Executive Director of CFP Committee Responds to Senator Rick Scott's Inquiry Into FSU Snub

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee issued a statement regarding favoring Alabama and Texas over Florida State.

There has been massive amounts of attention surrounding the 2023 College Football Playoff and the four teams chosen to compete in the last rendition of the four-team format. The committee elected to exclude an undefeated Power 5 conference champion for the first time in history, and the nationwide backlash has been extensive.

Florida Senator Rick Scott and many other politicians and public figures have expressed their displeasure and concern for excluding 13-0 Florida State over 12-1 Alabama and 12-1 Texas. 

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Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff Committee, responded in a two-page letter to a recent inquiry from Scott questioning the legitimacy of the process and the parity involved in the final decision, outlining the selection process used.

One of the committee's major sticking points was the injury due to quarterback Jordan Travis, despite moving them up in the rankings after Florida State's 24-15 win over Florida the following week. 

"The protocol requires the Committee to take into consideration the unavailability of key players that may affect a team's performance during the post-season," Hitchock's letter stated. "Simply put, Florida State is not the same team without its star quarterback. That caused the Committee to believe that there were indeed four teams that should rank higher than FSU."

The schedule's strength also factored in for the committee; however, ESPN's 2023 Resume College Football Power Index has Florida State ranked above Alabama at third in the country.

"FSU's strength of schedule was not as strong as the four teams that were ranked ahead of them. As I'm sure you are aware, strength of schedule is a key metric the Committee takes into consideration. If being undefeated without regard to a team's strength of schedule was part of our protocol, other universities with undefeated records would have routinely been considered for the Playoff. There have been eight, counting Florida State, undefeated teams that did not make the Playoff. While this is the first year such a team was from a so-called P5 conference, strength of schedule remains a crucial factor."

Florida State is set to face off against No. 6 Georgia in the 2023 Orange Bowl on December 30 at 4:00 p.m. 

The full letter can be seen below.

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