Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed his dissatisfaction with the College Football Playoff committee on Tuesday and announced his request for $1 million in the state’s budget to allow Florida State to sue the committee for excluding the team from the Playoff.
DeSantis discussed the decision at a news conference regarding his spending proposal, which proposes a $114.4 billion budget for Florida. He mentioned that his children are avid Seminoles fans and were upset about FSU’s absence from the Playoff.
“My first-grader, my fifth-grader and my preschooler … they are all ‘noles and they are big-time fans and they do the tomahawk chop and they were not happy,” DeSantis said, according to the Associated Press. “We are going to set aside $1 million and let the chips fall where they may.”
It will be months before a budget is approved, with DeSantis’ recommendation only serving as a suggestion to the Florida Legislature. The group commences its annual session in January to determine a spending plan. Once that plan is agreed upon, DeSantis will have the ability to veto individual items.
Florida State, which had a 13-0 record and won the ACC Championship Game, was placed at fifth in Sunday’s final rankings, trailing Michigan (13-0), Washington (13-0), Texas (12-1) and Alabama (12-1). The Longhorns and Crimson Tide moved ahead of FSU after winning the Big 12 and SEC championships, respectively.
FSU lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a gruesome leg injury suffered in a game against North Alabama on Nov. 18 but managed to win two crucial games with backup quarterbacks Tate Rodemaker and Brock Glenn. The committee cited Travis’ injury as a reason for demoting FSU.
“In the eyes of the committee, Florida State is a different team without Jordan Travis,” committee chairman Boo Corrigan said Sunday. “One of the things we do consider is player availability, and our job is to rank the best teams, and in the final decision looking at that, it was Alabama at four and Florida State at five.”
Other than DeSantis, others have also expressed outrage over the snub, with Florida State football coach Mike Norvell stating that he was “disgusted and infuriated” by the committee’s decision Sunday to leave the Seminoles out of the four-team field. FSU is the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to miss the Playoff.
“What is the point of playing games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play Senior Day for fear of injury? What is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games?” Norvell said.
FSU athletic director Michael Alford said the committee “failed college football” with the decision.
Florida State is set to face Georgia in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.
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