The brilliant UCLA economist Armen Alchian often asserted that the best way to evaluate a policy decision, algorithm etc was to think about the precedent it sets for the future.
The signal sent by this decision re: FSU is that going forward teams that aspire to be chosen by this ridiculous committee for the Final 4 must not only win games and their conference, they must show off how they look, meaning better than those other guys. They must run up their scores, grandstand, etc to impress. Actual winning does not matter, though 1 loss is really the cutoff.
Oh, wait. There is no precedent, since this horrifically stupid format is finally ending in favor of a 12-team playoff. Ergo, there is no way to evaluate this methodology. It is no better or worse than any other. It does not matter who gets in and who does not. Letting in FSU or GA or even those low lifes Ohio State would be just as defensible.
Let’s hope that Michigan or Washington wins, because they surely belong. TX and AL are random among a pool that includes at five equally deserving teams.
In any sane world in which today’s rules matter going forward, FSU got robbed.
I was under the impression that "style points" were a thing well before the CFP ever existed, so it's not like this is anything new.
FSU got screwed because their Heisman-level quarterback got injured. If Jordan Travis had played through the rest of the season, we wouldn't be having this conversation.