The Rams have done it once again. For the second straight year, GM Les Snead has struck gold twice in his pass-rushing department as Jared Verse and Braden Fiske have combined for 12.5 sacks, doing their best Kobie Turner and Byron Young impression as they push towards a potential championship.

Perhaps motivated by the criminal act committed against their Florida State football team last season, Verse and Fiske have proven that their exclusion from the 2024 College Football Playoff was nothing less than a biased decision made by a committee with no oversight.

As of writing, Fiske is the current NFL rookie sack leader. Verse is the current rookie leader in tackles for loss, QB pressures and QB hits. Both players have been critical contributors down the stretch that have not only revitalized the Rams' defense but have stifled multiple passing attacks including Seattle's three-headed receiving monster earlier in the year.

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As many college football fans know, the 13-0 ACC champion Florida State Seminoles were passed over in favor of the 12-1 SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide for the last spot in the playoffs. Alabama went on to lose to the eventual National Champion Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl after a series of horrific play by Alabama's Jalen Milore and Seth McLaughlin.

The justification for the decision was that then Seminole QB and current New York Jet Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury and there were concerns that his backup would lead to a decline in the quality of the Seminoles' performance. Florida State with Verse and Fiske held their next two opponents to 10.5 points per game.

They held Louisville who averaged 33 points per game to six in the ACC championship game.

While we can not go back in time to right this egregious wrong, that feeling has stayed with Verse and Fiske as they prepare to enter the NFL postseason. Sometimes in life, the greatest motivator comes from the unachieved opportunity. While a National Championship is one of football's finest prizes, a Super Bowl remains the ultimate achievement.

Florida State has a very strong connection to its alumni, especially those who have played football for the university. For Jared Verse and Braden Fiske, they would love to parade a Lombardi throughout Tallahassee. Another example of the crime committed against them.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/rams/ as Jared Verse, Braden Fiske's Rookie Years Proves FSU Should Have Made 2024 CFB Playoffs.