Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody launched an investigation into the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee on Tuesday after the one-loss Crimson Tide made it into the four-team playoff over the undefeated Florida State (FSU).
Earlier this month, the CFP committee faced a challenging predicament as it had to choose between five deserving teams, some undefeated and others that were one-loss conference champions, to contend for the National Championship.
The Crimson Tide, which lost to Texas at the beginning of the season, made the No. 4 spot over FSU, which remained undefeated after its victory over Louisville in the Atlantic Coastal Conference Championship Game.
Now, Alabama will face an undefeated Michigan team in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Washington will face Texas in the other seminal, creating the possibility of an Alabama-Texas rematch in the National Championship game on January 8.
FSU will face sixth-ranked Georgia (UGA) in the Orange Bowl in Miami on December 30. UGA was previously ranked first before losing to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship Game on December 2.
Nevertheless, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell said he was “disgusted and infuriated” at the CFP committee’s decision to leave Florida State out of the playoffs. He argued that, as an undefeated team in a Power 5 conference, his team should be included in the playoffs instead of one of the one-loss teams selected by the committee.
Now, Florida’s foremost legal counsel, a self-professed Florida Gators fan, intends to investigate the decision made by the Selection Committee to leave FSU out of the playoffs.
“I’m a lifelong Gator, but I’m also the Florida Attorney General, and I know injustice when I see it,” Moody tweeted on Tuesday. “That is why we are fighting for the #Unconquered @FSUFootball team and demanding answers from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.”
“In Florida, merit matters,” she continued. “If it’s attention they were looking for, the CFP Committee certainly has our attention now.”
Along with her tweet, Moody attached a video of herself in front of FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium.
“What happened to the undefeated Noles after winning the ACC Championship has college football fans in Florida and across the nation wanting answers,” Moody said. “What’s clear is the need for more information about the unprecedented decision made by a group of 13 in secret that, for the first time ever, left an undefeated power conference champion out of the playoffs. This stunning decision not only disappointed millions of fans. It cost this university and the ACC millions of dollars. The NCAA conferences and the [CFP] Selection Committee are subject to anti-trust laws. We are launching an investigation to examine if the committee was involved in any anti-competitive conduct.”
“As it stands, the committee’s decision wreaks of partiality, picking winners in the board room and not on the field, so we are demanding answers, not only for FSU but for all schools, teams and fans of college football,” she continued.
Moody said her office sent a subpoena to the CFP Selection Committee to demand “all communications related to the deliberations, documents showing compensation of members and vote tallies, including who received access to those votes, who was present during the voting.”
“We are also seeking information about software or programs used to record or tally votes,” she added. “This process won’t be quick and, unfortunately, we don’t expect it will change this season’s playoffs, but every college football program, including the 13 [Division I] schools in Florida, deserves to know if the committee is stacking the deck.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email will.blakely@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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