Missouri head coach ‘bothered’ by CFP committee citing Jordan Travis’ injury in playoff decision

Add Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz to the list of people around college football who were bothered by Florida State being left out of the College Football Playoff. 

The Seminoles were selected behind Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama on Sunday, missing out on the CFP despite going 13-0 and winning the ACC title. 

Florida State players pose after defeating Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

The snub set off a title wave of criticism from people around the sport, as an undefeated Power 5 conference champion has never missed out on the playoffs. 

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The committee cited the season-ending injury to Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis as the reason why the Seminoles were not one of the four best teams at the end of the season, despite Mike Norvell’s team defeating in-state rival Florida and then 10-win Louisville in the ACC Championship Game with backup quarterbacks.

“Florida State is a different team without Jordan Travis,” CFP selection committee chair Boo Corrigan said. “One of the things we do consider is player availability, and our job is to rank the best teams, and in the final decision looking at that, it was Alabama at 4 and Florida State at 5.”

Drinkwitz discussed the CFP selection committee’s decision to leave out Florida State due to the injury to Travis.

“If we’re going to really have hard conversations, let me ask you this – If a team in the playoff has a star player injured, are they going to be removed from the playoff, and then we put Florida State back in? That to me was complete nonsensical rationalization,” Drinkwitz said on SiriusXM College Sports Radio.

Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz on the sidelines during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on Nov. 24, 2023 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Tigers defeated the Razorbacks 48-14. (Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

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“And I know I’m an SEC guy, but that one bothered me a whole lot. And to then to not factor in maybe a team having an unfair advantage in some of their games. It just seemed like to me, we were picking and choosing what lens we were going to look through.”

The Seminoles reacted harshly to the snub, with Norvell releasing a scathing statement on the CFP committee’s decision to leave them out.

“I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the game,” Norvell said.

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“What is the point of playing 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? We are not only an undefeated P5 conference champion, but we also played two P5 non-conference games away from home and won both of them.

Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis, #13, waves to fans while being carted off after an injury against the North Alabama Lions during the first quarter at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. (Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports)

“I don’t understand how we are supposed to think this is an acceptable way to evaluate a team.”

Missouri will face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. 

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.