Undefeated Florida State left out of College Football Playoff - ESPN

While four teams are celebrating the opportunity to play for a national title on the field, undefeated ACC champion Florida State is on the outside, becoming the first unbeaten Power 5 conference winner to ever miss out on the College Football Playoff.

«The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far reaching, and permanent. Not just for Florida State, but college football as a whole,» FSU athletic director Michael Alford said in a statement. «The argument of whether a team is the 'most deserving OR best' is a false equivalence. It renders the season up to yesterday irrelevant and significantly damages the legitimacy of the College Football Playoff.

»… The committee failed college football today."

Added ACC commissioner Jim Phillips: «It's unfathomable.»

While Michigan (13-0, Big Ten champion), Washington (13-0, Pac-12 champion), Texas (12-1, Big 12 champion) and Alabama (12-1, SEC champion) were the top four teams who made it into the playoff, the Seminoles (13-0) were judged by an untimely run of injuries at the quarterback position.

Instead, Florida State, as the No. 5 seed, will face the two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs (No. 6) in the Orange Bowl.

«Their exclusion calls into question the selection process and whether the Committee's own guidelines were followed, including the significant importance of being an undefeated Power Five conference champion,» Phillips said in his statement. «My heart breaks for the talented FSU student-athletes and coaches and their passionate and loyal fans.

»Florida State deserved better. College football deserved better."

The committee seemed to focus on how competitive the Seminoles would be in the playoff without quarterback Jordan