Coleman’s recent remarks regarding Florida State’s College Football Playoff snub infuriated the Bulldogs.
Keon Coleman, a former standout wide receiver for Florida State, has been heavily featured in the media for the past week due to the viral nature of his Buffalo Bills press conference. Because of his self-assurance and willingness to speak up when needed, Coleman has the kind of demeanour that will appeal to NFL fans.

There’s one fan base that the second-round selection hasn’t won over: the Georgia Bulldogs. Speaking on Robert Gryphon III’s ‘RG3 and The Ones’ Podcast, Coleman expressed his belief that, had the Bulldogs defeated Alabama in the SEC Championship game, the Seminoles would have avoided their December College Football Playoff rejection.
“How many athletes did we draft? Ten or eleven? The only way to determine who will fare better in the NFL is to observe who we play against. They’re playing in the ‘Mad as H E L L’ Bowl, so of course they want to play,” Coleman remarked. They are upset over their defeat. Why are you upset because you lost? You guys think that just because you’re from Georgia, you should be able to enter? You would have learned who was superior to Georgia and Florida State if you had prevailed in the SEC Championship. We would have been the “matter bowl” players, you know. The bowl was important. We’re not going to play you in a meaningless bowl. That is a time waster.”

You would have needed to visit us if you had prevailed and followed through on your obligations. The entire time, we would have been up performing this [the Tomahawk Chop]. We would have pierced you with a spear for all of that barking,” Coleman went on. “There’s no barking there; it’s dead. Georgia chose to lose, so you would have found out, but the world might never know. We ought to question Alabama’s toughness. How come you all still choke?

Rather, the Texas Longhorns—the only team to defeat the Crimson Tide in the regular season—dominated their conference championship game as Georgia fell to Alabama 27–24. For the first time since the playoffs were instituted in 2014, Florida State, the undefeated P5 conference winner, was eliminated from the four-team field as a result of the two outcomes.
A squad that overcame every obstacle in its path was devastated by the snub. More than twenty players on FSU’s two-deep roster chose not to play in the Orange Bowl, including all ten players who entered the NFL Draft. In a historic loss to Georgia, a lineup primarily composed of younger players and reserves came up short.

The Bulldogs were not pleased with Coleman’s remarks, to put it mildly. At least four players from the previous squad—safety Javon Bullard, cornerback Kamari Lassiter, running back Kendall Milton, and safety Tykee Smith—retaliated. Last weekend saw the selection of Milton (Philadelphia Eagles), Lassiter (Houston Texans), Bullard (Green Bay Packers), and Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
It’s unfortunate that we will never fully know whether Florida State was capable of winning a national championship. Naturally, the loss of standout quarterback Jordan Travis hurt the team’s hopes, but the team still had enough skills to contend, as evidenced by the most recent draft. Rather, that opportunity was robbed from the Seminoles unfairly.
If nothing else, Coleman and former Bulldog Sedrick Van Pran’s locker room conversations will be fascinating.