Why was FSU left out of the playoffs? Exploring the reasons behind CFP Committee's controversial snub of the Seminoles

FSU had quite an extravagant campaign this season. The Seminoles managed to remain unbeaten throughout their schedule. Despite the season-ending injury to their starting QB Jordan Travis, Florida State emerged as the winners of the ACC conference by defeating Louisville 16-6 in the title game.

With such an impressive resume, CFB fans would have expected FSU to clinch a spot in this year's college football playoffs. However, that was unexpectedly not the case, as the selection committee decided to go with Washington, Texas, Michigan and Alabama as the top-four teams. So why were the Seminoles left out?

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Why was FSU left out of the playoffs?

The major factor that led to the 13-member committee's decision to leave out Florida State from the playoffs was the season-ending injury to Jordan Travis. The starting QB had been performing brilliantly until he was ruled out for the rest of the season while being injured against North Alabama.

Backup QB Tate Rodemaker came up in place of Travis against Florida. But after suffering a head injury in that game, third-string QB Brock Glenn was handed the responsibility as the starting signal caller.

However, despite the team going on to win their remaining games along with the ACC Championship, the selection committee believed it did not cut out for the Seminoles to make it to the top four.

CFP Committee's chairman Boo Carrigan spoke to ESPN about the matter. He explained how the 'availability of key players' is one of the factors on who gets to compete for the national title.

"Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks," Carrigan said. "An incredible season. But as you look at who they are as a team, right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team."

Thus, the injury to Travis led to FSU being snubbed from a spot to compete for the national title. Instead, the one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide, who defeated Georgia to win the SEC Championship and also knocked them out of the playoff race, is now paired up to face Michigan in the CFP semifinal.

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State Attorney General Ashley Moody wants answers about the real reasons behind FSU's CFP snub

AG Ashley Moody recently released a statement where she is seeking answers from the 13-member CFP committee about why FSU was left out of the playoffs despite their flawless run.

"My office is launching an investigation to examine if the Committee was involved in any anticompetitive conduct. As it stands, the Committee's decision reek of partiality, picking winners on the boardroom and not on the field. So we are demanding answers- not only for FSU but for all schools, teams, and fans of college football."

It will be interesting to see what the results of this investigation will lead to.