By CNN
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Florida State finished the regular season undefeated and won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. But despite going 13-0, the Seminoles are missing the College Football Playoff. The snub left Florida State furious.
And, according to ESPN, Seminoles quarterback Brock Glenn said Florida State should “absolutely” be considered the national champion should it end up being the only undefeated Power 5 team left after the playoff.
The Seminoles are aiming to finish the season 14-0 and will face Georgia (12-1) of the Southeastern Conference on Saturday in the Orange Bowl. The Power 5 conferences consist of the ACC, the Big 12, the Big Ten, the Pac-12 and the SEC.
Florida State became the first undefeated Power 5 team to miss the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014 when the playoff committee opted to select Michigan (13-0), Washington (13-0), Texas (12-1) and Alabama (12-1) as the four playoff teams. Texas and Alabama jumped Florida State, who fell to fifth.
“It’s only right,” Florida State linebacker Kalen DeLoach said when asked the hypothetical question on what happens if Florida State ends up being the only undefeated team of that group left. “Nothing else needs to be said if we’re the only undefeated team.”
ESPN also reports that Glenn said it’s been discussed among other players the idea of raising a banner. But defensive lineman Braden Fiske, however, sounded skeptical about it when asked by a reporter.
“That’s a tough – I don’t know. Is that a phony (banner)? I don’t know,” Fiske said. “That’s weird. That’s almost like a pat on the back. Would it be cool? Sure. But I think it would be a little bit cooler to actually be in (the playoff) and feel that confetti drop.”
When the playoff teams were announced December 3, the College Football Playoff committee’s reasoning for moving Florida State down factored in the Seminoles losing their starting quarterback, Jordan Travis, to a season-ending broken leg on November 18.
Committee chair Boo Corrigan said at the time, “Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks … Right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team.”
Glenn, a freshman, was Florida State’s third-string quarterback for most of the season behind Travis and backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker.
Glenn made his first career start in the ACC title game, a 16-6 win against Louisville, with Rodemaker out with a head injury.
Earlier this week, it became known that Rodemaker was opting out of the Orange Bowl and entering the NCAA transfer portal.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will take place New Year’s Day, with Michigan facing Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington taking on Texas in the Sugar Bowl. The national championship game is January 8.
