The Florida State University Football team had a breakout season, but it was not enough to make the playoffs, according to the committee who made the controversial call.

They may have been right because, on December 30, 2023, the Seminoles played against the University of Georgia Bulldogs, more commonly known as the Dawgs, with a final score of 63-3 in favor of the Dawgs.

With the exclusion of FSU from the top four, nearly 30 FSU players decided not to play in fear of being injured before the NFL draft. The game did not become a blowout until the second quarter; after the first quarter Georgia was only up 7-0.

Chris Tanguay, a Math teacher who follows college football, did not have any expectations for FSU at the start of the season, but that was not the case at the end; he believes their final game did not do their season justice.

“I don’t think it was reflective of their season, they had a lot of starters who chose not to play,” he said. “With the transfer portal and NIL deals, it makes it difficult for players to want to win a game that effectively does nothing to help their careers.”

The FSU season was headed by their start quarterback, Jordan Travis, a senior and Florida native. His stats for the 2023 season were impressive: 20 TD, 2,756 passing yards, and only two interceptions before a season-ending injury against Northern Alabama University during week 12.

The Dawgs won the National Championship back-to-back in 2020 and 2021. UGA had a successful season, also going 13-1, the same record as FSU. UGA quarterback Carson Beck’s season stats include 3,841 passing yards with 24 touchdowns, but six interceptions.

The College Football Playoff committee decides the top-ranked football teams during the year based on different conditions. The CFP committee website outlines how playoff rankings are determined.

Each member ranks their top six teams. The committee continuously ranks the teams from 30 down until the top four teams are decided. Every year, the committee tries to create fair matchups that reflect the best of college football that year.

On December 3, 2023, the committee made its decisions public, and the shock rippled through the college football world. FSU was undefeated at the time; historically, an undefeated team is chosen with the exception of a few times, like when the University of Central Florida fell short during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Stacey Izer, a Florida native and FSU class of 1992, did not expect FSU to be left out of the top four.

“I felt like we were going to be playing for a national championship,” Izer said. “It was obvious we were undefeated, why wouldn’t we play? Did I think we should be ranked number one? No, I felt like that spot should go to Washington.”

In a 34-13 game, Washington lost the National Championship on Jan. 8 to the University of Michigan.