A brutal injury leaves the Florida State Seminoles with a plethora of questions after a win against North Alabama, with the CFB in question
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.– Injuries are a part of our sport. No matter what kind of injury, even one as brutal as Florida State quarterback’s Jordan Travis, deals some kind of blow to a team. Yet, not many seem as monumental as this ones. As Travis announced a fateful win against North Alabama would be the end of his career in Tallahassee, it only led to more questions than answers.
How Florida State would overcome their starting quarterback being out for the rest of the year, how would the playoff committee rank them with a missing component, where would the team finish the year despite currently having an undefeated season? All of these questions we might not know for sure, but there is one thing that’s clear. This completely derails the College Football Playoff rankings.
The top three slots are all but decided, the winner of Ohio State-Michigan, the winner of Georgia-Alabama, and Washington, all controls holding. However, the fourth is now a little less certain and could even be categorized as a wild card. Florida State ended up there with an undefeated record. The rationale being that you can’t be undefeated this late in the season and find a reason not to be top-four.
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Now, the enigma of does that argument still hold has popped up? Of course it does. If Florida State still keeps rolling and winning, the CFB committee has no choice but to include them. But, Florida State’s upcoming schedule is anything but surefire. Next week, the Seminoles take on Florida in Gainesville with a backup quarterback and Louisville in the ACC Championship Game. If there was ever a word for what the final two games are going to look like for the Seminoles, I believe the word would be uncertain.
If Florida State falls off, the three major games may not be so major after all. Michigan-Ohio State might mean two teams might get in from the Big Ten. Georgia-Alabama may not be a must win for Georgia. And the Pac-12 Championship Game might be winner takes all. Who knows, only rivalry week will tell.
Florida State’s backup quarterback is Tate Rodemaker, who isn’t close to the same player at Travis but will have to be serviceable enough to play at least two games and win both. Remember, the way this is looking, one loss will surely knock Florida State out of the playoff race. Rodemaker was Mike Norvell’s first commitment in his tenure.
History or not, Rodemaker played well in his first big time action– threw for 217 touchdowns and two touchdowns. In 70 career passes prior to his time against North Alabama, he threw for 550 yards, completing 61.4% of his throws, and five touchdowns. Impressive, but the sample size is small and the committee won’t be kind.
Taking a look at the other teams outside of Florida State’s scope– Michigan is barely hanging on without Jim Harbaugh. A 31-24 scare over Maryland instilled some fear in Ann Arbor, and The Game against Ohio State will be a true measuring stick in terms of how well this team can rally without their leader.
That could be a semblance of hope and possibly a contingency plan for the Seminoles, but we wouldn’t count on it.
