Furious Florida State athletic director Michael Alford rules the CFB season 'irrelevant' and claims committee 'failed college football' with decision to omit unbeaten Seminoles from the Playoffs in favor of Alabama

Florida State's athletic director Michael Alford released an irate tirade in the wake of the College Football Playoff selection committee leaving his team out of the semifinals.

Alford says the committee 'failed college football' by leaving his undefeated team at home - all seemingly because quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season ending injury.

'The consequences of giving in to a narrative of the moment are destructive, far reaching and permanent. Not just for Florida State, but college football as a whole,' Alford raged.

'The argument of whether a team is the 'most deserving OR best' is a false equivalence. 

'It renders the season up to yesterday irrelevant and significantly damages the legitimacy of the College Football Playoff. 

Florida State athletic director Michael Alford went scorched earth on the CFP committee

'The 2023 Florida State Seminoles are the epitome of a total TEAM. To eliminate them from a chance to compete for a national championship is an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is unforgiveable.'

'The fact that this team has continued to close out victories in dominant fashion facing our current quarterback situation should have ENHANCED our case to get a playoff berth EARNED on the field. 

'Instead, the committee decided to elevate themselves and 'make history' today by departing from what makes this sport great by excluding an undefeated Power 5 conference champion for the first time since the advent of the BCS/CFP era that began 25 years ago. 

'This ridiculous decision is a departure from the competitive expectations that have stood the test of time in college football. Wins matter. Losses matter. Those that compete in the arena know this. Those on the committee who also competed in the sport and should have known this have forgotten it. 

'Today, they changed the way success is assessed in college football, from a tangible metric - winning on the field - to an intangible, subjective one. Evidently, predicting the future matters more.'

'For many of us, today's decision by the committee has forever damaged the credibility of the institution that is the College Football Playoff. And, saddest of all, it was self-inflicted. 

'They chose predictive competitiveness over proven performance; subjectivity over fact. They have become a committee of prognosticators. They have abandoned their responsibility by discarding their purpose – to evaluate performance on the field.'

'Our players, coaches, and fans - as well as all those who love this sport - deserve better. The committee failed college football today.'

Alford said that leaving undefeated FSU at home meant the CFP 'failed college football'

ACC commissioner Jim Phillips also released a statement, saying, 'It's unfathomable that Florida State, an undefeated Power Five conference champion, was left out of the College Football Playoff.

'Their exclusion calls into question the selection process and whether the Committee's own guidelines were followed, including the significant importance of being an undefeated Power Five conference champion.

'My heart breaks for the talented FSU student-athletes and coaches and their passionate and loyal fans. Florida State deserved better. College football deserved better.' 

Florida's governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis tweeted out, 'What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results. Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC Championship.'

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee made the decision that an injury to one player - Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis - was enough to disqualify the team from the playoff altogether.

'Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks,' Boo Corrigan, chairman of the CFP selection committee said after the rankings reveal. 

'It was an incredible season. But as you look at who they are as a team right now without Jordan Travis and without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team, and the committee voted Alabama No. 4 and Florida State No. 5.'

CFP selection committee chair Boo Corrigan said injuries made Florida State a new team

FSU quarterback Jordan Travis tweeted that he wished he got injured sooner

That left Travis to release a statement of his own, saying that he wished he was hurt sooner in the season. 

Travis tweeted, 'devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. 

'I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!'

An irate Florida State head coach Mike Norvell also released a statement directly questioning the importance of the regular season.

'I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee's decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games.

'What is the point of playing games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games?

Florida State coach Mike Norvell:  'What is the point of playing games?... It's a sad day'

'We are not only an undefeated P5 conference champion, but we also played two P5 non-conference games away from home and won both of them. I don't understand how we are supposed to think this is an acceptable way to evaluate a team.

'I'm hurting for our players who have displayed a tremendous amount of resilience and response this season. What happened today goes against everything that is true and right in college football.

'A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It's a sad day for college football.

'I'm proud of the work we have put in and the players I have the privilege to coach. We have one more opportunity to define this 2023 team in the Orange Bowl, and I believe in how our team will respond.'