Greg Sankey: 'We didn't stomp our feet, we didn't fly banners' after Georgia missed CFP

After Alabama’s SEC Championship upset over Georgia last season, the College Football Playoff committee found itself facing a major decision. It could have put the one-loss Crimson Tide, the one-loss Bulldogs or undefeated ACC champion Florida State in the four-team field – ultimately choosing the former.

That move led to plenty of debate about whether the four “best” teams or four “most deserving” teams made the CFP. Florida State became the first undefeated Power Conference champion to miss out on the national semifinals, and Georgia didn’t get a chance to defend its two straight titles after losing in the SEC title game.

FSU made its thoughts clear on the CFP’s decision, voicing its displeasure with the move to send the Seminoles to the Orange Bowl against Georgia. Speaking at SEC Media Days Wednesday afternoon, commissioner Greg Sankey spoke about the difference between the two schools’ handling of the situation, seemingly calling out how Florida State approached it all.

“Think last year. [Georgia] was one of the four best teams. Period,” Sankey said on 1010 XL radio. “There’s people in your listening audience saying, ‘Oh, there he goes again.’ We didn’t stomp our feet, we didn’t, like, fly banners over places. That was one of the four best teams.

“They lost one game in two years. Bad second half, second quarter, third quarter. And in the future, if they’re 9-3 compared to a 10-2 or 11-1 [game], the standard’s not 10-2 or 11-1. It’s the best teams.”

The decision to leave Florida State out of the field was due to a few factors, according to Boo Corrigan, who served as the selection committee chairman at the time. A big one was the injury to quarterback Jordan Travis, who got hurt late in the season and was out for the year.

After FSU missed out on the CFP, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced an investigation into the committee, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to the College Football Playoff to get more information. Former CFP executive director Bill Hancock responded, pointing out the tough decision the committee had.

In the process, though, Scott criticized Hancock for calling the ACC a “so-called Power Five conference” and suggested he meant the conference wasn’t a power league. However, Hancock clarified that remark, telling ESPN’s Andrea Adelson the CFP committee doesn’t use “Power Five,” “Autonomous Five” or Group of 5″ to describe conferences.

“It is important to know that CFP doesn’t use the term ‘Power-5’ or ‘P5,’” Hancock said. “While the media and others use the term P5 to refer to the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC, we use the term ‘A5’ or ‘Autonomy-5’ instead.”