What Florida State coach Mike Norvell said before Orange Bowl about CFP snub | D'Angelo
DANIA BEACH — Mike Norvell never has faced a situation like the one he's lived with for the past month.
While he's certainly been tested and dealt with disappointment during his career, never has it been so public and polarizing. And rarely has he felt so helpless.
Because no matter the outcome of No. 5 Florida State's game against No. 6 Georgia on Saturday in the Orange Bowl, Norvell will never forget that moment he was watching the College Football Playoff bracket unfold and all he could do was drop his head for that split second when FSU's name did not appear on the screen, before turning his attention to his angry players.
"There will always be feelings about that," Norvell said Friday as he sat next to Georgia coach Kirby Smart at the final news conference before Saturday's 4 p.m. kickoff at Hard Rock Stadium. "I'll never say that's not real because I'm going to always have feelings about that decision and how I had to see the effect (on) our players.
"There's guys not playing this game that played their last game as Florida State Seminoles and they gave everything they had. Some of the hurt they experienced to not have the opportunity … "
Norvell's honesty is refreshing. He has not backed down from the disappointment of completing a perfect season, capped with an ACC Championship, and being the only undefeated Power Five conference champion ever left out of the playoff because a committee determined they could not compete without injured quarterback Jordan Travis.
The Seminoles' coach has balanced that anger with empathy for his players, especially many of the 25 or so not in uniform, including about half of the starters, a group that certainly would have played had FSU been in the bowl it deserved, either the Rose or Sugar.
This snub was going to go one of two ways for the Seminoles: Either the entire team rallied determined to finish undefeated or call it a season after accomplishing all they could and being told it was enough.
Many chose the latter. You cannot blame them.
"There's been some tough choices for guys to have to make," Norvell said. "It was hard. A lot of people were hurt with the decision on things they can't control."
While FSU has been open about opt-outs, Smart won't even admit that All-American tight end Brock Bowers, who missed three games late in the season because of a high ankle sprain, will not be playing.
"We'll see," he said.
Even with 18 Georgia players in the transfer portal and a handful of starters not expected to play, including Bowers and offensive lineman Amarius Mims, that hasn't kept the line from moving by more than 7 points and making Georgia about a three-touchdown favorite. It opened around 13 points.
14-0 would mean something
Now, after answering all the questions that had to be asked about the players not here, Norvell has turned his attention to those who are, and moving on from things not in his, and their, control.
Norvell is preaching to his players that they have something to play for, despite what the committee told them. Finishing off an undefeated season and extending a winning streak to 20 games, especially against the team that is 41-2 in the past three years with two national titles, would be a major accomplishment.
More: Can depleted Florida State defeat Georgia in the Orange Bowl? Here's our prediction.
But he would not bite when asked whether he believes FSU can claim to be No. 1 if it's the lone undefeated P5 team following the playoff.
"You got to control what you can control on the field," he said. "We were not presented the opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff. We talked about an incredible feat to go 14-0. Right now that's the focus. That's all that's in front of us, and that's all we've talked about."
This is what a coach will call a teachable moment. And Norvell and his staff will be preaching and teaching for months to come.
Norvell has hammered away at the lessons to be learned by those who will play, some who never have started a college game, many who have never played a down with the game on the line.
"There's a lot of experiences you are going to learn from life," Norvell said. "What you do with those experiences is going to dictate what your future is going to be.
"Will they still have the pain and the hurt from choices that were made? Absolutely. This experience will help them manage through, and help them throughout courses in their lives if they take advantage of it."
Tom D'Angelo is a sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @tdangelo44.
Orange Bowl
No. 5 Florida State (13-0) vs. No. 6 Georgia (12-1)
Saturday, 4 p.m., Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN and the ESPN app (with a TV provider subscription), fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV
Three movie theaters in Palm Beach County are among 29 across the state that will show the game on their big screens. Check with theaters for prices.
Regal Royal Palm Beach, 1003 N. State Road 7, Royal Palm Beach
IPIC Boca Raton (Mizner Park), 301 Plaza Real, Boca Raton
IPIC Delray Beach, 50 SE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach
3 area theaters showing the game Want to watch FSU football on the big screen? Your movie theater might show Orange Bowl
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mike Norvell never will forget the hurt after FSU left out of college football playoff
