Mike Norvell, Florida State still can't get over missing the College Football Playoff

The best thing that can happen for Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles is for this year to start. I really don't think anyone outside of Tallahassee wants to hear people associated with the 2023 team complain about getting robbed of a College Football Playoff spot. It happened. It sucked. And most importantly, Georgia dragged them by their skulls in the Orange Bowl for everyone to witness.

David Hale of ESPN asked Norvell about what his thoughts were on SEC commissioner Greg Sankey's comments about Georgia being a top-four team but missing out on the playoff a year ago. I think anyone with eyes knew that Georgia was a top-four team, but suffered the one loss it could not have afforded to make the dance. It was a three-point defeat to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.

Just when I thought Norvell would admit defeat and move on with his life, he went on another rant.

"I don't disagree that Georgia was one of the top four teams, if you're judging off talent and ability, but they also earned their loss. That was part of the result of what happened on the field."

Florida State did control what it could control, until everyone under the sun opted out of the bowl.

"When you look at our team and what it was, we controlled the things we could control, we unfortunately had an injury, but we had a team that responded to it. Everybody can have an opinion of what happened. I don't disagree they were one of the four best teams, but what happened on the field kept them out of the playoff."

It left a rancid taste in everyone's mouth about Florida State and where they reside in college football.

How Florida State handled getting snubbed by the Selection Committee, as well as the university wanting to break away from the ACC, and failing miserably, has been utterly abysmal damage control.

It took an unprecedented series of events for this to happen, yet why doesn't Florida State get this?

Mike Norvell, Florida State still bitter about not making playoff last year

Before I fully unpack this, let me be perfect clear that I am over the moon that we now have a 12-team playoff format with only five automatic qualifiers. The winners of the five best conferences in college football should be getting into this expanded postseason format. That leaves us with the seven next best teams to take part in this 12-team tournament that will be all sorts of fun for everyone involved.

Let's take a look back at the six teams who were still somewhat in the playoff mix come last Selection Sunday. Big Ten champion Michigan and Pac-12 champion Washington were shoe-ins because they were both 13-0 and Power Five conference champions. While I think Georgia and Florida State could haven beaten them, they didn't have that opportunity because Alabama and Texas got in over them.

Texas was a one-loss Power Five champion out of the Big 12. The Longhorns had a great win over Alabama in the non-conference. Their only loss was to arch-rival Oklahoma at Red River. By crushing Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship, they probably earned their right to get in anyway. And that is where Alabama comes into the mix... The Crimson Tide needed to beat Georgia, and they did.

From there, Alabama leapfrogged both Florida State and Georgia to the No. 4 spot because the Crimson Tide had the best win of anyone in the country. Their only loss was to Big 12 champion Texas earlier in the season. Again, Alabama was not one of the four best teams last season, but the Crimson Tide had a top-four resume. Florida State may argue that they had one, but that was a different team...

Factor in starting quarterback Jordan Travis going down vs. North Alabama for the season during cupcake week, and that was the other wrinkle no one saw coming. It sucks that his injury changed the perception of Florida State football, but that was undeniably a different team with Tate Rodemaker and then Brock Glenn under center for the 'Noles. That was why the Seminoles did not make it in.

For my money, the four best teams last season were Michigan, Texas, Georgia and Florida State, in some order. Washington overachieved under Kalen DeBoer due to Michael Penix's brilliance. The Pac-12 had a great final season, but so many bad ones before it is why the league ultimately died. Alabama was not a top-four team, but like TCU two years ago, the Crimson Tide earned their bid in.

As a UGA alum, I would've liked to have been in the playoff too, but I understand why it didn't happen.