When Florida State athletics director Michael Alford turned on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2023, the sight of Marty Smith gave him pause and doubt.
The undefeated Seminoles had just secured their ACC Championship victory over Louisville in Charlotte. They were sitting as one of three undefeated teams in college football with a legitimate case at the four-team College Football Playoff in sight. But with ESPN’s personality Smith in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the College Football Playoff Selection Show and the lower-profile Harry Lyles Jr. in Tallahassee with the Seminoles, the doubt and reality crept in.
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“When I look up and see who’s covering us and see that Marty Smith is in Tuscaloosa, that hit me: ‘We’re not in,'” Alford said on an episode of the Dusty and Danny In the Morning podcast. “I did not get really worried until I saw that. Then I kind of knew, ‘OK, we may not be in here.’ And then when Texas popped up, I knew for sure we were not going to be in.”
Despite winning eight games over bowl-eligible teams and winning the conference championship despite playing with their third-string quarterback in freshman Brock Glenn, the Seminoles were left out of the playoffs for a pair of one-loss teams in Texas and Alabama. In contrast, the other undefeated Power 5 teams (national champion Michigan and runner-up Washington) made the playoffs. The CFB Committee cited the devastating injury of quarterback Jordan Travis as the reason for the snub and a fifth-place ranking.
“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 said in the statement at the time.
“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. 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 unforgivable.”
Alford said the thought of being left out of the College Football Playoff selection Sunday was there. But he brushed them off following FSU’s 16-6 victory over Louisville for the ACC Championship, the first for the program since 2014.
“Walking out of the locker room with some players that will remain nameless. I had my hat on, I’m ready, but the conversation between the two of them, and I was just a part of, was one of them saying, ‘We’re not going,” Alford recalled.
“The other one said, ‘What are you talking about?’ And this player, who is no longer with us, said, ‘Follow the money. We’re not going to be in. Alabama won and we’re not going.’ For a player to say that, I just blew it off. I told them both, ‘It’s never happened before, we’re 13-0 and a Power 5 conference champion, we’re going.'”
As acknowledged, Alford was with the team for the ACC Championship Game. He was seen celebrating following the game with the team, so he did not see the broadcast of the game while it was happening. He did get a chance to watch the broadcast later. He said the conversations surrounding FSU’s offense, Travis’ injury and Alabama’s victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game should have been red flags about the presented narrative.
“That was like ‘wow,’ that was alarming, the conversations that were going on during the game,” Alford said.
