FSU football isn't the only team that needed a bigger bracket this college bowl season
What a bowl season this might have been had the expanded College Football Playoff started this season.
Florida State has understandably been the focus of this year's four-team bracket. They're certainly not the first team or fan base to feel disrespected by their absence. But how could a Power Five conference team not receive a bid after completing an undefeated season? That's just one of the problems with the current playoff system: five major conferences and four slots.
The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff comes a year too late for Florida State and other schools who spent weeks at or near a top-four position in a poll or the College Football Playoff selection committee's weekly rankings.
While concerns remain about the 12-team bracket, perhaps this year's final weeks strengthen the reasoning for next year's expansion.
What the expanded college football playoff would have looked like in 2023
12 points decided three teams' playoff fates
Undoubtedly, there will be consternation next season about who ends up in the No. 13, 14 or 15 positions, but the narrow margin for error this season left at least three worthy teams, if not more, besides Florida State out of the mix.
Of course, this is not new. The CFP committee has relied on conference championships to whittle down such a small field, but consider this year how narrow that margin was as the final four took shape:
Nov. 25: Michigan 30, Ohio State 24. Michigan now stands as No. 1 in the country, but before the two met, Ohio State ranked No. 2. The teams boast the top two defenses in the country, holding other teams to just about 10 points per game. The Wolverine's offense scored about 4 points more per game.
Dec. 1: Washington 34, Oregon 31. Washington and Oregon were also top-five teams at the end of the regular season. Oregon had the nation's second highest-scoring offense at 44 points per game – a full touchdown better than Washington. The Ducks defense held their opponents to a touchdown less than the No. 2-ranked Huskies, too.
Dec. 2: Alabama 27, Georgia 24. Georgia held the top spot in the US LBM Coaches Poll throughout the season until the SEC Championship. Its offense bettered Alabama by a field goal during the regular season, and a just couple points separated the two teams on defense. Alabama's win dashed the Bulldogs' playoff hopes along with the opportunity to defend their national championship for a second time.
Two polls kept Florida State in playoff contention
The CFP committee was established for the playoff to ensure important nuances wouldn't be disregarded by the polls. This year's nuance – the loss of the No. 1 quarterback to injury – dropped the undefeated Seminoles from fourth even though they won their conference title with their third-string quarterback.
Did Florida State's standout defense and other offensive players deserve a chance to play Cinderella in the final year of the four-team playoff? Maybe. The two polls – determined by more college football experts than sit on the CFP committee – seemed to favor FSU in the playoff. Paste BN's columnists offer their own thoughts on either side of the argument:
Committee snubs Florida State: Decision makes a mockery of College Football Playoff
CFP committee's makes safe call: Choosing Alabama over FSU was the right call.
Dec. 3 US LBM Coaches Poll
It's interesting to note that even in this week's coaches poll our group of coaches couldn't land on a top four. Both Alabama and Texas received the exact same number of points.