LSU's Brian Kelly Has Controversial Opinion on FSU Being Left Out of College Football Playoff
Florida State achieving a 13-0 record and ACC Championship yet missing out on a College Football Playoff berth -- after being ranked No. 4 heading into conference championship weekend -- has sent the college football world into a frenzy.
There are two polarizing takes. Some people are fans of the four teams that made it into the playoffs, citing that Florida State wouldn't be able to keep up in a postseason matchup without star quarterback Jordan Travis.
On the contrary, others believe a 13-0, conference champion in a Power Five conference should be able to make the playoffs, despite being without their starting quarterback.
LSU head coach Brian Kelly was recently asked about the matter. Kelly saw Florida State up close in Week 1 as the Seminoles downed the Tigers 45-24 in a top-ten matchup.
"It was probably the most difficult one that they were confronted with, but, look, we knew that there were five conferences from the very beginning, and there's only four spots," Kelly said on ESPN. "If you did the math, you just needed to look at the five conference champions and say there's four slots."
Travis suffered his season-ending injury in Week 12. The Seminoles played without him in Week 13 against Florida -- a road game against a rival -- where Tate Rodemaker led them to a win. In the ACC Championship against Louisville, Brock Glenn had to lead to Seminoles to championship land as Rodemaker was out.
Despite being without Travis, one of college football's premier talents this season, the Seminoles rallied to win two incredibly impressive games with some outstanding defense.
"We played Florida State and we played Alabama, two outstanding football teams. But the two football teams were different at the end of the season than they were at the start of the season," Kelly said.
To be completely fair, the Seminoles did look like a different team without Travis in the final two games. Still, they won out, finished their undefeated season, and won a conference championship, while covering the spread in both games without him.
"Unfortunately, Florida State was not the same team earlier in the year that they were later in the year because the injury to the quarterback," Kelly said. "If only four of the conference championship teams can go and there's five, you're splitting hairs because they're all great teams."
Each of the four playoff teams were Power Five conference champions. Texas and Alabama, though -- the two teams that jumped Florida State in the rankings -- are one-loss teams. The Seminoles won their conference championship without losing a game this season.
"If you're going to sit one of them out, maybe it's got to be the one that lost their quarterback," Kelly continued. "I can see where they came from with the decision that they made."
Fortunately for the committee, the College Football Playoffs are expanding to a 12-team format next season. They won't be faced with a similar situation next season as each of the Power Five -- or Power Four for that matter -- conference champions will make the playoffs.
Still, it's gut-wrenching for the student-athletes who finished the season out 13-0 and did everything they could, yet the playoff committee stripped them of their chance to compete for a national title. There's not much to play for despite the team making it to the Orange Bowl. Countless players are expected to opt out leading up to the contest.
READ MORE: Lane Kiffin, Head Coach Of SEC Team, Comments On FSU's Exclusion From CFP
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