How FSU Football will play a role in College Football Playoff field

FSU football is the common denominator for the top three teams in last week’s playoff rankings – and might play a major role in deciding who moves on.

When the 2017 season was about to get underway, there are many people who thought FSU football was going to be one of the four teams in the College Football Playoff field or at least had a decent chance of being in the running for a spot. Now, at 4-6 with two regular season games left, the Seminoles know they will be watching what takes place.

However, the Noles also know that even though they won’t be in the playoff system or playing for the ACC title, they will have a major say in who makes it to the group. It’s quite simple and revolves around the fact that Florida State did something no one else has.

When the standings came out last Tuesday – placing Alabama, Clemson and Miami in the top three – FSU football was able to say that they are the only team in the country who played each one of those teams. While none of the outcomes went in the Seminoles’ favor, how each came played out might have a say in one team making it or not.

The top ranked Crimson Tide have dominated nearly every team they played – and while the Seminoles were in their September 2nd game for about two and a half quarters, Alabama was always in the lead and the Noles were able to hang around before imploding late. Nick Saban’s team also gets an advantage because they played Florida State at their healthiest.

Clemson, meanwhile, has a loss to a Syracuse team who the Seminoles were able to sneak by the week before they met the Tigers. Clemson arguably played the Noles at their worst and still held on to just a three point lead with six minutes to go – scoring two late touchdowns, including one with 40 seconds to go, because the playoff system loves style points.

Miami came to Tallahassee on October 7th in a game that was moved from September and needed a last second touchdown pass to avoid an eighth straight loss to FSU football. The ‘Canes do get a little bit more credit since they played the Noles right before injuries completely derailed the season into what it is today.

If it comes down to it, the committee in charge with picking the top four teams could decide to look at a common opponent – which would only be the Seminoles. With Clemson and Miami playing for the ACC crown, one of those two teams will almost surely be out of the system after that game so it may not.

Next: The moment Clemson became a FSU football rival

More importantly, since the playoff system has put teams with losses ahead of unbeaten teams before, why not put Florida State in? You don’t get much more “quality” with your losses than having No. 1, 2 and 3 on your resume, right? The way the playoff committee does things, it’s not the worst thing that would take place.