It appears Greg Sankey sensed Florida State’s frustration after the Seminoles were shut out of the College Football Playoff at the end of the 2023 season.
Now you know the story. Florida State ended the season 13-0 with the ACC title, but missed the College Football Playoff in large part because starting QB Jordan Travis was injured in the penultimate game of the regular season. FSU’s offense didn’t look as good without Travis, and Florida State fell to No. 5 in the final CFP rankings.
The playoff loss generated much consternation in Tallahassee, as the Seminoles felt they were shortchanged when one-loss Alabama made the playoffs after a loss to Georgia in the SEC title game.
Sankey, however, thinks Georgia also deserved to make the playoffs. And he made it clear in an interview at 10:10 a.m. Wednesday in Jacksonville at SEC Media Days that he felt the SEC wasn’t very vocal about Georgia’s exclusion from the playoffs. And although Sankey didn’t mention FSU by name, it’s hard not to think of the Seminoles when reading or listening to his comments.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on @1010XL: “Georgia was one of the four best teams (in the country) and didn’t make (the Playoff). But you didn’t see us jumping up and down, complaining and hanging national championship banners.”
A not-so-subtle shot at FSU.
-Matt Hayes (@MattHayesCFB) July 17, 2024
Of course, Florida State and Georgia met in the Orange Bowl as a consolation prize of sorts. And the game didn’t go well for the Seminoles, although it wasn’t an entirely fair fight. The Bulldogs beat Florida State 63-3 in a game that many of FSU’s star players missed after opting out following their exclusion from the playoffs.
Fortunately, we won’t have to debate whether the fifth- and sixth-best teams in the country are playoff-worthy in 2024. This fall is the first for the expanded 12-team playoff and both Florida State and Georgia are the favorites. be part of the playoffs again this season. The Bulldogs are the national title favorites at BetMGM at +300, while Florida State is the favorite to win the SEC and +150 to make the playoff field.
