FSU players: We should be champs if only undefeated team
Multiple Florida State players - including freshman quarterback Brock Glenn - say the Seminoles should be considered national champions if they finish their 2023 season as college football's only undefeated Power 5 team.
"The Orange Bowl is an awesome bowl, one of the best in the country, and we have a great opportunity in front of us playing Georgia," Glenn said Thursday, according to ESPN's David Hale. "It's still a big game for us, and we're taking it serious. We're focused on the guys we have here to help us win the game."
Florida State won the ACC and finished the 2023 regular season with a 13-0 record but didn't earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. The committee left the Seminoles out largely due to Jordan Travis' absence, as the star quarterback broke his leg in November.
Two one-loss teams - Alabama and Texas - jumped the Seminoles in the final playoff rankings, joining undefeated Michigan and Washington as the nation's top four teams, according to the committee. FSU became the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion ever to not make the playoffs. The 12-1 Crimson Tide will now play the 13-0 Wolverines, while the 12-1 Longhorns face the 13-0 Huskies on Jan. 1.
Glenn added that the idea of raising a banner has been discussed among Seminoles players.
"It's only right," linebacker Kalen DeLoach said. "Nothing else needs to be said if we're the only undefeated team."
Georgia entered the 2023 season as the reigning back-to-back champion but was left out of the playoffs after losing to Alabama in the SEC title game. That triumph moved the Crimson Tide into the top four along with the Longhorns, who beat Alabama in September.
Not every Florida State player is fully sold on the idea of claiming a national championship despite being left out of the College Football Playoff.
"That's tough," Seminoles defensive lineman Braden Fiske said. "I don't know. Would it be phony? That's weird. Would it be cool? Sure. But would it be a little bit cooler to actually be in and feel that confetti drop?"
UCF didn't make the College Football Playoff during the 2017 season but claimed a national title after beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl to improve to 13-0 that year, notes Hale. Alabama, which suffered one loss that season, won the championship by defeating Georgia in the national title game that year.
It won't be easy for Florida State to finish the campaign 14-0. The Seminoles head into the Orange Bowl missing several players who opted out of the game, including running back Trey Benson, wide receivers Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson, and edge rusher Jared Verse. In addition to Travis, running back Lawrance Toafili is also sidelined due to injury.
Glenn served as FSU's third-string quarterback for most of the season but is on track to start versus Georgia after backup Tate Rodemaker - who replaced an injured Travis - recently entered the transfer portal.