The Florida State Seminoles losing their rightful place in the upcoming 2024 College Football Playoffs is not a small thing. Investigations into the CFP are still ongoing as to why the committee decided to pick the 12-1 Alabama Crimson Tide over the 13-0 FSU for the playoffs. Now, ESPN has come into the picture in a way nobody quite expected. 

Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody recently demanded answers from the CFP Committee by requesting relevant documents and transmissions involved during the selection. As the investigation dug deeper, a source confirmed that ESPN might have been rating-biased in their decision to pick Alabama over FSU. Read the full story below.

Did ESPN snub FSU for ratings?

In a recent Twitter post, a sports businessman exposed the possible scenario that “FSU may have been left out of the Playoff by ESPN for RATINGS.” An interview with the COO of Collegiate Sports Management Group Ray Katz revealed that “ESPN benefits ratings-wise by including Alabama over Florida State.” Katz said, “Every week that Alabama is on any kind of reasonable TV platform, they kick butt (rating wise). It’s just the reality of the situation.”

Looking at the 2023 regular college football season, Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide averaged 7.3 million viewers on over 12 Nationally Televised Games. Meanwhile, Mike Norvell and the FSU averaged only 4.2 million viewers. In the end, everything comes down to business. Alabama is one of the top watched teams and they’re good for ratings. So, could ESPN have taken business more seriously than merit? 

Alabama finished second as the most-watched team in weekly average views 

Comparisons aside, Alabama has truly made a statement in their performance and popularity this season losing just one game. CFB Home listed them on the No. 2 spot on the Top 10 most-watched teams (weekly average). The Crimson Tide raked in 5.08M weekly average views, falling just behind the Ohio State Buckeyes with 5.55M. 

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But before we put ESPN in the center of being a rating monster, see what ESPN analyst Booger McFarland has to say about the CFP Committee leaving FSU out of the playoffs. He expressed his disapproval a couple of days after CFP decided to pick Alabama over FSU. He said, “To me, this is a travesty to the sport… One team has a loss, and that’s Alabama. One doesn’t in Florida State.“

Even with the strict ongoing investigation to get to the bottom of the matter, FSU will still have to forfeit their deserving chance to play at the 2024 CFP. Instead, they’ll face the 12-1 SEC East leaders, the Georgia Bulldogs, in the Orange Bowl on 31st December.

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