Florida State Should Not Make CFP Final Four, Because It Is Not One Of The Four Best, Period

The original College Football Playoff selection committee executive director Bill Hancock has said it for years. The most deserving teams do not necessarily make the four-team playoff. It is the best teams.

"Look, Bill Hancock said, 'It's not the most deserving,'" No. 1-ranked Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Saturday night after losing the Southeastern Conference championship game to No. 8 Alabama, 27-24, in Atlanta.

Georgia Coach Kirby Smart Has The Right Idea About the CFP

"He said simply, 'It's the best four teams,'" Smart said. "So, if you're going to tell me somebody sitting in that committee room doesn't think that Georgia team isn't one of the best four teams, I don't know if they're in the right profession. They have to make that decision, but it's the BEST four teams. And that's critical."

The final CFP rankings with the top four going to the playoffs will air on ESPN at noon Sunday.

Smart is wrong about his own team. Georgia is not going, because its loss is to fresh - about 24 hours fresh when the rankings come out Sunday. But he made a great point about the CFP selection process, and it applies to No. 4 Florida State exactly. The Seminoles are not one of the best four teams in college football, period. It is obvious, particularly if you watched them play the last two weeks.

Yes, FSU finished 13-0 on Saturday night with a 16-6 win over No. 14 Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game in Charlotte, N.C. But still the Seminoles should not go.

Florida State freshman QB Brock Glenn started Saturday night's ACC title game vs. Louisville because No. 2 QB Tate Rodemaker has a concussion. FSU won 16-6 (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)

FSU should not reach the playoffs because it is down to its third quarterback in freshman Brock Glenn as No. 2 quarterback Tate Rodemaker did not play with a concussion Saturday. Glenn completed a putrid 8 of 21 passes for 55 yards for the Seminoles, who are a shell of the team that won its first 11 games. And it just struggled to beat a Louisville team that is average. Louisville just lost to an equally average Kentucky (7-5, 3-5 SEC) last week by 38-31, further hurting FSU's argument to reach the four.

The Seminoles managed just 12 first downs and 219 yards Saturday. That's not championship football. My goodness, they looked like Iowa.

Florida State's Wins Have Not Been Pretty Enough For CFP

Seminoles' starting superstar quarterback Jordan Travis broke his leg on Nov. 18 in a win over North Alabama and was lost for the season, and Florida State has not been one of the "best teams" ever since.

That was extremely bad luck for Florida State to lose Travis, and that's sad. But the bottom line is, Florida State is simply not as good as it was without Travis and should not be in the playoffs.

Rodemaker replaced Travis for FSU's 24-15 win over Florida last week, completing only 12 of 25 passes for 134 yards. Rodemaker may be fine for the playoffs on Jan. 1, but the Seminoles are still not good enough. Florida State survived without Travis and then without Rodemaker to finish 13-0 and deserves to go to the playoffs. But it is not about the deserving. It is about the best, and Florida State is not one of those.

The selection committee made a huge mistake last week by elevating Florida State from No. 5 to No. 4 despite looking unimpressive behind Rodemaker in the win over Florida, which finished 5-7. Had Florida State remained No. 5 with Oregon going to No. 4, a vote to keep FSU at No. 5 would have made much more sense. Then with Oregon losing to Washington, Oregon would have logically dropped out of the top four. Or Washington would have, had Oregon won.

CFP Selection Committee Should Not Have Ranked FSU No. 4

But now, because of the committee's mistake, Florida State can say, "Hey, we were No. 4, and we won. We should stay No. 4." And that makes sense. But it still doesn't work.

The final decision on the CFP Final Four will be made Sunday at noon on ESPN.

This is what it should be:

1.Michigan (13-0). The Wolverines beat No. 16 Iowa, 26-0, Saturday night in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis. They take over Georgia's No. 1 spot after the back-to-back national champion Bulldogs (12-1) saw their 29-0 streak snapped by the Crimson Tide. Georgia has only one loss, but it is the most recent loss - by hours. And because of that, the Bulldogs are out. In a more normal season without as many undefeated and impressive one-loss teams, Georgia would be in.

2.Washington (13-0). The Huskies beat No. 5 Oregon, 34-31, on Friday night in the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas and move up from No. 3.

3. Texas (12-1). The Longhorns defeated No. 18 Oklahoma State, 49-21, in the Big 12 championship game Saturday afternoon in Arlington, Texas. Texas moves up from No. 7 with its only loss to Oklahoma, 34-30, on Oct. 7. That's a long time ago. And Texas has the best win of the year other than Alabama's Saturday night. Texas won at Alabama, 34-24, on Sept. 9.

4. Alabama (12-1). The Crimson Tide rises from No. 8 with the best victory of anyone in college football - undefeated, No. 1 Georgia, winners of the last two national championships.

"They proved today they can win against anybody," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

And Florida State has proven over the last two weeks - even though it won - that it can't.