Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene -- and a glimpse at what’s to come next week.
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Seminoles miss out on CFP for one big reason
There is understandable outrage from Florida State’s football team, university officials and the fan base after the Seminoles were shunned from the College Football Playoff despite going 13-0 on the season.
Florida State was the first team since the inception of the College Football Playoff in 2014 to go unbeaten and not get one of the four slots.
Essentially, the Seminoles were left out because of the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis, something CFP Selection Committee chair Boo Corrigan said on Sunday.
Of course, Florida State fans who know their history point out that in 2014, Ohio State was awarded the fourth and final playoff spot despite being down to its third-string quarterback.
However, there is one big difference.
That year, Ohio State under head coach Urban Meyer annihilated Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game behind third-string quarterback Cardale Jones, who threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-0 win.
Jones went on have great performances in the playoff against Alabama and Oregon, leading Ohio State to a national title.
Jones and the Buckeyes showed the committee against Wisconsin that they wouldn’t miss a beat being down to a third-string quarterback.
That wasn’t the case for Florida State despite a 16-6 win over Louisville in Saturday’s ACC Championship game.
The Seminoles struggled offensively behind third-stringer Brock Glenn, who passed for just 55 yards. Before getting hurt at the end of the game the previous week at Florida, second-stringer Tate Rodemaker only threw for 134 yards.
Fair or not, the committee clearly didn’t think the Seminoles would compete in the playoff without Travis. A better showing like Ohio State provided in 2014 might have changed the thinking of the committee, but that didn’t happen.
Bowl schedule for state teams
Overall, there were four teams from the state who earned bowl bids.
Here are the bowl games involving state teams:
- South Florida will play Syracuse on Dec. 21 in the Boca Raton Bowl.
- Central Florida will meet Duke in the Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 22.
- Miami will play Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 28 at Yankee Stadium.
- Florida State will meet Georgia in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.
Hill continues record march for Dolphins
Tyreke Hill continues to put his name in the record books and continues to stay on track for the NFL record he said before the season he would break.
With his 157 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 45-15 win over Washington on Sunday, Hill recorded his fifth straight game with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Hill now has 1,481 receiving yards on the year and is on pace to break the NFL’s single-season record of 1,964 yards held by Calvin Johnson.
Hill is on pace to become the first player with 2,000 receiving yards or more in a season with five more games left against the Titans, Jets, Cowboys, Ravens and Bills.