best wins in the country, beating No. 4 Alabama by double digits in Tuscaloosa. Their only loss came on a neutral field to a rival in the final seconds. Texas has shown itself to be one of the best teams in the country. Now they face Washington and Steve Sarkisian gets to face the school that gave him his first head coaching opportunity.
This year has been about a lot of firsts for Texas since 2009. Could we also see a rematch of that year’s title game, with Texas and Alabama meeting in the final? It would be compelling theatre if it happened. But first they must get past the Huskies, who have had one of the most explosive offenses in the country. It’ll be a fascinating matchup between two gifted offensive coaches, Sarkisian and Kalen DeBoer. Notably, the teams met last season in the Alamo Bowl, where Washington beat Texas 27-20. — Sam Khan Jr., college football senior writer
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How Alabama got in
The unthinkable has occurred: Alabama is in the College Football Playoff, edging out undefeated Florida State for the No. 4 spot. On the surface it’s a jarring revelation — no undefeated Power 5 team has been left out of the Playoff, but Alabama’s got a compelling case. The Crimson Tide has the highest-ranked strength of schedule of the playoff teams, had four ranked wins and the crowned jewel — a win over No. 1 Georgia, a team that was on a 29-game winning streak.
That, coupled with the fact that today, Alabama is a better team than Florida State, was enough to put them into the playoffs. And Nick Saban’s greatest coaching job to date is complete with a College Football Playoff berth. It’s also a fair question of how much SEC bias is involved in the decision. It’s a conference that’s largely dominated the playoff, including the last four national champions. It’s likely the Rose Bowl for the Tide against No. 1 Michigan and they’ll have the opportunity to prove the ranking. — Kennington Smith III, Alabama beat writer
Georgia fans can’t be surprised
Despite Kirby Smart’s public protestations, one suspects he knew his team was done on Saturday night, barring upsets later that night, which didn’t come. It’s a shame that Georgia won’t get a chance to go for a three-peat, but it’s also the Bulldogs’ own fault. But from an SEC standpoint, those in the conference have to feel better. At least those in the conference office, and those at other programs who think it’s good when the conference has representation in the Playoff. In the end, Alabama just took Georgia’s spot — and you know Florida State power brokers are on the phone again Sunday demanding a way out of the ACC and into the SEC. — Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer
Required reading
- Auerbach: The end of the four-team CFP’s last-minute politicking can’t come soon enough
- Wasserman: CFP committee is in a historic bind, so it could do something we’ve never seen
- Mandel’s Final Thoughts: How the CFP committee might sort through the chaos
- The CFP committee has to do the unpopular thing and exclude the SEC
(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty)