College football fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the undefeated Florida State Seminoles being left out of the College Football Playoff final four, but NFL legend and former Arizona Wildcat Rob Gronkowski sees it differently.
Florida State went 13-0, including an ACC Championship victory over Louisville, but it was not enough in the selection committee’s eyes to reach the final four and a chance to compete for the national title in 2024.
Instead, Alabama, the winner of the SEC over the undefeated and former No. 1-seeded Georgia Bulldogs, got in the final No. 4 seed, and they will face No. 1 Michigan for a spot in the national championship.
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Fox broadcaster Rob Gronkowski looks on during the Philadelphia Eagles vs San Francisco 49ers game at Lincoln Financial Stadium in Philadelphia Jan. 29, 2023. (Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Many have voiced their opinions on Florida State not making it despite being undefeated, including New York Jet and former Seminole Jermaine Johnson calling it “bad for the sport.”
However, Gronkowski knows the business side of football, and that is where he believes the thought process was for the selection committee.
“That’s a very, very tough situation,” he told Fox News Digital. “Florida State was well deserved, there’s no doubt about it. I would say football, and college football, is a business. Having Alabama go into the College Football Playoffs over Florida State was a business move. I do think Alabama was well deserved, too. SEC is by far the best conference in football – you can’t argue with that. Imagine there’s no SEC team in the final four of the College Football Playoff. That would be really weird.
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“On top of it, I feel like the committee had an excuse as well, saying they don’t have a quarterback. So that was kind of their excuse to get out of it. You know what I mean?”
Selection Committee Chairman Boo Corrigan did admit that not having Jordan Travis at quarterback due to a season-ending injury impacted the Seminoles being out of the final four.
Gronkowski even went as far as to say, “I bet you the college committee was hoping for FSU to lose versus Louisville because then it would’ve been easy.”
Georgia, despite being the AP’s No. 1 team throughout the season, was left out, and Gronkowski believes that was the right call.
Rob Gronkowski appears on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors awards presentation at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles Feb. 10, 2022. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
Regarding Florida State, Gronkowski understands they were undefeated. In the end, he feels the selection committee made the right call.
“I think it was a business move, and I kinda believe it was the right move as well,” he said. “I mean, Alabama lost the first game of the season. You can become a better team throughout the year, and that’s what Alabama did. Yes, they had some blunders at the beginning. They lost that game versus Texas, who’s in the College Football Playoff as well. And they had some iffy wins at the beginning of the year. But they were well deserved. It’s always going to be a tough situation like that.”
Moving forward, college football fans do not want a situation like this to happen again. Lucky for them, next season brings about the expansion of the CFP to 12 teams, which Gronkowski can’t wait to see.
He feels no more controversy will come.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Rob Gronkowski, #87, during a game against the New York Giants at Raymond James Stadium. Tampa, Florida. (Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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“When there’s 12 teams, the 13th team you can’t complain,” he said. “There’s no such thing as complaining when you’re team number 13 and you don’t get in when it goes to the playoffs like that.”