College Football HQ

Florida State AD alleges ESPN knew of College Football Playoff snub early on

Florida State's athletic director believes ESPN must have known the Seminoles weren't going to make the College Football Playoff... based on the reporter they sent to the school.

James Parks

Scenes from the College Football Playoff selection show, as Florida State players learn their team didn't make the semifinal
Scenes from the College Football Playoff selection show, as Florida State players learn their team didn't make the semifinal /
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The general feeling from Florida State towards ESPN is not ideal these days, after many around the school seemed to point the finger somewhat in the network’s direction for the Seminoles’ historic College Football Playoff snub last year.

Now, the school’s athletic director is going a small step further. In a conversation with SiriusXM Radio, Seminoles AD Michael Alford claims that ESPN may have known Florida State was excluded from the playoff even before the official announcement.

How did ESPN know? Alford says it was because of the reporter the network sent to the Noles' selection show event.

“When we went to the selection show... [I] look up and see who’s covering us and see that Marty Smith is in Tuscaloosa, that hit me that we’re not getting in,” Alford said. “I did not get really worried until I saw that.”

Smith, one of ESPN’s primary college football reporters, was indeed assigned to Alabama’s contingent for the College Football Playoff selection show.

Florida State, meanwhile, had Harry Lyles, Jr. on site.

"I did not get really worried until I saw that," Alford said. "And then I kind of knew, 'Okay, we may not be in here.' And then, when Texas popped up, I knew for sure that it was not going to be us."

Alford also noted that he had a hint the Seminoles could get snubbed even before then.

"When I kind of knew, when it hit me, walking to the bus out of the locker room with some players, the conversation between the two of them was one of them saying, 'We're not going,' and the other one saying, 'What are you talking about?'" Alford said, via The New York Post.

"And this player, who is no longer with us, is going, 'Follow the money. We're not gonna be in. Alabama won,'" referring to the Crimson Tide's win over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. "'We're not going.'"

Alabama was, indeed, in. As was Texas, which was Big 12 champion and had a road win against the Tide early in the season. And the Seminoles, undefeated and ACC champions, were out.

For his part, ESPN reporter Harry Lyles, Jr. reacted to the idea that his presence with the Seminoles apparently signified a demotion in the eyes of the school.

He posted a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, with a meme of a character from Netflix's "I Think You Should Leave," who's wearing a hat he thinks everyone will like, but doesn't go over well at all.

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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.

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