No. 4 Florida State will play No. 6 Georgia Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl

Florida State players pose after defeating Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco) (Erik Verduzco, Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida State won every game this season, but it still wasn’t enough for the College Football Playoff committee. Instead, Michigan, Texas, Alabama and Washington will vie for the national championship.

No. 4 Florida State will play No. 6 Georgia on Dec. 30 in the Orange Bowl after both programs felt like they deserved a chance to play for the national title.

I feel for everyone associated with @FSUFootball, especially Jordan Travis. He was outstanding this season, and so were his teammates in adjusting to his absence. Persevering through that adversity and continuing to win should be celebrated, not punished.

— Ryan Welch (@RyanWelchNews6) December 3, 2023

The Seminoles’ head coach Mike Norvell released a statement on Sunday, saying he was “disgusted and infuriated” with the decision by the CFP committee.

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“I’m hurting for our players who have displayed a tremendous amount of resilience and response this season,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said Sunday. “What happened today goes against everything that is true and right in college football. A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It’s a sad day for college football.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis also chimed in, posting on social media congratulating FSU on their undefeated season and deriding the committee’s decision to exclude the Noles.

“What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results,” DeSantis said.

What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results.

Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 3, 2023

Florida State University President Richard McCullough also released a statement that can be read in full below:

“I am so proud of FSU Football for an outstanding season – going 13-0 and winning the ACC Championship! Congratulations! The resilience of this team and our coaches is the envy of all college football.

Leaving Florida State out of the CFP is shocking and shows that selection is based on potential and not performance and that the system is broken.”

Florida State University President Richard McCullough

Former FSU great and NFL Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks posted a photo with the late FSU coach Bobby Bowden that read “I want to take another moment to tell the entire FSU Seminole Football Team that I am extremely proud of you all. As I searched for words this picture came to my mind and how he would want me to handle this decision as a Captain.”

I want to take another moment to tell the entire FSU Seminole Football Team that I am extremely proud of you all. As I searched for words this picture came to my mind and how he would want me to handle this decision as a Captain. @FSUFootball pic.twitter.com/aNmtjxH9ye

— Derrick Brooks (@DBrooks55) December 3, 2023

There were six teams that had realistic arguments to make the four-team CFP field: Michigan, Washington, Texas, Alabama, Florida State and Georgia. The first four of those teams made the playoff, and the Seminoles’ fate — undefeated, ACC champions, and snubbed anyway — even had other schools who made the playoff shaking their head.

Washington coach Kalen DeBoer — the CFP’s No. 2 seed — was asked if he could imagine going 13-0 and not making the field.

“In all honesty, no,” DeBoer said.

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About the Authors:

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.