"Corruption": Florida elected leaders blast decision to leave FSU out of football playoffs

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Florida's elected officials, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, weighed in on social media Sunday, largely to decry Florida State University's shut-out from the College Football Playoffs.

The FSU Seminoles, ACC champion and undefeated Power 5 team this year, finished at No. 5, behind No. 4 Alabama but ahead of No. 6 Georgia. The four finalists for college football's national championship will be Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama.

The Seminoles now are expected to play in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami against Georgia.

"What we learned today is that you can go undefeated and win your conference championship game, but the College Football Playoff committee will ignore these results," DeSantis posted. "Congratulations to @FSUFootball on an outstanding season and winning the ACC championship!"

Most of the political reaction, however, was far more vituperative, including from state Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, a member of the Seminoles' 1999 National Championship team and an FSU football Hall of Famer.

"The corruption of college football rears its ugly head again," wrote Simon, who went on to a storied career in the NFL, most prominently with the Philadelphia Eagles. "ESPN and Disney have a vested interest in the SEC participating in the CFP. Lawsuits should be filed tomorrow."

Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, previously Florida's governor, said the "@CFBPlayoff has robbed the undefeated @FSUFootball from the opportunity of being national champions," adding that FSU "has given everything they had each week on the field and today’s decision is disgraceful."

U.S. Rep Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican and 2002 FSU graduate, called the CFP committee "trash!"

"1. @FSUFootball is undefeated. 2. FSU won the conference championship with a 3rd string QB. 3. Texas was never ranked ahead of FSU all year. 4. FSU didn't need a hailmary to survive rivalry week, like Alabama did. Plus we won with the 2nd string QB!" he posted.

His GOP colleague in the House, fellow FSU grad Matt Gaetz, added that "defenses win championships. But they can't get you into the playoffs? What a BS snub of the Noles."

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, another FSU grad and a Seminoles super fan, said he was "heartbroken" over the team's exclusion and demanded a "full explanation."

In a note he appended to his post, Patronis said the CFP committee "sent a message to our youth across the country that winning DOESN'T MATTER and perseverance DOESN'T MATTER. This is absolutely shameful and will have lasting consequences throughout sports."

The umbrage was across the aisle as well.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz posted that he would be "circulating a letter and will be doing a resolution condemning @NCAAFootball (and the) @NCAA decision to leave @FSUFootball out of the playoffs."

The Broward County member of Congress, who attended George Washington University as an undergrad, went on that the "decision is about TV money, a corrupt decision for college athletics."

This post was edited on 12/3/23 at 5:38 pm