The dust continues to settle on the College Football Playoff committee leaving out Florida State, an undefeated (13-0) Power Five conference champion. While it isn’t the most popular decision, based on the criteria that teams must meet to be selected for the playoffs it was the right choice.
With star quarterback Jordan Travis, a preseason Heisman candidate, injured and absent for the remainder of the season, the committee decided that the Alabama Crimson Tide (12-1), Texas Longhorns (12-1), Michigan Wolverines (13-0) and Washington Huskies (13-0) are the four best teams in the country.
Not most deserving, but the eye test is what the committee prides itself on, and in their eyes the Seminoles weren’t one of them. At the end of the day that type of decision isn’t entirely football-based, there’s also a business aspect to the decision. These games have to be marketed with the biggest brands in college football.
In this instance the brands of Alabama and Texas loomed larger than that of Florida State.
Would Deion Sanders Have Made A Difference?
During Monday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith mentioned that he agrees with the committee’s decision, but also says that if a certain former Seminoles legend was stalking those sidelines in Tallahassee things would’ve turned out differently on Sunday.
That would be none other than Deion Sanders, the current head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes.
“I bet if Primetime Deion Sanders was the coach, they wouldn’t have gotten left out,” Smith said. “Norvell is a sensational coach and has done a sensational job, and I’m not taking anything away from him.”
“Why do I bring him up? Because if Primetime has an undefeated team, the sizzle he brings to the sport matters. We want to act like it doesn’t matter, but it matters because it is a business,” Smith added.
Valid point by SAS. The Coach Prime Effect is contagious, and Sanders is a huge brand. It’s not a stretch to think that his presence alone would’ve likely helped the ’Noles’ chances immensely.
The fact that Sanders is currently the most polarizing college football figure and played at FSU wouldn’t have hurt. The storyline of former FSU star leading alma mater to the College Football Playoffs would’ve been a narrative the committee very likely would’ve run with.
As Smith stated, Norvell is a great coach, but he just doesn’t bring the same cachet as one Deion Luwynn Sanders.
Sanders Could’ve Been FSU Head Coach
Sanders is a former two-time All-American and Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back in 1988 at FSU, who, following his illustrious NFL career, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A longtime NFL analyst, Sanders jumped into the collegiate coaching realm in 2020 at Jackson State. He enjoyed immediate success, and many believed he could have become the next coach at FSU if things had gone awry with Norvell, who was hired in 2019 and struggled early on in his time as coach.
That hasn’t been the case with Norvell, who’s done a whirlwind job cleaning up the mess former coach Jimbo Fisher left when he departed for Texas A&M in 2018.
But you have to believe if Sanders had been stalking those sidelines inside Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee the ’Noles would be preparing for a CFP game and not for a trip to the Orange Bowl against Georgia.
