Conference championship overreaction: Florida State left out of CFP, Texas & Alabama get in

Dec 3, 2023

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Dan Wetzel, Ross Dellenger & SI’s Pat Forde react to the final College Football Playoff rankings for the 2023 season.

With 5 teams truly deserving of a spot in the College Football Playoff, one school had to draw the short straw. Michigan, Washington, Texas & Alabama round out the finalized bracket for the playoff, while the Florida State Seminoles are the odd team out this year, coming in at #5 after an undefeated season. Nobody appeared to be more disappointed than FSU quarterback Jordan Travis, who took to social media after the announcement, wishing he could have gotten hurt earlier in the year so that the committee could see the true potential of this FSU team.

Dan, Pat & Ross analyze why the 4-team system was implemented & why the 12-team system was delayed for so long. Ross then takes us into the history of the ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 “Alliance” and how it failed, along with how the ACC hurt themselves by not advocating for an expanded playoff earlier due to grievances with the SEC’s expansion. The show also takes a dive into what the 12-team playoff firmat would look like this year with so many quality teams in the mix who obviously did not make the top-4 like Oregon, Ohio State & Georgia.

Speaking of the Bulldogs, Alabama took down Georgia on Saturday to claim another SEC championship. From snap one, the Crimson Tide looked like a different team than last week. Georgia couldn’t get their ground game going and more importantly, they couldn’t get Alabama out of their heads. The guys break down how Alabama was able to rally after a shaky start to the season to become one of the final four teams competing for a national championship.

Washington and Texas will battle in the CFP semifinals in the Sugar Bowl on January 1st.\. Both programs had excellent years and the crew is very excited to see these two square off. Washington’s offense has stepped up in their most important games this year and Texas was able to dominate the Big 12 in the latter half of the season.

Before closing out the show, the guys share their way-too-early national championship predictions and forecast whether or not LSU’s Jaden Daniels has secured the Heisman Trophy.

Lastly, the show gives out their final Small Sample Heisman awards of the season, and as always, Say Something Nice.

1:00 - College Football Playoff is set, leaving out Florida State

17:55 - History and failure of ‘The Alliance’

27:04 - What the 12-team playoff would look like this year

29:00 - Alabama beats Georgia to win SEC

43:09 - Who has the edge in Washington vs. Texas?

47:40 - Who is your national champion?

49:54 - Did Jayden Daniels win the Heisman this season?

51:30 - Small Sample Heisman

55:20 - Say Something Nice

Follow Dan @DanWetzel

Follow Pat @ByPatForde