Urban Meyer Speaks Out on Playoff Committee’s Decision to Choose Nick Saban’s Alabama over FSU

Former Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer agreed with the College Football Playoff selection committee’s decision to include fifth-ranked Alabama and third-ranked Texas over fourth-ranked Florida State. When asked if the committee made the right call by excluding the Seminoles (13-0) from the final four, Meyer, who has won three national championships, added his expertise on “Urban Analysis”: “I do. I think there’s fantastic matchups. I’m fired up to watch it. It’s an imperfect system, but the 13-member committee got it right.”
While Urban’s first two national titles came in the BCS era while at Florida, his Ohio State team jumped two Big 12 teams to land at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff before eventually winning the 2014 national title. That was the inaugural season for the CFP. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis’ injury became the final nail in the coffin, which made the team fall in the selection committee’s eyes: “One of the best players in the country, Jordan Travis, had a horrific injury at the end of the season,” Meyer said. “With the backup in there, it wasn’t even close. They were playing wildcat the majority of the time. Unavailability of players made a difference.”
Florida State coach Mike Norvell furiously rejected the committee’s decision: “I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games,” Norvell said. “What is the point of playing games?”
Urban Meyer’s opinions on the selection committee’s decision are based on years of experience in college football. The 59-year-old has dedicated all his adult life to the sport, so there has to be some weight to what he says. Despite FSU’s heartbreak, the team lacks a key player for the playoffs. Therefore, to Meyer, no matter how hard of a decision it was, the committee has done justice. Urban Meyer last coached the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars (2021). Before that, he coached Ohio State, Florida, and Utah. During his time with the Buckeyes, he won the 2014 national title and three Big Ten championships. He was also a two-time national champion (2006 and 2008) and two-time Southeastern Conference champion at Florida.