How College Football Playoff committee got it all wrong with Florida State - ESPN

The most frantic and frankly frustrating week of the college football season is over. After a week of politicking and grandstanding — and at least a little bit of actual football — we have our conference champions, we have our bowl bids and we have the pairings for our final four-team College Football Playoff. (And for something new and different, the CFP committee decided to get its selection horribly wrong in a way that could damage its long-term credibility! So that's fun!)

Wrong or not, the show goes on, and the barge that is college football keeps drifting forward. But before prepping bowl picks and playoff previews, let's look back at the weekend one last time. Here are eight storylines worth revisiting from the maddening week that was.

Jump to a section:
FSU's raw deal
How Bama beat the Dawgs
Washington's clutch factor
A new day in Austin
The Brian Ferentz legacy
Group of 5 resilience
Division III mayhem
Heisman of week

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford wasn't exactly speaking objectively, with no skin in the game, when he put out a statement Sunday afternoon, minutes after FSU was left out of the College Football Playoff despite a perfect 13-0 record. Like all the other coaches, ADs and conference commissioners who talked to reporters and TV cameras or published statements online, he was playing to his base and letting them know he was on their side. But hey, when you're right, you're right.

«The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far reaching and permanent,» Alford said of the Seminoles becoming the first unbeaten power conference champion of the CFP era deprived of a shot at the national title. Snubbing them was «an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard