ESPN Analyst Booger McFarland Doubles Down on FSU Deserving College Football Playoff Berth
The college football world was turned upside down after conference championship weekend when the 2023 College Football Selection Committee left 13-0 ACC Champion Florida State out of the semi-finals in favor of 12-1 Alabama.
Since the snub, many public figures in the sports world have expressed their outrage. Two-time Super Bowl Champion and ESPN analyst Booger McFarland went on the Dan Patrick Show to discuss the issue. Patrick asked McFarland what he would've said to the committee before the final decision was made and he gave his perspective.
"I think we have a problem, and the problem is this: we're making judgments inside this room on what we think is going to happen on the field," McFarland said.
The major reason that FSU was left out was that the Seminoles no longer had the dynamic of one of the best teams in the country after losing starting quarterback Jordan Travis, according to the committee. McFarland pointed out that anything can happen in football regardless of outside opinion.
"Need I remind you, Friday night, we watched Oregon play Washington, and everyone that I've talked to outside the state of Washington thought that Oregon was a better team than Washington. Vegas had them as a 10-point favorite, depending on which book you looked at; Washington won. Tulane was a favorite over SMU. Everyone thought that Tulane was going to beat SMU; Vegas had them as the favorite. Tulane won that game with a second-string quarterback, Dan."
Outside opinions seemed to have weighed in on the final decision and the ESPN analyst and NFL great warned that they should be careful when they start playing the game off the field and not "between the white lines".
"I think I would've told them that this sport has always been a show me sport—you play it on the grass, between the white lines—and regardless of what we think, how many times have we been surprised by teams making a run? Whether it's pro football or college football. Remember the New York Giants, 9-7 wild card team, and they barely got in, and I think we all know what happened that season, so you never know what's going to happen," McFarland said. "I think we better be careful when we start playing the game inside a nice comfortable room, eating scrambled eggs and bacon with a nice warm fire, because the game is not played there. I think I would've put my microphone down and said, 'If you can honestly say that you think you know that Florida State can't win a game or two in the playoffs, then you can sleep well at night, but I can't."
The No. 5 Seminoles will face No. 6 Georgia on December 30 in the Orange Bowl. The game is set to kick off at 4:00 p.m. on ESPN.
READ MORE: Former Florida State Running Back Declares For 2024 NFL Draft
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