Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has pledged $1 million from Florida’s budget to aid in any legal effort against the College Football Playoff (CFP) after the group snubbed the undefeated Florida State Seminoles in their final rankings.
Florida State, the undefeated champions of the ACC, became the first undefeated Power 5 conference champ to be excluded from the 4-team college football playoffs after the CFP Selection Committee determined that the Noles were no longer the same team without star quarterback Jordan Travis.
Quarterback Jordan, Travis #13 of the Florida State Seminoles, is carted off the field after an ankle jury during the game against the North Alabama Lions on Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium on November 18, 2023, in Tallahassee, Florida. The 4th ranked Seminoles defeated the Lions 58 to 13. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
The committee selected Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama in its final ranking. All four teams won their respective conferences, though Alabama and Texas each had a loss on their record.
The argument made by DeSantis and shared by many others is that Florida State’s undefeated record and the fact they won their conference championship game with a third-string freshman QB should have been enough to secure their spot in college football’s “Final 4.”
“What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results,” DeSantis wrote on X this past Sunday. “Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!”
What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results.
Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 3, 2023
The official language in the Florida budget describes the $1 million as “expenses related to the litigation initiated by the Board of Governors or Florida State University, related to actions taken by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee on December 3, 2023, resulting in the Florida State University football team to be ranked fifth in the nation and, consequently, ineligible to participate in the College Football Playoff games.”
It is not yet known whether Florida State’s Board of Governors intends to sue over the snub of the Seminoles. However, with the state spotting them the first $1 million, it might push them in that direction.
As for DeSantis, he’s keeping expectations for a potential lawsuit in check. When asked whether he thought such a suit would be successful, the governor said he would “let the chips fall where they may on that.”