Georgia Bulldogs Head Coach Kirby Smart 'Empathizes' With FSU Being Left Out of Playoffs

Smart and the Seminoles will face off in a consolation game later this month.

The 13-0 Florida State Seminoles are officially heading to the Orange Bowl after becoming the first undefeated Power Five conference champion to be left out of the college football playoff. 

The news shocked the college football world and the opponent the Seminoles are left with in Miami are the Georgia Bulldogs, who had been ranked No. 1 in the AP poll from the preseason all the way to the beginning of championship weekend. While the Seminoles went undefeated, the Bulldogs also had a claim to make the playoffs as their dominance this season was proven up until the last week.

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In a press conference held upon the bowl selection between FSU and UGA, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart voiced his opinion on the Seminoles being left out of the playoffs, as well as what this game will mean for both programs.

"Yeah, I mean, I empathize with anybody that goes undefeated and doesn't get in. I personally feel like we deserved to be in," Smart said. "We've got a really good football team and were considered No. 1 in the country all year, then fell. We have a hornet's nest around here, too, of players that are disappointed. That works both ways."

While the situation may not be what either team was hoping for on Selection Sunday, the season still remains unfinished. The matchup in Miami between the fifth and sixth ranked teams will mark the end of a historic season of college football.

"The good news is we got each other to go play. I know they'll be up for us and we'll be up for them," Smart said. "You worry a lot more when you have a matchup that they might not look forward to. I don't know who that would be because it shouldn't be that way. It is that way. I have learned that."

With the transfer portal officially having opened up as well as players opting out of bowl games due to preparation for the NFL Draft, the opportunities for players on both teams will increase, especially given the additional weeks of practice leading up to the bowl.

"I also think that it's a time for coaches to grow their team, grow their roster and grow the depth, and still get to play in a game," Smart said. "We're going to have kids that didn't play a lot during the year, they're going to have an opportunity that we're getting better at the end of the year that they're going to have a chance to play because of the redshirt rule and things in post-season play. I'm excited about those opportunities."

Both Florida State and Georgia have every intent to prove the playoff committee wrong as they both feel snubbed after being left out of the field. The team's desire to win will undoubtedly show on the field.

"I know our kids are going to be up for FSU. I know FSU is going to be up for us. We're going to rely on each other to have that, to be able to go out and play," Smart said. 

Smart added that he understands the emotions the Seminoles are going through as he has finished the season six times in the top 10, twice having won the National Championship as head coach at the University of Georgia.

"Look, nobody knows better, I don't know if this is correct, I think we've been fifth or sixth and finished fifth or sixth more than anybody. That's tough. It's tough. I can't imagine it being undefeated," Smart said. "It's tough when you finish fifth or sixth because there's always a case for being in it. We've been there maybe two or three times."

The Seminoles and Bulldogs will face off on December 30th for the 90th Orange Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 P.M. EST in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

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