The Florida State Seminoles were infamously omitted from the College Football Playoff this past season after going undefeated and winning the ACC Championship despite starting quarterback Jordan Travis's injury. Well, following that omission, the Seminoles were slated to play in the Orange Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs, but a plethora of opt-outs left them in shambles and they lost 63-3.
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Well, at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, former Seminoles players chimed in to say that the game would've turned out differently if not for the opt-outs. But of course, the Bulldogs disagree.
One player is former Bulldogs defensive lineman Zion Logue. He spoke at the podium at the event on Wednesday.
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"It wouldn't have been different, it would have been 38-17, I feel like," Logue said. "But it wouldn't have been as close as they were saying."
In their 63-3 win, the Bulldogs pulled starter Carson Beck at halftime and played four signal callers. Jared Verse, a potential top-10 pick in April's draft, mentioned he had some second thoughts about his decision to opt out.
"I definitely, looking back on it, wish I had put myself in a different position maybe went out there, had a couple of the other guys come out there with me," Verse said. "I feel like it would have been a different football game, but at the end of the day that's all 'ifs.'"
Then, Kalen DeLoach, a former Seminoles linebacker, noted he attempted to sway his teammates, but to no avail.
"I tried my best, we have a group chat together so all of us were well-connected," DeLoach revealed. "I tried to motivate them them come out here one more last time and put on this uniform and showcase who we are."
One of the players DeLoach tried to recruit back to the Orange Bowl was defensive tackle Fabian Lovette.
"I didn't come back to play in a bowl game, I came back to be in the playoffs, and we did everything we needed to do to be able to do that," Lovette said, "so that was the whole decision behind that."
Georgia, who also failed to make the College Football Playoff, viewed the Orange Bowl differently.
"We knew we should have been in the CFP, as well," Logue said, "but we had something to finish."
Several other players spoke out on their decisions, including Braden Fiske, who transferred to the program from Western Michigan, as well as linebacker Tatum Bethune.
"100 percent, I would have played in the game," Bethune said. "Before we walked out and ran on the field, I shed a couple of tears because I wasn't able to play and I loved the game so much.
"It was going to be my last time putting on a Florida State jersey, so I was very emotional that day. So not being able to be out there and strap up with my guys, especially my brother Kalen DeLoach, it was hard for me to get through."
