College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan told ESPN the loss of star Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury was the key factor in the undefeated Seminoles being passed over in favor of one-loss Alabama for the final spot in the playoffs.
“Florida State is a different team than it was the first 11 weeks [of the season],’’ Corrigan said during Sunday’s selection show. “As you look at who they are as a team right now without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic he brings, they are a different team and the committee voted Alabama four and Florida State five.”
Travis suffered the injury during a lopsided win over North Alabama on Nov. 18 and Florida State’s offense suffered during a win at Florida with backup Tate Rodemaker at QB and again in a victory over Louisville on Saturday in the ACC title game with freshman Brock Glenn under center, as Rodemaker was out with a concussion.
Instead, the committee selected Michigan, the undefeated Big Ten champion and Washington, the unbeaten Pac-12 champion, as well as Texas, the Big 12 champion and Alabama, the SEC champion, despite Texas and Alabama both having suffered a loss during the season.
Florida State is the first undefeated conference champion from a Power 5 conference to be snubbed by the selection committee.
Corrigan pointed to the fact there were several coaches on the committee and part of the selection process is asking them which team they would rather play at this point of the season.
“One of the questions that we ask from a coaching standpoint is, ‘Who do you want to play? Who do you not want to play?’” Corrigan said. “We are looking at where we are today, not where we were three weeks ago or eight weeks ago. [The former coaches] got a significant voice in the room. We went around and around late [Saturday] night and came back again [Sunday] morning to do it again. We came back with Florida State at No. 5.”
And Alabama and Texas ahead of them.
“Player availability was really important,” Corrigan said. “You could lose a running back. You could lose a wide receiver. But a quarterback as dynamic as Jordan Travis changes their offense in its entirety. That was really a big factor for the committee as we went through everything. I feel horrible for Coach [Jim] Norvell and the players. They’re a different team now than they were earlier in the year. It’s been a long couple of days.”
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