FSU 'Absolutely' Should Be National Champs If Only Unbeaten Team, QB Brock Glenn Says

Florida State quarterback Brock Glenn doesn't believe missing out on the College Football Playoff should necessarily preclude the Seminoles from being recognized as a national champion.

Glenn said they'd "absolutely" deserve the honor if they're the last unbeaten Power Five team standing this season, per ESPN's David Hale.

Linebacker Kalen DeLoach concurred.

"It's only right," he said. "Nothing else needs to be said if we're the only undefeated team."

Before the playoff era, split national champions were uncommon but not unprecedented. The last occurrence came in 2003, when USC and LSU ranked first in the Associated Press and coaches polls respectively.

The seemingly definitive nature of the CFP didn't stop UCF from crowning itself a national champion in 2017, either, after it went 13-0 and sat atop the Colley Matrix. The NCAA subsequently recognized the achievement officially.

This year, there's nothing stopping AP voters or coaches from ranking Florida State first when all is said and done.

"As a matter of principle, I'd consider ranking Florida State No. 1 regardless of whether they are in the CFP field," said ESPN's Rece Davis, who has an AP vote, to the Associated Press' Ralph D. Russo. "Much like the selection process itself, the exercise is who, in my judgment, is the best team."

As much as a perfect season and symbolic national title would be for FSU, plenty of fans outside of Tallahassee would look derisively upon the honor. Seminoles defensive lineman Braden Fiske admitted it was "tough" to contemplate the actual significance.

"I don't know. Would it be phony?" he said, per Hale. "That's weird. Would it be cool? Sure. But would it be a little bit cooler to actually be in [the playoff] and feel that confetti drop?"

This might be a moot issue because Florida State still has to beat Georgia in the Orange Bowl.

Perhaps watching their title defense unravel in the SEC championship game will have a hangover effect for the Bulldogs, or they could be itching to set the record straight and prove they were one of the four best teams this season.

The Seminoles, meanwhile, will be without multiple key players as some are moving on to the NFL and others entered the transfer portal. This is a shell of the squad that ran the table in the regular season.

A heavy loss to Georgia won't erase what Florida State did to this point but will bring the national champion conversation to a clear conclusion.