Is Florida State Really 1 of the 4 Best Teams in College Football?

You're not going to believe this, but Florida State barely won a game on Saturday. 

Surviving and advancing is something Florida State has done all season. Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina State and Miami have all jumped out to leads against the Seminoles, sometimes by double digits, but failed to hold on against a team that hasn't lost in two years.  

On Saturday, the Seminoles extended their winning streak to 27 games in the rain against Boston College, 20-17, thanks to a game-winning Roberto Aguayo field goal. It was a game of mistakes, questionable officiating and awkward, literal run-ins with said officials. 

It was also a game in which the zombie Seminoles rose from the dead—again. After 55 minutes of neck-and-neck football, Florida State did what it absolutely had to do: be better than the Eagles for 12 plays, 66 yards and 4:34. 

It wasn't a dominating performance, but it rarely has been this season. Besides, a win is a win, right? 

Or is it? Is Florida State truly one of the four best teams in the country? The College Football Playoff selection committee has already knocked the only undefeated power-five team down to the No. 3 spot in the rankings as of last week and appears ready to drop the Seminoles like a stone at the first loss. 

To the committee's credit, not all wins or resumes are created equally. It is possible for a one-loss team to be better than an undefeated team. Whether Alabama and Oregon are better than Florida State is a conversation for another day, though. What matters is whether Florida State is playoff-caliber. 

The answer is unequivocally yes. 

There are no great teams in college football this year. That's part of what has made this regular season so fun, not necessarily the playoff format itself. The idea that any team could lose on any given week makes for compelling television, even with yawn-worthy slates like Week 13. 

It also makes Florida State's case for the playoff stronger. As of last Tuesday evening, Alabama was considered the best team in the country, but 'Bama couldn't finish against Ole Miss. Oregon was considered the second-best team, but the Ducks couldn't finish against Arizona.

Those losses aren't the end of the world. The difficulty of navigating through conference play, where teams know each other well, is undervalued. Come this Tuesday, Ole Miss and Arizona should still be Top 25 teams. Furthermore, the identity of a team in October isn't always the same as it is in November. Teams grow and develop together.

You can say the same thing about Florida State and its ability to close out games. As head coach Jimbo Fisher pointed out to Heather Dinich of ESPN.com, his team has finished where others have not:  

"

Let me ask you this: How about the way everybody else hasn't finished?. Our team has never not finished. The game is 60 minutes. This team hasn't lost in over two years. Everybody says 'game control.' That's something made up. As a coach, you talk about one thing: Finish. Get it done. This team wins in every way, shape and form you can win. Everybody else has failed at least once, no matter what you look at, and some of those teams have lost when they were over 20-point favorites.

"

Granted, it's been frustrating to watch, especially considering that a year ago the Seminoles were blasting the doors off opponents on a regular basis. If the committee isn't taking last year into consideration, though—and rightfully so—then holding the Seminoles to the same standard isn't right, either.  

There's also this: Florida State is unpopular. For fans to cheer for Notre Dame, Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino and Miami to beat the Seminoles in the same year should tell you everything you need to know about this team's popularity. 

But lost in the outrage about quarterback Jameis Winston's character, the culture of Florida State athletics, Tallahassee and its shady police department is the fact that Florida State, the football team, can straight-up play ball—when it has its act together. 

Secondary is the credit Winston actually deserves for being perhaps the best field general in college football. Not talked about enough is the fact that defensive back Jalen Ramsey is everywhere, including your nightmares. And while he might not be the most physically gifted player on the field, receiver Rashad Greene is good for eight catches and 106 yards with one good arm, breaking school records along the way. 

Not enough is made about Fisher and his second-half adjustments. Every week, Florida State gets every opponent's best shot. While the 'Noles may not have played any great teams, they're not playing a schedule of only scrubs, either. 

It may not be what everyone wants, but it's what they're getting. 

Is this model sustainable? It feels like Florida State's close calls are bound to catch up to it eventually. It's not far-fetched to think all of this comes back to bite this team in either the ACC championship game against Georgia Tech or the playoff.  

But the committee can't make decisions based on what might happen or what hasn't happened. Winning one's conference hasn't been taken into consideration yet because, well, it hasn't happened yet. If Florida State wins out and wins the ACC, it's in the playoff.

If it's not, what was the point of the regular season? All of the games count, even the close ones. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.