JUPITER, Fla. — Anger and disappointment are just some of the words being used after Florida State University's football team didn't make the College Football Playoff, despite the team being 13-0 this year and winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
Now politicians from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., even former President Donald Trump, are weighing in on the controversy, and the state's chief financial officer, Jimmy Patronis, a Florida State graduate, is demanding the playoff committee disclose their votes and preserve all documents as he begins talks with legislators into what action should be taken after the snub.
Walk inside Jumby Bay Island Grill in Jupiter and it's impossible to miss signs of the Florida State Seminoles everywhere. Jumby Bay is an official home of the Palm Beach County Seminole Club.
Owner and FSU alumnus Vicki Parmelee was shocked she and other fans won't be watching the Seminoles in the College Football Playoff.
"I was just really heartbroken for the players and the coaches and, you know, we see these guys, you know, put their heart and soul into the season and literally deliver a perfect season," Parmelee said.
Even after losing former Benjamin School star quarterback Jordan Travis to an injury.
The Seminoles now become the first undefeated champion from a Power 5 conference to miss the playoff.
"The culture from the last couple years has been amazing," Boca Raton native and FSU grad Andy Pangerl said. "We've had no off-the-field problems. Everybody's buying in. We're undefeated — 19 games in a row, and they left us out. It's disgusting."
Pangerl bleeds garnet and gold. He's devastated for his team.
"I still feel gutted," Pangerl said. "But, again, it all goes back (to), who cares what I feel? It's the players."
Clay Shiver knows a bit about how they feel.
"I think there's a helplessness, right?" Shiver said. "Like, you know, you have to abide by this and you have no choice. You've done everything required of you."
The head coach at Boca Raton Christian School knows what it's like to win it all. He was part of FSU's first national title team in 1993.
"You just go, what are we doing?" Shiver said. "You know, (it's like) Will Ferrell (said). 'I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.' You know, like, what is happening that we've come to this point where we actually can play a game to decide these things, but we take it out of that realm?"
Politicians on both sides of the aisle are sharing frustrations, too, from DeSantis to U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.
Scott sent a letter to the College Football Playoff selection committee, demanding answers and transparency.
"Do I have faith that anything's going to happen with the committee in the legal process? Absolutely not," Pangerl said. "Now should they? Yes. I wanna see the emails, the collusion, the back and forth."
Whatever the explanation, the Seminole faithful will keep rooting for their guys.
"I hope they know that all the fans are super proud," Parmelee said.
