No. 6 Georgia will play No. 5 Florida State in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida on Dec. 30. After losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship, the Georgia Bulldogs fell to No. 6 in the College Football Playoff ranking.
Coach Kirby Smart tried to make a case for the Bulldogs after the SEC championship, but it was not enough for the selection committee.
“I empathize with our players because I personally feel like we deserve to be in. We’ve got a really good football team, we’re considered No. 1 in the country all year and then fell. We’ve got a whole hornet’s nest around here of some players that are disappointed too.” said Smart.
This is the first season where every team ranked No. 1, Georgia and Ohio State, in the regular season, failed to make it to a playoff game.
The Seminoles had an undefeated season and won the ACC championship on Saturday. After losing quarterbacks Jordan Travis and Tate Rodemaker to a college-career-ending broken leg and a concussion, the Seminoles remained undefeated in the regular season and won the ACC championship on Saturday. Those injuries were enough for the committee to exclude Florida State from the playoffs.
“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.”
The highly anticipated matchup at the end of the month will be one to watch, says Florida State head coach Mike Norvell.
“Of all the games that are out there in this bowl season, there’s not one that will be more exciting or probably more anticipated than having these two teams,” Norvell said.
