Mike Norvell offers thoughts on College Football Playoff expansion
There have been a lot of changes to the sport since the last time that Florida State was in the College Football Playoff conversation. However, the Seminoles have slowly begun to recover from a rebuild after having three head coaches in four seasons - the program still owes Willie Taggart one more buyout check next year.
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On Thursday, members of the College Football Playoff Board of Managers agreed to begin the newly-expanded 12-team playoff during the 2024-25 season. The expansion was previously not scheduled to take place until 2026.
"On behalf of the Management Committee and the Board of Managers, this is thrilling," Executive Director of the CFP Bill Hancock said in a statement. "It's been a long process, but we are pleased that more teams and more students will have the opportunity to compete for the national championship beginning in the 2024 season. A new era of college football is about to begin. I look forward to it."
Head coach Mike Norvell has guided Florida State to nine wins this season - more than the program had totaled in the previous two years. The Seminoles have won four of their last five games by 25+ points and are trending in the right direction. The performance on the field has the program up to No. 13 in the latest College Football Playoff Poll that was released on Tuesday night.
That means if the 12-team aspect went into place this year, Florida State would find itself on the cusp of being selected. It's certainly something to grasp after the program posted a combined record of 19-27 from 2018-21 with an 0-1 record in bowl games.
"The opportunity to compete for a championship is something everybody wants," Norvell said following practice on Thursday. "We've won three national championships here and it's something that we're really proud of the teams that we're able to accomplish that. It's nice to even realize some of the steps this team has taken that would put us in that conversation. It's close."
Looking at it from Norvell's perspective, he believes that the playoff and bowl season are both important pieces of the sport. The extra practice time the postseason provides is as beneficial for younger players across rosters as veterans. He supports the expansion as long as the organization and balance for the players makes sense.
"I think that with all things, the structure and organization of it, making sure that for the student athletes there is a good balance of how it's all organized, if that can be done right, it's exciting," Norvell said. "I love the bowl season and that's something that's always been important. I think there's a way to be able to do that - to have the bowls that are in place but also to be able to have that playoff. For a long time there was no game, and then there was the championship game and now you're getting into a four-game [playoff]. And you see the attention that it draws. It's a really cool experience. So, it's something that's here in front of us, we'll see what it's like when it gets here but my biggest thing is just the organizational aspect."
The first round of the playoff in 2024 will take place the week ending Saturday, December 21, at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seeded institution. (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8.) The specific game dates, likely late in that week, will be announced later.
For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis. The 2024 quarterfinals will take place in the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. The 2025 quarterfinals will take place in the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. Specific dates for all quarterfinal and semifinal games will be announced at a later time.
The national championship games will be played January 20, 2025, in Atlanta, and January 19, 2026, in Miami.
Florida State will learn its postseason destination and opponent on Sunday.
*Portions from College Football Playoff release.
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