MIAMI GARDENS, FL (352today.com) – Florida State (13-0) and Georgia (12-1) are set to face off this Saturday in the Capital One Orange Bowl hosted in Miami Gardens at the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins.
The matchup is highly anticipated after both teams were left out of the College Football Playoff (CFP). It raised many questions about whether the playoff committee made the right decision.
Florida State went undefeated the entire season, but the committee decided to leave them out of the playoffs, putting in Texas and Alabama in the third and fourth spots. This left the football program, fans, as well as Florida lawmakers frustrated and prompted investigations and even the possibility of legal action against the CFP.
Many have speculated that the upcoming matchup between Georgia and Florida State will prove whether FSU should have been in the playoffs or not. But this matchup has some notable differences compared to the regular season.
For one, due to an injury, they are missing star quarterback Jordan Travis who has received a lot of credit for the team’s success this season; this was also a major factor in the committee’s decision to leave FSU out of the playoffs, a decision which many fans believed was unfair. Since Travis’ injury, backup quarterbacks Tate Rodemaker and Brock Glenn were activated in his absence, leading the team in victories over Florida and Louisville.
On Christmas Day, 247Sports and The Athletic reported that Rodemaker will not be playing in the bowl game Saturday and has plans to enter the transfer portal. They say Glenn will start at QB for the Seminoles. Rodemaker participated in the team’s practices leading up to the Christmas break.
In addition to Rodemaker, FSU has lost many other players due to the NFL draft and transfer portal. The Seminoles will be looking to fill gaps on both sides of the ball to get a win over Georgia.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell stated in a news conference that although they’ll be dealing with some personnel changes, it’ll allow for some guys who have been working hard all season to step up.
“We’ve got all different plans for this game, and we have a lot of versatility in where guys are going to be able to be used, and I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far,” said Norvell.
When asked about moving past them being left out of the playoffs, Norvell replied that he didn’t want to make the Orange Bowl about that.
“It’s what’s in front of us. Yes, we all are hurt. All of that was real coming out of the championship weekend, but at the end of the day, the good Lord’s blessed us with opportunity,” said Norvell. “You get a chance to go to compete. You get a chance to go get better, and that’s really been it. I don’t want to have to give a motivational speech for opportunity.”
Norvell added that in the game of football and in life, you are not guaranteed anything and that you have to make the most of what you have.
The Seminoles will be hungry and looking to get a win over the Bulldogs. The two will face off at 4:00 p.m. You can catch the game on ESPN.
.@Coach_Norvell and @FSUFootball have touched down in South Florida?#CapitalOneOrangeBowl#NoleFamily // #KeepCLIMBing pic.twitter.com/aOYNVWjuoo
— Capital One Orange Bowl (@OrangeBowl) December 26, 2023