Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
(Miami Gardens, Fla) - Florida State's football team literally didn't show up for the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday night.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell intimated that the CFP Committee's decision to snub undefeated Florida State led to the spate of opt-outs for his team.
The College Football Playoff Committee controversially chose to select a one-loss Alabama team ahead of the Seminoles for the final berth in this year's playoff, in large part due to the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis.
Florida State was blasted by a full-strength Georgia in the Orange Bowl, 63-3, but Travis didn't hesitate to throw shade at both the Crimson Tide and the CFP Committee after Michigan beat Alabama in overtime at the Rose Bowl, 27-20: by posting a melting face emoji.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was not happy with his team getting short-changed at the Orange Bowl by playing a pared down FSU team. "People need to see what happened tonight, and they need to fix this," seeming to take a shot at the overall trend of opt-outs in bowl games and early transfer-portal departures. "It needs to be fixed. It's very unfortunate that they have a good football team and a good football program and they're in the position they're in."
Of course, ESPN broadcasters were upset by Florida State’s opt-outs ahead of Orange Bowl against Georgia. "We're talking about a Florida State team that has an attitude that they didn't get in, so now we're upset; a lot of guys checked out."