The ordeal, Ewers says, is why the sport had to go with a 12-team playoff
About nine months ago, college football fans were on the edge of their seats finding out who would be in and out of the four-team playoff.
Championship weekend made circumstances wild, as No. 1 Georgia was upset by No. 8 Alabama in the SEC Championship, No. 7 Texas dominated in the Big 12 title game, and No. 4 Florida State completed its undefeated season, albeit not convincingly due to an injury keeping quarterback Jordan Travis out of the game.
Arguments were made for several combinations of what the College Football Playoff should have been, but at the end of the day, they went with Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama. That left out 13-0 Florida State and back-to-back reigning champion Georgia, who had been 42-1 in their previous 43 games.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws the ball during warm ups before the Big 12 football game between Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks on September 30, 2023, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Quinn Ewers may be biased, but he says the committee made the right call.
"It’s definitely a tough choice to make, especially with how the SEC Championship Game went, and Florida State and Jordan Travis getting hurt — in their minds, they were just picking who was playing the best football right now," the Longhorns quarterback said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
The whole fiasco, though, is "why they needed to make it" a 12-team playoff, Ewers says.
"It leaves a little bit more room for error. I think it’s what college football has needed," Ewers added.
A Florida State Seminoles flag waves by band members in the pregame performance before the Camping World Kickoff game between the LSU Tigers and the Florida State Seminoles, on Sunday, September 3, 2023 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Longhorns may not need 12 teams to get into the Playoff anyway, but nonetheless, Ewers is "excited" about the new system.
"I think it’s gonna give a lot more teams opportunities to win a national championship, and I think it’s gonna be great for the fans to see their teams making college football runs. Even for a smaller program that hasn’t had the opportunities that hasn’t had some of the opportunities that some of the bigger programs have had, I think it’s gonna be awesome for those guys to get a shot at it for sure."
Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns warms up before the game against the Rice Owls at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)
The Longhorns start the season at home on Aug. 31 against Colorado State. The team then has a marquee matchup against Michigan on Sept. 7.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
