Fox Sports commentator Richard Sherman is the latest to weigh in on the controversial decision to include SEC champion Alabama over undefeated ACC champion Florida State in the 2023 College Football Playoff.
The committee’s decision to tab the Crimson Tide (12–1) over the Seminoles (13–0) has been hotly debated in the college football world since the announcement on Sunday.
On Monday’s episode of Undisputed on FS1, Sherman ripped the committee’s decision, while also blasting the entire SEC.
“The SEC plays mostly a ‘Patty Cake’ schedule,” said Sherman. “They play Middle Tennessee, they play Division I-AA and FCS schools the majority of the time when they are outside of schedule–outside of each other. They are an overrated conference.”
Is the SEC an overrated conference?@RSherman_25: “Outside of their conference they play nobody and when they do, they lose!” pic.twitter.com/oG7dHYFRYV
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) December 4, 2023
As evidence for his argument that the SEC is overrated, Sherman highlighted LSU’s loss to Florida State, in addition to Alabama falling to Texas.
“Most of the time they [SEC teams] are playing nobody,” added Sherman. “Outside of their conference, they are not playing ranked opponents, they are not playing great opponents. When they do, they lose.”
Sherman is on the side of those who believe that Alabama received a berth simply because of the program’s name and the popularity of the conference rather than recognizing the undefeated season of the Seminoles because of the season-ending injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.
College football is hoping that these kinds of controversial debates will no longer exist when the playoff expands from four to 12 teams.
