There’s a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth over Florida State getting left out of the playoffs after completing an undefeated season and winning the ACC championship. The committee selected Alabama, instead, which is absolutely the right call. Alabama both had a better season and is clearly the better team. According to this ranking, Florida State had the 55th-toughest schedule in the country; Alabama had the fifth-toughest. Florida State’s best win of the year was against LSU; Alabama’s win against LSU was its third best. Does anyone doubt that Florida State would have had multiple losses if it played in the SEC?
Then, there’s the current status of the two teams. Florida State lost its starting quarterback and barely scraped by Louisville in the ACC championship game. That was a gutsy effort but didn’t betoken a team that is among the top four in the country. Meanwhile, Alabama has gotten better all year and beat heretofore unbeatable Georgia, the No. 1 team in the country, in the SEC championship game.
Alabama has a good chance to win the national championship, and who doesn’t look forward to the titanic clash between Alabama and Michigan in the first round? If the committee has left out a better team in Florida State, then you would expect the Seminoles to have a very good chance to beat Georgia in the Orange Bowl. The Bulldogs are currently 12-point or 13-point favorites.