The Florida State Seminoles had one of the most eventful seasons in all of college football in 2023.
They were well on their way towards an undefeated season and a berth in the College Football Playoff before star quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a crushing season-ending injury.
The Noles would still go on to finish the regular season undefeated and used a dominant defensive performance to knock off the Louisville Cardinals 16-6 in the ACC Championship Game.
However, when Selection Sunday came, Florida State was left without a seat at the table.
Of all years for the playoff field to be limited to four-teams, 2023 was one of the worst.
Not only did the Seminoles get shut out, but the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs were also left without an invitation to the dance.
In Georgia’s case, their upset loss to the rival Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game cost them a shot at a historic three-peat. That stung mightily for Kirby Smart and the Dawgs.
However, Florida State felt an equal sting – if not greater.
Unlike Georgia, the Seminoles were undefeated. They passed every single test with flying colors and did absolutely everything that was asked of them.
However, as they cruelly found out, no Travis = no playoffs.
The four teams that got the playoff nod over Florida State were Michigan, Alabama, Texas and Washington.
Without Travis, would Florida State have beaten any of those four teams??? … Realistically speaking, the answer is no.
However, that didn’t stop Noles head coach Mike Norvell from stampeding around telling everyone and their mother just how bad his team got screwed…
Truthfully, you have to feel bad for Norvell and the entire team. It wasn’t their fault that Travis got injured. And to their credit, they still overcame all of the adversity and finished undefeated.
Norvell was so proud of the achievement that he awarded the entire team special rings to commemorate the season.
Boldly engraved on the rings is the word “UNCONQUERED.”
There’s one major problem with this whole “UNCONQUERED” theme however … The Seminoles would go on to get absolutely destroyed by Georgia in the Orange Bowl.
“Destroyed” may actually be an understatement. The final score of that massacre of 63-3!!!
In fairness, Florida State was without several of their top players for that game, so it wasn’t exactly a fair fight.
That wasn’t Georgia’s problem, however. To their credit, they played the game like it was for the national title. That’s a strong credit to Kirby Smart and the culture he’s built in Athens.
Regardless, it’s a bad look to hand out “UNCONQUERED” rings after you suffer one of the most lopsided defeats in college football history.
Ironically, this isn’t the first time a team from Florida has faced scrutiny over postseason accolades.
The 2017 UCF Golden Knights went undefeated and (in)famously proclaimed themselves as the “real” national champions after being snubbed from the playoff.
What are your thoughts on Florida State’s “UNCONQUERED” rings?
I truly appreciate Norvell’s loyalty to his team, but the rings do come off as just a little bit ridiculous.
Having said that, if we take a step back and really look at it, did Florida State get screwed???