Florida State Seminoles excluded from CFP despite 13-0 record and ACC championship win

A firestorm of media controversy was unleashed when the Florida State Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoffs in favor of the one-loss Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide. The Noles went 13-0 and won the ACC championship, only for an injury to QB Jordan Travis to tank their season's aspirations.

CFP committee chairman Boo Corrigan said FSU was a "different team" after Travis went down. That said, spurning résumé in favor of a completely subjective reading of the field sets a troubling precedent. FSU finished with the No. 3 strength of record in college football, behind only Michigan and Washington — two undefeated Power Five conference champs who made the playoffs.

Alabama and Texas landed fourth and fifth, respectively. The Longhorns beat Bama head-to-head, with their only loss coming against No. 12 Oklahoma. It's difficult to argue with the logic that Alabama and Texas are "better" than FSU without their QB, but we saw the Eagles win a Super Bowl with Nick Foles. We saw the Crimson Tide switch QBs in a championship game a few years ago. One injury shouldn't derail the accomplishment of the collective, right?

Well, the State of Florida agrees. The wave of righteous anger in Florida is about to invade the political and legal spheres, it would seem. Led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, the state's $114 billion budget for next year could set aside $1 million for litigation if Florida State decides to sue over their exclusion from the playoffs.

FSU was the first undefeated Power Five opponent to miss the final four. They could also become the first team to sue over their exclusion.

Florida State could sue CFP committee with $1 million check from Florida's state government

It's certainly unprecedented for state budgets to include legal fees for locally aggrieved college football programs.

The Seminoles should feel left out. The committee should have been willing to look past Travis' injury in the face of objectively superior accomplishments. Florida State still beat Florida and Louisville after Travis went down, plus the Noles' schedule included several big-ticket matchups — most notably LSU on opening night — and FSU won every. single. game.

It's yet to be seen whether or not Florida State will actually take the NCAA and the committee to court. As noted in the report from Brendan Sonnone of Noles247, Gov. DeSantis has made a political point to target Disney in the past. Disney owns ESPN and ABC, who play a role in broadcasting the College Football Playoffs. The conspiracy theorists will be out in full force about whether or not Disney tilted the scales to favor Alabama and the SEC.

Florida State will have a chance to make a point against the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl — a battle of two deserving championship contenders who were left out due to the implacable rules guiding the committee.

At least next season we get 12 teams.

This college football season didn't end how many fans wanted, but you still have a chance to finish it off with a win at FanDuel Sportsbook! All you have to do is sign up, deposit $10 or more and then bet $5 or more on ANY team to win their bowl game straight up. If your team wins, you'll win $150 in bonus bets! Sign up for FanDuel today.