LAS VEGAS — College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock winced Monday afternoon. He had just realized one of his CFP Selection Committee members had gone public with their reasoning about why that person voted not to include Florida State in playoff.
“It was gut-wrenching,” that committee member told CBS Sports under the condition of anonymity. “For me, individually, I evaluated [whether they could] make it through and win a national championship with the team they had.”
That person concluded the Seminoles could not win the national title without injured starting quarterback Jordan Travis. The potential ability for a team to win a national championship is not part of the CFP’s selection protocol.
That might be the most revelatory statement made since this controversy erupted Sunday afternoon when the four-team bracket was announced. For the first time, the committee left an undefeated Power Five conference champion out of the Football Four.
Nowhere in the CFP protocol does it mention a team’s ability to win as a criteria for whether it should be included.
“I don’t remember that phrase being said in the [selection] meeting,” Hancock told CBS Sports.
That doesn’t mean such a thought couldn’t be contemplated. It does mean, perhaps, that it shouldn’t be a deciding factor if adhering to the defined criteria.
“That was my personal [opinion],” the committee member clarified. “I don’t think [language about being able to win it all] should be in there. Now, going into a 12-team playoff, does the protocol need to stay the same?”
Earlier Monday, ESPN quoted a committee member making a similar assertion regarding Florida State:
“We didn’t think they could [win a national championship],” that person said.
If winning it all were the stipulation, Georgia — No. 1 before losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game — should have been in the top four. Instead, the Bulldogs didn’t just drop outside the four but behind the undefeated Seminoles, who fell from No. 4 to No. 5 despite winning the ACC Championship Game by double digits over Louisville.
That’s where the national conversation diverged and controversy erupted.
Hancock spent 20 minutes Monday defending the system while in Las Vegas for the annual National Football Foundation dinner. He had already seen a tersely worded letter from Florida Sen. Rick Scott (R) demanding not only CFP accountability but…
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