What Jordan Travis' injury means for Florida State's College Football Playoff hopes

The college football season was thrown for a major loop on Saturday when Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was carted off the field, taking a Heisman Trophy contender away from the Seminoles down the stretch.

At 11-0, Florida State stands on the cusp of a College Football Playoff bid. But the committee does factor in injuries, especially to key players.

Will Florida State’s ranking hold at No. 4?

“You wonder what the committee will do. It’s a fair thing to assess, right?” said Warchant’s Jeff Cameron on the Andy Staples On3 show. “If a team loses their starting quarterback, who also happens to be a Heisman candidate, he’s an All-American type player, how can you not look at that team differently? Florida State fans are probably very nervous that even if they win out that they may get overlooked because of Jordan Travis not being able to play at the most important position on the field, and he’s been electrifying.”

Florida State’s position already seemed a little tenuous, thanks to the fact that the Pac-12 title game will likely pit undefeated Washington against one-loss Oregon.

Either of those teams could make a case to be ranked ahead of Florida State. And what if Michigan and Ohio State — both unbeaten right now — play to a really close result in the regular season finale?

It’s going to be hard for the committee not to start thinking long and hard about the impact of the Jordan Travis injury.

“He’s the reason Florida State is undefeated. He’s one of the reasons. But he’s the key reason,” Cameron said. “And so you do wonder how they’re going to view Florida State. There’s no doubt Florida State has to win these next two games to get in. They have to be undefeated because the ACC’s strength is not where it should be and obviously doesn’t compare to, say, a Pac-12 with Washington or maybe Oregon even with their one loss if they avenge Washington. You wonder if they would jump Florida State. Probably not if Florida State’s undefeated.”

Of course, none of that will matter if Florida State doesn’t win out. Cameron agreed that the ‘Noles are on the outside looking in for good if they drop a game, Jordan Travis injury or not.

Two games remain: at Florida and then against Louisville in the ACC Championship Game.

“First things first, you’ve got to go win a football game against a rival who’s fighting for bowl eligibility and you’ve got to do it on the road in a hostile place at night with a brand new quarterback,” Cameron said. “Now (backup quarterback) Tate (Rodemaker)‘s played and he’s been in situations. But he’s not had to start a game like this. We know Florida’s going to fight like hell to try to get bowl eligible and have at least a .500 season, so you’re going to get the best version of Florida, and we’ll see how Tate responds to that.”

To say the least, a very intriguing piece of new drama was dropped into the 2023 college football season when Travis went down hurt.