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David Hale, ESPN editorDecember 3, 2023, 8:21 p.m.<\/span><\/p>\n
Close<\/p>\n- \n
- CAC journalist.<\/li>\n
- Joined ESPN in 2012.<\/li>\n
- Graduated from the University of Delaware.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
To echo great prognosticator Clubber Lang, we had only one obvious prediction for the final College<\/a> Playoff seeding of the four-team era: pain.<\/p>\n
There are five teams \u2013 six if you count Georgia (unless you want to be added to Kirby Smart's list of enemies) \u2013 with a valid argument for making the playoffs, but for the last time, it doesn't There are only four places.<\/p>\n
And, if we've read our stages of grief correctly, the next stage after pain is anger (followed closely by bourbon and basketball season). And there is reason to be angry.<\/p>\n
So, as the committee retreats to their secure bunker to wait out the coming apocalypse, let's dive into our final tantrum of the year. There is a lot of outrage to unpack.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/wikidollar.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/NFL-Week-6-picks-schedule-odds-injuries-fantasy-tips.png\")
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<\/p>\nIn the past, we held a beauty contest. The best team in the country was decided entirely by voters.<\/p>\n
Then we moved to a better system, determined in part by computers that added at least some math to the abstract rationalization while also allowing two teams to decide on the field.<\/p>\n
Then we moved to a four-team playoff, and the goal was to eliminate the guesswork and let a champion be crowned by the actual results on the field. If you won your matches, you had a chance to win<\/a> a national title.<\/p>\n
It turns out it was all a charade. None of that mattered. Games are useless. What happens on the field is less important than what a committee thinks might happen in an upcoming game.<\/p>\n
It's a real slap in the face to every player who has ever put on a helmet, laced up some cleats, and walked onto the field to fight for victory, because a group of people in a conference room in Texas decided that their sacrifice was no longer necessary. It wasn't as big. as important as the Las Vegas line in a potential playoff game.<\/p>\n
It's a joke.<\/p>\n
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devastated. sorry. With so much disbelief, I wish my leg had broken earlier in the season so you all could see that this team is about so much more than just the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this list matches any team in these top 4 rankings. I'm so sorry. Go Noles!<\/p>\n
\u2013 Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) December 3, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Yes, Florida State doesn't have starting quarterback Jordan Travis, which means it would have to play a quarterback who wasn't its opening week<\/a> starter to win a national title, and of course, that couldn't happen. After all, only Ohio State in 2014, Alabama in 2017, Clemson in 2018 and Georgia in 2021 have done so. What are the chances that something that happened 44% of the time will happen again?<\/p>\n
And of course, FSU's passing game was a disaster in the ACC championship game. No arguments there. Funny thing though: FSU won its title game by more than Alabama. In fact, FSU has won its last two games more than Alabama. And since Travis was injured in Week 12 against North Alabama, the Seminoles have thrown for just 8 fewer yards than Michigan in the same stretch, but there's been no debate about Michigan.<\/p>\n
Oh, and that probably doesn't matter in the face of such a poor quarterback performance against Louisville, but there's also the small problem that the QB who started that game, Brock Glenn, wouldn't be the QB who would start<\/a> a playoff game (since Tate Rodemaker would then be out of the concussion protocol).<\/p>\n
The committee was concerned with one statistic in making this decision: FSU's 55 passing yards against Louisville.<\/p>\n
Here are the stats he ignored: seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, 189 rushing yards against a stacked box, a 10-point win over a top 15 team with a QB making his first career start .<\/p>\n
Let's be real about what happened here: Committee members couldn't leave the SEC out of the playoffs. They didn't care that Alabama needed a miracle to avoid a 6-6 loss to Auburn two weeks ago. They didn't care that Georgia's own injuries — playing with a banged-up Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers — likely played a big role in the Tide's victory Saturday. They didn't care that the ACC had a head-to-head winning record against the SEC this season. They didn't care about Alabama beating Georgia in 2023, not Georgia in 2021 or 2022. They cared about the fact that Alabama and the SEC had to have a playoff spot by birthright. And as a result, they sent the message that what happened on the field \u2013 the blood, tears and sacrifices players made all season to win every game on their schedule \u2013 was less important than 'get the most compelling televised match.<\/p>\n
But hey, there will be a 12-team playoff next year, so all is forgiven, right?<\/p>\n