CFP’s Hancock responds to Florida lawmakers and cites Travis’ injury as reason for FSU’s snub

College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock responded Friday to Florida lawmakers seeking “full transparency” as to why Florida State was left out of the playoff by saying committee members “are confident they made the right decisions in ranking the best four teams in the country based on the protocol.” In a letter to U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and other Florida congressmen, Hancock said the decision to drop Florida State from fourth to fifth — behind Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama — was made mostly because star quarterback Jordan Travis’ season-ending leg injury “caused the committee to believe that there were indeed four teams that should rank higher than FSU.”