Kirk Herbstreit, Greg McElroy debate Florida State's CFP case without Jordan Travis

Heading into conference championship weekend, Florida State finds itself undefeated and in the top four of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings. But the Seminoles are also without their quarterback as Jordan Travis underwent season-ending surgery, meaning it’s Tate Rodemaker’s show.

Because FSU is dealing with a change under center, it also presents an interesting challenge to the CFP committee. Considering where the Seminoles rank, assuming things hold after Saturday’s games, they look like they could find themselves in the national semifinals when the final rankings come out on Sunday.

That sparked a spirited debate between Kirk Herbstreit, Greg McElroy and the rest of the panel on the CFP reveal show Tuesday night.

“I think they’re perfectly fine,” McElroy said of Florida State. “They win, they’re in. We don’t even need to entertain the idea of a one-loss team potentially jumping them, a la Texas and Alabama. Florida State’s in. They’re gonna take care of business this weekend, they’re going to be in.

“And they deserve to be because the results have to matter. They’re undefeated. And it’s not like they’ve played a schedule comparable to that of Liberty.”

However, one of the CFP committee’s considerations is whether a team is dealing with injuries. That factored into the evaluation ahead of Tuesday’s rankings, according to committee chairman Boo Corrigan, and it will likely continue to play a role over the next five days.

That’s why even if the Seminoles are undefeated, Herbstreit wondered how Travis’ absence would impact the discussion.

“I think if you think they’re the best — remember, Greg, I know you like resumes. But remember, do you think they’re one of the best without Jordan Travis?” Herbstreit said. “If people think they’re the best, then that’s great. I don’t care. The resume is what it is. When you watch them, are they better than Texas? Are they better than Alabama? Are they better than Ohio State without Jordan Travis?

“That’s what this is about. It’s not ‘Hey, they’re undefeated, they should go in.’ It’s are they the best?”

Why a Georgia loss would make the CFP’s conversation about Florida State even more interesting

One of the more intriguing conference championship games takes place in Atlanta on Saturday as No. 1 Georgia squares off against No. 8 Alabama in the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs are favored to win yet another game, but the Crimson Tide have been red-hot and could look to play spoiler.

If that happens — and Texas takes care of business against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship — then Joey Galloway argued Florida State could be put in an interesting spot.

“The reason I said it sort of opens the door for some question marks, let’s just say, Alabama beats Georgia. Let’s just say, Texas blows out Oklahoma State. There is a conversation to be had because then, what do you do with Georgia?” Galloway said. “What do you do with Alabama? What do you do with Texas? I’m not saying that they jump Florida State. I can’t imagine at this stage that Georgia moves very far. We just saw Ohio State move down, what, four spots? So there’s some question marks in there.

“I agree with Kirk’s thinking in, do you think they beat these teams head-to-head regardless of what their record is right now? Do you think they beat these teams head-to-head without Jordan Travis?”

The big issue, according to Herbstreit, wouldn’t be so much about what happens to Florida State. Instead, he wondered how the committee could keep Alabama out of the top four if the Tide was able to beat Georgia — and, of course, everything else goes according to plan.

“If you think about what Joey said, can you imagine being in that room on Sunday if Alabama — by the way, we’re not talking about Vanderbilt. We’re talking about Nick Saban and Alabama. If Alabama somehow were able to shock a lot of people and beat Georgia?” Herbstreit said. “I can’t even imagine what — forget just those two teams. What happens everywhere around them? If Texas looks great, like Joey said, can they make a jump? The Pac-12 champ. You assume Michigan beats Iowa, they’re a lock.

“Florida State, I mean, it really becomes — where do you start? Let’s just say … if Georgia loses Alabama, I have a hard time, if the goal was to put the best four — and I know it’s deserving and four and you’ve got to find a way to do it — how do we look at Georgia and not say to regardless of the result, how are they not one of the best four teams?”