Corey Clark: Playoff snub has galvanized Florida State fans in a remarkable way

You can do one of two things when you get pushed to the ground by a bully.

You can lay there. And just wallow in your misery and self-pity, hoping someone walks by and saves you from a pummeling.

Or you can stand up. And fight back.

Florida State fans, whose program was done dirty by the College Football Playoff selection committee this past weekend, have made it abundantly clear they’ve chosen Option No. 2.

No, they will not go quietly into the night. No, they will not simply take the injustice that happened on Sunday lying down.

This is a proud football program. An incredibly proud fan base. And they aren’t about to let a bunch of empty suits in a conference room in Dallas, along with those puppets that we see every week on ESPN, dictate their program’s worth and future.

I might have that wrong by the way. The dudes on ESPN might be the ones controlling the strings in this here sport we love. And the folks in Dallas might be the puppets. But either way, that ludicrous, outrageous ranking that was unveiled on Sunday ended a truly special and unforgettable football season for Florida State.

But it started something else.

Something even bigger, perhaps. Something those empty suits had no idea they were doing.

I talked to Ingram Smith on Wednesday afternoon. You know him. He’s the CEO of The Battle’s End, the collective that primarily supports Florida State football. He told me that on Saturday night, after the win over Louisville, the group’s membership total was right around 1,500 people.

Right now, as I write this, it’s over 3,000. And closing in on 3,500.

So, yes, in about three days, the membership of Florida State’s collective — which was launched roughly a year ago — more than doubled.

In three days!

After getting left out of the playoff, Florida State fans didn’t just get sad. They didn’t go slink into a corner and cry. They didn’t go curl into a fetal position or draw a warm bath to soak in their despair.

No. They got mad. Really mad.

What happened Sunday wasn’t just a slap to the face of the program, to the players on this team or to the sport itself. It was a call to action.

It reminds me of the great scene from, “Tora, Tora, Tora” in which the Japanese admiral Isoroku Yamamoto says after the bombing of Pearl Harbor: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

Florida State fans aren’t about to rest on the success of 2023. They aren’t about to let what happened Sunday define this program. They’re standing up and fighting back.

It would be easy — and, I have to admit, I was in this frame of mind for a certain portion of Sunday — to just give up on the sport. Why does it even matter? ESPN is going to tout the SEC all season, they’re going to make arguments against non-SEC teams all season (even before a quarterback injury) and they’re going to tilt the playing field so ridiculously in favor of two conferences that it makes everything else seem pointless.

Why even win your games? Why even put out podcasts? Or write columns? Or watch these games and spend your money to cheer for this program?

Well, here’s your answer: Because F them. That’s why.

Florida State DOES matter.

And moreover, Florida State isn’t going anywhere.

You see that 2024 recruiting class coming in. You see how much money is being raised by The Battle’s End. You see how good this head coach is. You see what his program can look like operating with the necessary resources. And you see how energized this entire fan base is right now.

No, if anything, what happened on Sunday was the start of a movement.

The decision-makers and power-brokers of this sport decided that Florida State didn’t belong in the College Football Playoff. Despite that “0” in the column on the right. Despite that dominating defense. Despite the rather remarkable and uplifting journey this program has been on for a half-decade.

From the depths of Jacksonville State to the highs of an undefeated season. In two years! And, no, that wasn’t good enough for the committee.

Because the SEC just had to be in. That trumped everything.

There are multiple video clips out there that show how much this game was rigged.

There’s Greg McElroy, who I’ve always liked by the way. I think he does a terrific job as an analyst and has always been a believer in Mike Norvell. But there are videos of him saying, repeatedly, that if Florida State goes undefeated, the Seminoles belong in the playoff.

Then, a few minutes before the Selection Show on Sunday, he changes his tune completely and says it should be Alabama in the field. Weird.

There’s Dan Orlovsky, who said even before the Florida game that if FSU wins out it should be in the playoff. Then on Sunday, he’s saying the EXACT opposite.

Those videos are just embarrassing.

The one that is much more telling, in my opinion, is the one of Herbstreit and Fowler watching the end of Alabama-Auburn game from the press box at The Swamp. The way they reacted, specifically Herbstreit, was as if his son had thrown the last-second touchdown pass himself.

It was a wild celebration. It wasn’t a shocked reaction. Like, “I can’t believe that just happened?” It was pure excitement. Not stunned disbelief. Excitement.

It turned out that fourth-and-31 TD pass ensured that no matter what happened in Atlanta the following week, an SEC team would absolutely be in the playoff.

Now, I’m not implying that’s why Herbstreit was so excited. Maybe he just really hates Auburn. And loves to see those fans suffer. Or maybe, just maybe, if it looks like a duck and smells like a duck and tastes like a duck … I actually forget how the saying goes, but you get the point!

What’s certain is that ESPN and the College Football Playoff don’t give two blanks about Florida State. They would’ve been quite content if the Seminoles just stayed mediocre forever. If they remained stuck in that dumpster engulfed in flames for all of eternity.

But that’s not what happened.

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Instead, Mike Norvell happened. Jordan Travis happened. Johnny and Keon and Jared and Renardo and Braden and Fabien all happened. An entire program went from a Jacksonville State nightmare to an ACC Championship in less than two years.

This would have been a great story for the College Football Playoff.

Instead, you get Alabama. Again. Yippee!!!

But here’s what’s so great about the last 72 hours.

Maybe, just maybe, if you had let Florida State get that seat at the table it rightfully earned, perhaps there was a chance the Seminoles and their fan base would have gotten a little fat. A little happy. And maybe there would have been some laurels rested upon.

Maybe there wouldn’t have been quite as many resources to put together another great roster in 2024 and beyond.

But nope. You went and pulled that nonsense on Sunday.

The giant is now wide f’n awake.

And he isn’t about to go quietly into the night.

To donate to the The Battle’s End, you can visit the website www.thebattlesend.com.

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at [email protected].

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.