Florida State Shocks the World

Florida State vs. Alabama Football Game Recap

Photo by Evan Starr / Maclay Andalusian

Every year at the end of August, the college football season starts. Fans rejoice and get ready to watch their team play, meanwhile the players have spent the last eight months preparing for their first game. On Saturday, Aug. 30, the Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked eighth in the nation, traveled down to Tallahassee, Fla. to face the unranked Florida State Seminoles. This marked their first game of the season and the first time the Tide have played in Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Florida State Seminoles were coming off of a 2-10 season. After last season, the head coach of the Seminoles Mike Norvell said, “To the Florida State fans, university, past players, to the guys in the locker room, I'm sorry, but it will be fixed.” The Seminoles were able to fix what they needed and it showed on Saturday. Florida State came into the game with a less than 10% chance to beat the Crimson Tide, yet the Seminoles dominated Alabama, defeating them 31-17 and pulling off the biggest upset of week one in the college football season. Fans were so excited about the win that they rushed the field to celebrate with the players.

The Seminoles were led by transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who was remarkable when it came to both rushing and passing. After talking smack on the internet saying, “They don’t have Nick Saban [former Alabama Head Coach] to save them. I just don’t see [Alabama] stopping me,” Castellanos was able to back it up and led the ‘Noles with 78 yards rushing and scored a rushing touchdown. The Seminoles had a spectacular overall rushing game, combining for 236 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came from redshirt freshman Micahi Danzy who is a Tallahassee native and reigning 400-meter dash ACC champion. Florida State outran Alabama by 149 rushing yards, using a scheme created by new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who was the former head coach of both Auburn and UCF.

Though Alabama lost, their season is far from over, and the team still had some bright spots. For example, redshirt junior quarterback Ty Simpson threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Defensively, junior Keon Sabb was able to get a sack for the Alabama defense which was a big play in their lackluster performance. Alabama still has +1400 odds to win the College Football Playoff and that gives them the ninth best odds to win the national championship. However, Alabama may struggle next week with superstar wide receiver Ryan Williams being questionable to play with a concussion. Alabama remains hopeful and their goal is to prove that next week on Saturday, Sept. 6, when they face UL-Monroe at home.

After Florida State and Alabama’s week one face off in 2025, both teams think they are capable of more. Florida State takes on East Texas A&M on Saturday, Sept. 6, to try and become 2-0. Alabama will have to remember this game for next season, as the Seminoles travel to Tuscaloosa in 2026 to play Alabama in week one of the 2026 college football season.