As I reported Sunday, Florida State University athletic director Michael Alford went nuclear over the fact that the undefeated Seminoles were not invited to the four-team College Football Playoff despite their perfect season. Opinions have been hot on both sides, with FSU fans claiming they were robbed, with others asserting that they shouldn’t have gotten the nod because their star quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending leg injury in November. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy tweeted: "Fsu should boycott the Orange Bowl. They don't owe anybody anything. They got f******. F*** them back." There's clearly no shortage of hot takes out there, and now Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) and Governor Ron DeSantis have weighed in, and neither of them were pleased with the outcome. DeSantis:
DeSantis didn't go full-on Rambo like the Florida AD, but it was still clear that he thought the ruling was unfair. Sen. Scott was much more pointed in his response: — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) December 4, 2023
Scott pulled no punches and flat-out questioned the integrity of the CFP Committee:
He even hinted at official action, though it's unclear how he's going to get the transparency he demands:
Scott also noted the financial impacts of the decision, arguing that the ACC and FSU have been denied the $2 million revenue distribution that would come from a playoff appearance and the potential loss of earnings by FSU's players because they will not get to perform on the big stage. He went on to "request" 10 pieces of information, including notes, emails, texts, and recordings regarding the CFP Commitee's decision to leave FSU out of the championship race. One thing made clear from his letter is that he, or at least whoever wrote it, knows his football—he gave a quite detailed argument based on stats and previous games about why the Seminoles should have received an invitation. I put "request" in quotes, because this is not a subpoena, and the Committee could theoretically just ignore it. One thing is very clear—there are a lot of passionate opinions about this apparent snub, and the fervor comes from both sides. Another thing that is inarguable: despite many attempts to make the college football playoff selections less contentious, the process is still controversial and continues to leave many fans enraged. The Seminoles will play the Georgia Bulldogs—a team that won the national championship in 2022 and only lost one game this year and who myriad fans also believe should be in the playoffs—on Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl. Let the arguments continue. |
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