Current:Home > InvestMichigan vs Alabama, Washington vs. Texas in College Football Playoff; unbeaten Florida St left out -ValueMetric
Michigan vs Alabama, Washington vs. Texas in College Football Playoff; unbeaten Florida St left out
View
Date:2025-04-24 08:44:21
Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama were selected to the College Football Playoff on Sunday, making Florida State the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the four-team field.
Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington will play Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 and the winners will square off for the national championship Jan. 8 in Houston.
The final season of the four-team playoff before it expands to 12 next year presented the CFP selection committee with its toughest decision in the 10-year history of the postseason system.
The Seminoles (13-0) lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury two weeks ago, but continued to win with a backup and then a third-string quarterback. But the committee is instructed to judge the teams for what they are heading into the playoff and decided FSU without Travis was not among the best four in the country.
“To eliminate them from a chance to compete for a national championship is an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is unforgivable,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said.
The committee instead picked Alabama, which upset Georgia to win the Southeastern Conference championship, and Big 12 champion Texas, which beat the Crimson Tide on the road in September.
No matter which team was left out it would have had a good argument to get in. That created unprecedented controversy.
The SEC had never missed the playoff. Alabama, which is in for the eighth time, kept that streak alive.
Texas would have been just the second Power Five team with only one loss to be left out. Instead, the Longhorns will be making their first appearance in the CFP in their last season as a member of the Big 12. Texas moves to the SEC next year.
Texas and Alabama were ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the committee’s penultimate rankings and are now the first teams to jump from outside the top six in the second-to-last rankings into the playoff field. Georgia became the first team to enter championship weekend No. 1 and fail to make the field.
Big Ten champion Michigan is making its third straight appearance in the CFP, still looking for its first playoff victory. The Wolverines, who have stayed unbeaten amid an NCAA investigation into allegations of in-person scouting and sign-stealing, are the favorites to win the national title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Michigan opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite against Alabama.
Washington is in the CFP for the second time, breaking the Pac-12’s playoff drought after six years, and doing so the year before it leaves the conference for the Big Ten. The Huskies opened as a 4 1/2-point underdog to Texas.
Florida State, which was No. 4 in the previous CFP rankings, appeared to be on the way to its second playoff appearance in mid-November when the trajectory of their season changed drastically. Travis suffered a serious injury in the first quarter against North Alabama and was lost for the year.
The Seminoles beat rival Florida last week with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker playing. Then Rodemaker missed the ACC championship against Louisville with a concussion. Florida State stayed unbeaten with a strong defensive performance, but scored only one touchdown.
Georgia’s slim hopes of trying for a third consecutive national title also came to an end. The Bulldogs (12-1) had a 29-game winning streak snapped Saturday by the Crimson Tide.
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com. Get alerts on the latest AP Top 25 poll throughout the season. Sign up here
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Former US officials ask Pakistan not to deport Afghans seeking relocation to the United States
- Not just autoworkers: Grad students make up a growing share of UAW members
- Which Republicans voted against Jim Jordan's speaker bid Wednesday — and who changed sides?
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work
- Execution of Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate delayed for sentence review hearing
- Watch: Bear, cub captured on doorbell camera in the middle of the night at Florida home
- Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
- Why Egypt and other Arab countries are unwilling to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza
Ranking
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Trailblazing Brooklyn judge Rachel Freier recounts difficult return from Israel
- Humanitarian crisis in Gaza an 'unprecedented catastrophe,' UN says
- German government launches a drive to get more Ukrainian and other refugees into jobs
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Florida police officer charged with sexual battery and false imprisonment of tourist
- Kourtney Kardashian's Daughter Penelope Disick Hilariously Roasts Dad Scott Disick's Dating Life
- Burt Young, Oscar-nominated actor who played Paulie in ‘Rocky’ films, dies at 83
Recommendation
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
Philadelphia Eagles sign seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Julio Jones
Little Rock names acting city manager following Bruce Moore’s death
'Dimple maker' trend is taking over TikTok, but could it cause permanent damage?
Travis Hunter, the 2
Pulse nightclub property to be purchased by city of Orlando and turned into a memorial
Nicaragua releases 12 Catholic priests and sends them to Rome following agreement with the Vatican
New York governor begins trip in Israel, plans to meet families