Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham implored the CFP selection committee to learn from last years mistakes when seeding the Sun Devils in the College Football Playoff.
On Saturday, the Sun Devils defied all odds by defeating Iowa State, 45-19, in the Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium – just five months after they were ranked last by members of the media in the conference preseason poll. Thanks to the dominant win, Arizona State officially punched its ticket to the CFP – where the team will be seeded, however, remains to be seen.
Should Arizona State be awarded one of the top four seeds, Dillinghams players would have a first-round bye as well as a chance to host their first game on home turf. Yet some have speculated that the Sun Devils will instead be given an automatic qualifier lower down the 12-team bracket – despite their 11-2 record and strong showing against No. 16 seed Iowa State.
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Dillingham, for one, believes that Arizona State has done more than enough this season to earn one of the highly-coveted top-four CFP seeds. Moments after Saturdays contest, he presented his argument for why the Sun Devils shouldnt succumb to the same fate that Florida State did last season.
There will be a lot of talk about seeding tomorrow on the Selection Show. What is your group deserving of after the body of work youve put together? ESPNs Katie George asked.
Last year, [the CFP Selection Committee] kept Florida State out because their quarterback didnt play, Dillingham replied. Were 11-1 with our quarterback. 11-1. And were Big 12 champs. I think we should be treated like an 11-1 team.
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Speaking to reporters during the post-game interview, Dillingham reiterated his belief that Arizona State is worthy of a first round bye in the playoffs. Yeah, I mean, I think judging [off] last year they left the team out because of a quarterback, he said.
We’re 11-1 with our starting quarterback, having beat four ranked teams, having won the Big 12 Championship. So I do think because we’ve made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable, I think there should be a real chance that we get a first round bye, and I definitely think we should host a game.
In the final year of the four-team CFP format, 13-0 Florida State was controversially left out in favor of one-loss Alabama – becoming the first-ever undefeated power conference champion to not be included in the field. The reasoning behind their absence, according to CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan, was due to the loss of star quarterback Jordan Travis, who suffered a gruesome leg injury one month prior.
“Florida State is a different team than they were the first 11 weeks,” Corrigan said. “If you look at who they are as a team right now, without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, they are a different team. And the committee voted Alabama four and Florida State five.”
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