How to Watch The ACC Championship: #14 Louisville vs #4 Florida State
Florida State has the power to give the playoff committee a real headache as they look to bolster their undefeated resume.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VpnxDzNRnyE?si=yiLX8io6S17aYTf9
ACC Championship
#4 Florida State vs #14 Louisville - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8:00pm ET on ABC/ ESPN3
Aside from something shocking happening in the Big Ten title game, most of the dust will have settled before the start of the ACC Championship. But the Seminoles actually pose a very complicated problem to the College Football Playoff Committee. Assuming a victory Saturday night against Louisville, are they automatically in the CFB Playoff? They would be an undefeated, power five conference champion…whose best player, quarterback Jordan Travis, suffered a terrible ankle injury two weeks ago. Strength of schedule also isn’t on the Noles side. The fact is, two competing ideologies are at work: The principle of going undefeated in a power five conference; and the committee’s job to ‘put the four best teams’ in the playoff. Are the Noles a top four team without Jordan Travis? They sure didn’t look like one against Florida. Florida State fans would argue a precedent was set in 2014 when Ohio State made the Playoff and eventually won the National Championship with backup Cardale Jones (for what it’s worth, in Jones first-ever start, he beat #13 Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten title game to put away any doubt the voters may have had).
As bad as it sounds, the best thing to happen here would be for Louisville to squash this potential headache. If FSU wins, there are legitimate reasons for them to be both in and out of the playoff. Backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker did not do what Cardale Jones did to Wisconsin back in 2014. He was a modest 12-25 for 134 yards en route to FSU’s comeback win in the Swamp against a rebuilding Florida team that had a first time starting quarterback themselves. Louisville’s loss to Kentucky this past week also doesn’t help the Seminoles resume. So, assuming Florida State wins this weekend, the question remains: do the players, coaches, and staff that went 13-0 in a power five conference deserve to lose a spot in the playoff just because they lost their QB? One could say, “Yes, because they aren’t as good anymore,” which isn’t wrong. But shouldn’t the Seminoles' unblemished season be bigger than one player? Robbing them of that opportunity would be a tough call to make, and based on the Vegas odds of the Noles getting into the Playoff (currently a favorable -134), it doesn’t seem like it’s one the committee is ready to make.
How to Watch: ABC games are available on ESPN3 with Sling Orange and Orange + Blue. ABC is available in select markets with Sling Blue.
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