It's no secret that the College Football Playoff committee choosing the Alabama Crimson Tide over the undefeated, ACC Champion Florida State Seminoles upset their fan base and other college fans, but now, there is a conspiracy theory brewing as to how this came to be.
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Of course, many cited the CFP and ESPN's connection and ESPN's perceived "SEC bias," and now television ratings are being cited as a reason FSU was omitted and even LSU quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Jayden Daniels agrees.
“I personally think they did it because of ratings and viewership” - Jayden Daniels on #FSU getting snubbed from the CFP pic.twitter.com/1D2gtk8Wiz
— Benjamin Meyerson (@ByBenMeyerson) December 7, 2023
"I personally think they did it because of ratings and viewership," Daniels said.
Multiple analysts/personalities were in the crosshairs of fans, including Kirk Herbstreit and Greg McElroy. Of course, McElroy was a former Crimson Tide signal caller. The main reason many are saying FSU was snubbed was he injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.
"I look at the idea of an undefeated Power 5 team being left out as an absolute travesty," McElroy said before the ACC Championship game. "We don't even need to entertain the idea of a one-loss team jumping them."
Well, after the game, McElory said this: "They put in the four best teams, which is not an easy thing to do. I tip my cap to the committee," he said on ESPN's CFP rankings show.
In the midst of the outrage, committee chairman Boo Corrigan tried to explain why Alabama was chosen Florida State, but him in the public spotlight.
"In the eyes of the committee, Florida State is a different team without Jordan Travis," Corrigan said. "One of the things we do consider is player availability, and our job is to rank the best teams, and in the final decision looking at that, it was Alabama at four and Florida State at five."
After looking into Corrigan, fans discovered that Corrigan's brother, Tim, is the ESPN VP of Production, prompting further conspiracies. Even Florida Governor Ron DeSantis weighed in on the omission.
"My first-grader, my fifth-grader and my preschooler ... they are all 'noles and they are big-time fans and they do the tomahawk chop and they were not happy," DeSantis said, according to the Associated Press. "We are going to set aside $1 million and let the chips fall where they may."
Now, Florida State, with Tate Rodemaker under center, will take on the Georgia Bulldogs on December 30 for the Orange Bowl.
