Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher didn't offer any direct criticism for the College Football Playoff selection committee's decision to drop the undefeated Seminoles behind once-beaten Oregon in this week's rankings. But Fisher did offer this, which came across as something of a swipe at the notion that FSU's drop was merited:
"I thought the name of the game was to keep winning," he said, according to various media reports.
In a move that seemed to raise the most eyebrows, the committee bumped Oregon ahead of the Seminoles based, presumably, on a more impressive victory last Saturday. Oregon hammered Utah (ranked No. 22 in the CFB 24/7 Top 25 Power Rankings entering the game), 51-27, while FSU subdued Virginia, which has lost four straight games, 34-20. Fisher said the perceived slight could serve as motivation for the Seminoles as they travel to take on Miami this weekend.
"What somebody thinks of us, we can't control it," he said. "We've won every conference game but one by double digits. I'm very happy with the way we played, and we're winning games. And we're winning games by significant margins also. We're great in our own way."
Two more unexpected moves by the committee drew less of a response from the affected coaches. Baylor has the same record as TCU (8-1) and beat the Horned Frogs, 61-58, yet is ranked behind the Horned Frogs.
Said Bears coach Art Briles on the Dan Patrick Show: "I believe in the system. I have faith in the system."
Finally, Alabama, after a 20-13 road win at LSU, was jumped in the rankings by TCU for the all-important No. 4 spot for the four-team playoff. UA coach Nick Saban offered no concern when asked about his team holding at the No. 5 spot on Wednesday.
"I didn't even really know what we were in the poll and it really doesn't matter at all to me or our team or our players because it's about the game that we play," Saban said on the SEC media teleconference. "If you don't have success in the games that you play, the poll's not going to matter."
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