Aaron Rodgers’ 19-year old grudge has him dissing the Texas Longhorns.
There has been much controversy over the College Football Playoff committee’s decision to leave Florida State out of the playoffs. However, the committee themselves admitted that it was between FSU and Alabama for the final spot, not Texas.
On Tuesday, during Aaron Rodgers’ weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, the Hall of Fame quarterback stated that the Florida State Seminoles should have been in the College Football Playoff instead of the Texas Longhorns.
The sudden urge of Rodgers’ anti-Texas take may come as a surprise to the unbeknown eye, but Longhorns fans know why he might be upset.
In the 2004 season, the Texas Longhorns and California Golden Bears had an identical overall record, 10-1. Cal was ranked No. 4 in the country and the Longhorns were No. 5, jumping the Bears and taking the Rose Bowl spot to play the Michigan Wolverines. The Longhorns won 38-37, sparking a fire and a National Championship run the following season.
Cal was instead selected for the Holiday Bowl to play Texas Tech, in which the Red Raiders won, 45-31. Texas was obviously the superior team and made for a better matchup against the Michigan Wolverines, even if Rodgers’ California bias doesn’t want to admit it.
So, it’s not that Aaron Rodgers thinks that FSU is more deserving than Texas for a CFP spot (they’re not), it’s his near-two decade old grudge that makes him diss the Longhorns.
Here is social media’s reaction to Rodgers on the Pat McAfee Show.
Good morning, Winners! I hope you all have had a fantastic weekend. Well, uh, FSU fans, I know you probably didn’t. But I hope there was … something redeemable about your weekend outside of FSU’s snub!
What happened to Florida State over the weekend does feel like a travesty the more I think about it.
FSU did everything right. It won out with its schedule. It went out of its way to schedule a tough non-conference opponent on a neutral field to start off its season. None of that mattered. It ultimately came down to the fact that its quarterback broke his leg.
That’s why this is so frustrating. Perfection is an impossible standard to hold someone to. Team record, style points, health. Everything has to go right.
But it’s football. Nothing ever goes right. Somebody is going to get hurt. Things are going to go bad. It’s what teams do with the unfortunate circumstances they get handed that ultimately make them champions. FSU’s fate was decided by a room of 13 people before it ever got a chance to prove itself. Something about that feels wholly unfair to me.
College football has always been about pageantry when it comes to the postseason — even in the BCS era. It’s about who you beat and when you beat them. It’s also about how well you beat them. College football gave up one imprecise system for another. And it’ll do it again next season when eight more teams are added to the playoff action. Then all this hemming and hawing over FSU wouldn’t be necessary.
But I just want to ask the question: Do we really need all of this? Does this really capture the essence of college football?
For centuries college football was about so much more than playoff implications and postseason play. The only thing people cared about the rivalry between their alma mater and that other off-brand school down the highway.
We didn’t fall in love with this sport by calculating strength of schedule week after week. It was Michigan vs. Ohio State that brought us there. It was Auburn vs. Alabama. Texas vs. Oklahoma. That’s why we love college football.
Conference realignment is going to rob us of that. As more time goes by, those rivalries will begin to fade into the background. And, more and more, all people will talk about — and all teams will schedule for — will be the playoff. Playoff this. Playoff that.
But that’s not my college football. In my college football, FSU has already proven itself worthy enough to be called a champion.
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San Francisco came out and walked the walk on Sunday with a 42-19 drubbing over the Eagles in Philadelphia. Sheesh. Robert Zeglinski has more in his weekly awards column.
“Even with all of Nick Sirianni’s brash motivational tactics to get his team ready, the 49ers took a needle to the Eagles’ balloon and popped it without mercy. Seriously, after a first quarter where it looked like both squads were feeling each other out, San Francisco flat-out opened the salvos and left Philadelphia’s beloved “birds” in tatters. From right around halfway through the second quarter, the 49ers scored a touchdown on six consecutive possessions. They outgained the Eagles by over 100 yards, gained over eight yards an offensive play, and were effectively perfect on third down.
The Eagles had their [expletive] handed to them. A security guard getting into it with linebacker Dre Greenlaw was probably the most fight anyone associated with Philadelphia showed all day. I legitimately can’t remember a ruthless road whooping of a Super Bowl contender like this.”
We need round three of this, man. This is the sort of rivalry that makes the game so much fun. Please, football gods. Let us have it.
But his own coach is raining on his parade! On Friday, Kyle Shanahan made the case for one of Purdy’s teammates over him — it’s Christian McCaffery.
“Yeah, I think without a doubt,” Shanahan told reporters Friday. “I know it goes to quarterbacks the majority of the time, and there’s plenty of worthy quarterbacks, but you definitely can’t say that Christian’s behind anyone. He’s as valuable in this league as anyone.”
Someone needs to check back in with Kyle after Sunday’s performance. But, as Prince points out, he’s making a pretty good point here. McCaffery has been the 49ers best player all season long and he also had an incredible game against the Eagles.
But, then again, who didn’t on Sunday? Sheesh.
Quick hits: Ah, yes, more officiating complaints … Ime Udoka vs. LeBron … and more
The Oklahoma Sooners missed out on a New Year’s Six bowl and will instead be playing in the Alamo Bowl and here’s how social media reacted.
When the Oklahoma Sooners’ Red River Rivals earned a spot in the College Football Playoff, there was a belief that OU’s win over the No. 3 Texas Longhorns might push them into a New Year’s Six Bowl.
It didn’t work out that way. The College Football Playoff committee opted to include Ole Miss, Missouri, and Penn State, teams that were just ahead of the Sooners in the final playoff rankings.
The Sooners have a worthwhile resume with wins over the Big 12 champion, Texas, and the AAC champion, SMU. But it was losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State that pushed the Sooners to the background and into the Alamo Bowl.
The Sooners and Wildcats provide an intriguing matchup between an outgoing and incoming member of the Big 12. Arizona ranks in the top 25 nationally in scoring offense and defense.
Though it may not be the bowl game everyone hoped for, it’s still a matchup that could be fantastic.
Here’s how social media reacted to the Alamo Bowl placement.
Regardless of which side of the argument you are on, the CFP committee showed their hypocrisy on Selection Sunday.
When it came to the College Football Playoff committee’s rankings after Week 13 of the college football season, what would they do with an undefeated Florida State team that won their conference championship?
The top two ranked teams were the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies after finishing undefeated with conference titles. By that same logic, the Florida State Seminoles should have been the No. 3 team but when the rankings came out they were dropped to No. 5.
What would drop them out of the top four? The eye test. The Seminoles, despite not losing to Florida or Louisville in the ACC title game, looked like shells of their former selves. For that reason, we saw the Alabama Crimson Tide snag that No. 4 spot and the Texas Longhorns moved up to the No. 3 slot.
If that was indeed the logic behind it, then the Group of Five slot would likely be awarded to the SMU Mustangs. They defeated the Tulane Green Wave on Saturday to secure the AAC title. The Ponies played a close game against the Oklahoma Sooners but ultimately fell short. They would also lose two weeks later against TCU, another Power Five team.
The Liberty Flames won all 13 games they played in 2023 including two wins over New Mexico State, the second gave them the Conference USA championship. The analytics show that the Flames had the weakest schedule in all of FBS, ranked No. 133 out of 133 teams. According to the Football Power Index, Liberty has the No. 14 strength of record.
SMU was ranked No. 19 in strength of record while playing the No. 76 strength of schedule. The Ponies played two Power Five opponents, while the Flames didn’t face off with a single Power Five team in 2023.
If you are going to play the “eyeball test” card with the Florida State Seminoles with their No. 5 ranking, then it should also be applied in the argument between the Liberty Flames and SMU Mustangs.
The comment by committee chairman Boo Corrigan certainly rings hollow when they stated they rewarded Liberty as they kept winning games with a weak schedule. Especially when the committee left an undefeated Florida State team on the outside looking in at the four-team playoff.
Here is what the 12-team College Football Playoff would look like if we had it this season.
The College Football Playoff will be expanding from its four-team format to 12 teams in 2024, but Florida State wishes it would have happened this year. The Seminoles, champions of the ACC and owners of a 13-0 record were passed over in the final College Football Playoff rankings by 12-1 SEC champion Alabama, fueling the fire for the incoming college football playoff field to be expanded sooner rather than later.
Of course, that won’t be happening. But we can still take a look at how the 12-team College Football Playoff would have looked this season. As for Penn State, the Nittany Lions would have been locked in a rematch against one of the teams it lost to in the first round.
Here is what the 12-team College Football Playoff would have looked like this season if it was in play.
The undefeated Seminoles were left on the outside looking in despite being undefeated and winning the ACC title.
Florida State, despite being undefeated and winning the ACC title, was left on the outside looking in for the College Football Playoff. SEC Champion Alabama jumped ahead of them for the fourth seed with their victory over Georgia.
Seminoles’ athletic director Michael Alford released a statement on the decision, calling the choice destructive with permanent consequences for the sport of college football.
“The argument of whether a team is the ‘most deserving OR best’ is a false equivalence,” Alford wrote. “It made the season up to yesterday irrelevant and significantly damages the legitimacy of the College Football Playoff.”
Alford pointed out how the Seminoles are the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to ever not make the semifinals. He called the decision unforgivable.
“The fact that this team has continued to close out victories in dominant fashion facing our current quarterback situation should have ENHANCED our case to get a playoff berth EARNED on the field.”
“Wins matter. Losses matter,” Alford wrote. “Today, they changed the way success is assessed in college football, from a tangible metric – winning on the field – to an intangible, subjective one. Evidently, predicting the future matters more.”
Alford ended his statement by saying “the committee failed college football today.”
“I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today,” he wrote. “What is the point of playing the games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games?”
Florida State’s Jordan Travis was crushed by his team being left out of the CFP field
The Florida State Seminoles are undefeated. That didn’t matter to the CFP Selection Committee, which placed them fifth in the final rankings on Sunday.
Much of the decision centered on the Seminoles being a different team in the last two weeks since they lost QB Jordan Travis to a season-ending broken leg.
The quarterback, who was a Heisman contender, tweeted about his reaction and feelings to FSU being discounted despite being ACC champs and 13-0.
devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!
The Crimson Tide inched ahead of undefeated Florida State for the fourth spot in the College Football Playoff, leaving mixed reactions.
The College Football Playoff Committee announced the four teams bound for the semifinals on Sunday, and in a shocking twist, SEC Champion Alabama was awarded the fourth and final spot while undefeated ACC Champion Florida State was left at home as the No. 5 seed.
The Crimson Tide’s victory over top-ranked Georgia in the SEC Championship was enough to give them a boost in the eyes of the committee. CFP chair Boo Corrigan said the decision came down to “who do you want to play and who do you not want to play?”
The Michigan team room did seem unenthused about the idea of playing the Crimson Tide.
Michigan's reaction to facing Alabama in the CFP semifinal 👀
Alabama fans and national talking heads alike took to social media to say the committee did the right thing, bringing up how the decision is meant to find the best four teams, not the four most deserving.
This sucks for Florida State. It really does. But it’s the right decision. Michigan, Washington, Texas, Alabama.
Others thought the decision was a slap in the face. ESPN’s Booger McFarland went on a rant, calling the decision a travesty and saying the rankings reflected style points more than a sport.
Booger McFarland is not happy that Alabama got into the CFP over an undefeated Florida State team.
"To me, this is a travesty to the sport…One team has a loss, and that's Alabama. One doesn't in Florida State." pic.twitter.com/3rhBvvpT1D
Florida State got absolutely hosed. They have Atleast 2 first round picks. Talent all over the field, goes undefeated, and still on the outside looking in. 2-0 vs SEC teams this season. 2014 Buckeyes got in with a third string QB. FSU Shld have been in!
Injured starting quarterback Jordan Travis made a bold statement of his own about how much he believed in his team.
devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!
Alabama over Florida State? The four-team College Football Playoff is now set.
All of the debates are over and the College Football Playoff selection committee has spoken. The College Football Playoff field has been officially locked in and it will have a bit of a Big Ten flavor once again.
Big Ten champion Michigan took the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, and thus the top seed in the playoff.
Washington, who will be joining the Big Ten in 2024, took the no. 2 seed after completing a 13-0 record with the Pac-12 championship on Friday night. Washington will face no. 3 Texas (12-1), the champions of the Big 12.
The fourth and final spot came down to the wire. SEC champion Alabama, who went 12-1 in the 2023 season, grabbed the fourth spot, edging just ahead of no. 5 Florida State. The Seminoles went 13-0 this season and held a top four spot the entire season once the playoff rankings started coming out. But an injury at the quarterback position came into play at the worst possible time.
The first two teams out of the College Football Playoff were no. 5 Florida State and no. 6 Georgia. Georgia had won the past two national championships but a loss to Alabama knocked the Bulldogs out of the running. The big stunner is Florida State being passed over despite winning every game on its schedule.
Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024. Washington will take on Texas in the Sugar Bowl on the same date.
Now the waiting game for the rest of the New Years Six bowl lineup is underway.
