College football is being torn in a strained relationship between freedom and commitment.

Florida State was caught in the middle of those choices in Saturday’s Orange Bowl, losing 63-3 to Georgia in what was the largest margin of victory in bowl history.

There was a time when bowl games were a reward and relevant.

That’s not the case today for many bowls outside of the four-team College Football Playoff.

The Orange Bowl score reflected the bevy of opt-outs and injuries for the Seminoles.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were praised for their buy-in as they did not have any official opt-outs and many key seniors played.

College football at a crossroads

Where do we start because there’s no easy answer?

“College football has to decide what they want,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the Bulldogs’ win over the Seminoles.

“I know things are changing.”

Many believe the sport has become chaotic because the NCAA has mismanaged the transfer portal and NIL, which injects big money into the mix.

Like it or not, both are here to stay.

The portal empowers student athletes and gives them unparalleled freedom of movement during designated periods that allow time for admission and enrollment.

NIL agreements empower student athletes to earn substantial money off their image, name and likeness and are not tied to playing or playing time.

Coaches like Mike Norvell are left trying to navigate those tricky circumstances.

A perfect storm for FSU spun up by an unfair snub

Those headwinds fueled by a truly unfair decision created the perfect storm – one that would sink FSU.

That’s not an excuse.

It’s reality.

The Seminoles were the first undefeated Power 5 conference champion to be left out of the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014.

In Norvell’s fourth season and at the culmination of a remarkable turnaround, FSU was told that wins and losses did not matter.

That overcoming every challenge put in front of it did not matter.

That its buy-in and culture as a team did not matter.

The Seminoles were the fatality of a flawed format that has damaged the game of college football.

'Forever champions' amid heartbreak and an uncertain future

How coaches, players and fans respond to disappointment can be so different.

Norvell has handled the CFP committee’s decision to omit the Seminoles from the four-team playoff with extreme class.

He defended his players’ actions regarding their futures, even hinting the CFP committee's logic to jump one-loss Texas and one-loss Alabama over the undefeated Seminoles motivated a significant number of his team's opt-outs.

There are FSU fans, however, who questioned the players' loyalty to the university and program to the point of calling them quitters.

In the face of that criticism, Norvell took responsibility for not having his team fully prepared to play Georgia.

Still, Saturday’s result does not define the Seminoles and their season. And there's good reason to take exception with those who have bashed the depleted team's credibility.

It just proves college football is broken.

And who knows if it can be fixed with a 12-team playoff next season?

"It’s a special group. It’s a group that will be remembered,” Norvell said after Saturday’s defeat.

"Ultimately, this team did all that I asked them to, and they're forever champions.”

Email Tallahassee Democrat sports editor Jim Henry at jjhenry@tallahassee.com

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU Orange Bow loss to Georgia reflects flawed college football system