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Florida State DB: Michigan — not Ohio State — should’ve been in playoff

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

If there’s such a thing as “reverse bulletin board material,” Marquez White might’ve just given it to Michigan.

His Florida State squad will take on Michigan in the Orange Bowl on Friday. But White was plenty complimentary of the Wolverines.

He’s friendly with Michigan cornerback Channing Stribling after playing AAU basketball together for a few years. White even texted Stribling about his jealousy of Michigan’s Air Jordan gear and how that could’ve impacted his decision to come to FSU if the Wolverines had the deal in place a few years earlier.

But White took his Michigan respect a step further.

He actually didn’t feel that his team should be facing the Wolverines in a non-College Football Playoff game. White said that he thought Michigan got a raw deal in the all-or-nothing game in Columbus:

Specifically, White said the fourth-down call that rewarded J.T. Barrett a controversial first down in double overtime was incorrect. That then led to the game-winning touchdown run from Curtis Samuel.

The Chicago Tribune’s Teddy Greenstein did an in-depth story with Big Ten coordinator of football officials, Bill Carollo. In it, Carollo said that had that there wasn’t a camera angle that could overturn the initial call on the field. Had it been ruled short in real time, Michigan would’ve been victorious.

Because of that, White said, the Wolverines were more deserving of the College Football Playoff.

For what it’s worth, the Wolverines still would’ve had to win the B1G Championship to guarantee a playoff spot. But many, like White, feel they were the conference’s best team.

As it is, Florida State will take on a Michigan squad that hopes to put the OSU loss in the rearview mirror. The game-plan for the Seminoles, White said, is to follow a similar blueprint to the Buckeyes.

If Harbaugh does this again, White’s mission will be complete.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.