Stephen A. Smith Says Florida State Would Be In College Football Playoffs If Deion Sanders Were Coach

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College football is a business. You know it, I know it, and Stephen A. Smith knows it.

The Florida State Seminoles finished undefeated and won the ACC Championship over the weekend. But the committee elected one-loss Alabama for the No. 4 spot — snubbing FSU and sending social media into a tailspin.

Right or wrong, the reality is that without star quarterback Jordan Travis, Florida State isn't as good nor as compelling to watch. That's why they got snubbed.

On ESPN's First Take on Monday, Smith argued if Deion Sanders were (hypothetically) the head coach at Florida State, though, they would have made the playoff. Even without their Heisman Trophy candidate QB.

"I bet you if Primetime Deion Sanders was that coach, they wouldn't have gotten left out," Smith said.

And that's not to take anything away from Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell, who obviously did a phenomenal job with the program this season. He's just not flashy and exciting enough to draw the viewership the committee wants, Smith pointed out.

"If Primetime had an undefeated season, the sizzle that he brings to the sports matters," Smith said. "We want to act like it doesn't matter, but it matters, because it's a business."

Stephen A. Smith Says Florida State Would Be In The CFP If Deion Sanders Were The Coach

Not Deion Sanders. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Smith compared the situation to year's playoff, when TCU lost in a 65-7 blowout to Georgia in the National Championship.

"The reality is when TCU stinks up the joint, regardless of how great they were last year, these are the kind of things that come back to haunt you," Smith said. "Because the committee is sitting back and going, 'We don't need to see Florida State without Jordan Travis in that game.'"

But Deion Sanders isn't the 'Noles coach, and they aren't going to the CFP. Instead, they'll have to settle for the Orange Bowl against the defending back-to-back National Champion Georgia Bulldogs.

Fortunately for everyone, the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams next season. But unless Coach Prime does some serious work with Colorado this offseason, he won't be in that one, either.

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