Florida State, the nation's only undefeated team, should be in the playoff

Florida State just completed its second consecutive undefeated season, won its third consecutive ACC title and it’s going to spend the next 12 hours sweating about whether or not it’s going to be able to play for a national championship.

The College Football Playoff committee has been steadily downgrading the Seminoles for their close wins against what is perceived to be inferior competition. Consequently, the nation’s only undefeated team came into the night ranked No. 4 and its 37-35 win against Georgia Tech in the ACC title game might have done it few favors.

It’s the fourth consecutive game the Seminoles have won by five or fewer points. The difference in this contest is that Florida State actually held onto a lead instead clawing back from a deficit in the second half.

Still, with No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Oregon seemingly entrenched in their playoff spots, the Nos. 3 and 4 spots are creating the biggest mystery. No. 3 TCU thrashed Iowa State in its finale. No. 5 Ohio State dismantled Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game and No. 6 Baylor beat Kansas State. One could argue that each of those wins was better than Florida State’s.

It’s hard to fathom the committee leaving out the nation’s lone undefeated team, but it’s clear that it put the Seminoles on notice by dropping them to No. 4 and promoting TCU two spots to jump them.

It’s unfortunate Florida State is at the mercy of a committee that doesn’t think very highly of it because despite the score, Saturday’s ACC title game was the best offensive game the Seminoles have had in weeks. And while the defense was abused by the Yellow Jackets in the first half, it clamped down in the second half and helped secure the win.

By leaving the only undefeated team out of the playoff, if such a thing comes to pass, the College Football Committee risks setting a dangerous precedent. It’s essentially saying that no matter the result of a contest, teams are subject to the whimsy of the committee and how it feels a team should have played versus how it did play even if it won.

Winning is hard and no one has done it more consecutive times than Florida State. At some point, regardless of how the committee thinks about the way Florida State should have won, just winning has to count for something.

For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

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