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Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff despite finishing the year 13-0 with an ACC title
The College Football Playoff committee has responded to a demand for answers from Florida Senator and former governor Rick Scott, saying it is “confident they made the right decisions in ranking the best four teams in the country based on the protocol and we all look forward to great playoff games.”
Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff despite finishing the year 13-0 with an ACC title, a shattering of precedent that has seen outrage from nearly each faction of the college football world outside Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Coral Gables and Bristol.
In response many Florida politicians, made various statements and demands, with Scott asking for records and answers in an effort to pinpoint what behind the decision including the votes of members and communications between the committee and ESPN.
Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, gave the following two reasons:
The protocol requires the Committee to take into consideration the unavailability of key players that may affect a team’s performance during the post-season. Simply put, Florida State is not the same team without its star quarterback. That caused the Committee to believe that there were indeed four teams that should rank higher than FSU.
FSU’s strength of schedule was not as strong as the four teams that were ranked ahead of them. As I’m sure you are aware, strength of schedule is a key metric the Committee takes into consideration. If being undefeated without regard to a team’s strength of schedule was part of our protocol, other universities with undefeated records would have routinely been considered for the Playoff. There have been eight, counting Florida State, undefeated teams that did not make the Playoff. While this is the first year such a team was from a so-called P5 conference, strength of schedule remains a crucial factor.
For reference — Florida State’s final strength of schedule ranking (per ESPN’s FPI metrics) was 55. No. 1 seed Michigan was 33, No. 2 Washington was 11, No. 3 Texas was 13 and No. 4 Alabama was No. 5.
Strength of record, which reflects the chance that an average Top 25 team would have team’s record or better, has Washington at No. 1, Michigan at No. 2, Florida State at No. 3, Alabama at No. 4 and Texas at No. 5.
The full release:
Dear Senator Scott:
I am Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff (CFP). I am responding to your letter to Boo Corrigan, director of athletics at North Carolina State University and chairman of the 13-member CFP selection committee (the “Committee”) this year.
Knowing how busy you are, thank you very much for taking the time to write about college football. I know the decision to rank four teams above Florida State University is disappointing to you and other Florida State supporters and am happy to provide you with information about this decision. We have discussed this matter extensively with the media and have shared the factors that went into the committee’s deliberations with college football fans through those media outlets.
The Committee, which consists of 13 college football experts, including seven people with experience coaching or playing football at the collegiate level and higher, takes this matter very seriously. As has been done for ten years in a process which is well known to sports reporters, the Committee, which includes athletics directors and one retired college football journalist, in addition to former head coaches and players, discusses in great detail the merits of every team under consideration. Florida State was, of course, discussed extensively.
Attached please find our detailed protocol, written by the conference commissioners, university presidents and athletics directors who founded the College Football Playoff, eleven years ago. The Committee is bound to follow the rules set forth in this document.
The Committee’s decision to rank FSU number five in the nation was based on two principal reasons:
The protocol requires the Committee to take into consideration the unavailability of key players that may affect a team’s performance during the post-season. Simply put, Florida State is not the same team without its star quarterback. That caused the Committee to believe that there were indeed four teams that should rank higher than FSU.
FSU’s strength of schedule was not as strong as the four teams that were ranked ahead of them. As I’m sure you are aware, strength of schedule is a key metric the Committee takes into consideration. If being undefeated without regard to a team’s strength of schedule was part of our protocol, other universities with undefeated records would have routinely been considered for the Playoff. There have been eight, counting Florida State, undefeated teams that did not make the Playoff. While this is the first year such a team was from a so-called P5 conference, strength of schedule remains a crucial factor.
Everyone on the Committee understands the disappointment felt by Florida State fans. We recognize that no matter what decision was made, fans somewhere would be disappointed. This year, there were more than four highly impressive teams competing for four Playoff spots – yet only four could qualify.
The Committee members are confident they made the right decisions in ranking the best four teams in the country based on the protocol and we all look forward to great playoff games.
Thank you again for your interest in college football. We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to convey your thoughts.
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