Florida State stuns No. 8 Alabama: Seminoles control Crimson Tide as pressure builds around Kalen DeBoer

Florida State took down the top-10 Crimson Tide to open the season

Florida State delivered the season's first top-10 upset, knocking off No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday in a statement win that kickstarts a Seminoles' revenge tour and piles early pressure on first-year Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer.

Alabama entered as a two-touchdown favorite, expected to overwhelm Florida State with size and depth. Instead, the Seminoles played with energy and poise behind new starting quarterback Tommy Castellanos and a retooled defense that came up with stops in key moments.

Mike Norvell reshaped his staff in the offseason by hiring Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator and Tony White as defensive coordinator. After one game, both hires look transformative for a program that bottomed out at 2-10 last year.

Malzahn's offense kept Alabama off balance all afternoon. Castellanos' dual-threat ability forced the Tide to chase ball carriers sideline to sideline, often leaving defenders out of position. But the Seminoles also proved physical when it mattered, converting short-yardage situations late to seal the win.

Alabama, by contrast, stalled after a fast start. The Tide opened with a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that drained nearly nine minutes off the clock, but their next nine possessions produced fewer than 40 yards apiece. Alabama finished just 8-for-22 on third and fourth down and managed 87 rushing yards on 29 carries.

Quarterback Ty Simpson went 22 of 43 for 254 yards and two touchdowns but never found rhythm as the Seminoles built a 17-7 halftime lead and never let go.

Quick hitters 

• Rare feat: Florida State's win was just its second all-time against Alabama (2-3-1), and first since 2007.
• Streak snapped: The Crimson Tide lost a season opener for the first time since 2001 against UCLA, halting a 23-game streak that had been the second-longest active in the FBS.
• Back-to-back losses: Alabama has dropped consecutive games for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. The Tide had won 18 straight games following a loss.
• DeBoer's struggle vs unranked foes: Kalen DeBoer fell to 6-4 against unranked opponents as Alabama head coach. From 2008-23, the Tide were 119-1 in such games.
• Quick turnaround: The Seminoles matched their win total through 10 games last season (1-9 start).
• Top-10 breakthrough: Florida State earned its first win over a top-10 opponent since beating No. 5 LSU in the 2023 opener, snapping a four-game skid against ranked teams.
• SEC success: It marked FSU's 17th win over an SEC team since 2000, the second-most nonconference SEC wins in that span.
• Offensive lift: Florida State's 31 points included 21 in the first half, more than it scored in any game against an FBS opponent last season.
• Historic stumble: Alabama suffered its third-worst loss to an unranked opponent while ranked in the AP top 10.
• Road streak broken: The Tide's 10-game win streak in road openers ended; the last such loss came at No. 11 Ole Miss in 2014.
• Nonconference rarity: It was just Alabama's second regular-season nonconference loss since 2008 (63-2 in that span).

[Aug 30, 2025 at 8:02 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Florida State entered the 2025 season with the oddsmakers setting a win total of 7.5 and expectations that the Seminoles would certainly bounce back from a 2-10 campaign but likely not contend for an ACC Championship. 

Throw those expectations out the window after seeing how they attacked Alabama on Saturday. 

Gus Malzahn's offense is a perfect fit for Tommy Castellanos and this re-tooled offensive front, and if they can move the ball effectively to the tune of 230 yards against Alabama's future NFL Draft picks then they can certainly have success against most ACC opponents. But perhaps even more encouraging for Florida State fans was how the defense played aggressive and attacked the Crimson Tide, frequently getting bodies to the line of scrimmage and limiting what Alabama could do in the ground game. Tony White took over a defense that did not perform to its talent level in 2024, and with the help of a couple new additions has apparently flipped the attitude that's shown on the field. If Florida State can play at the line of scrimmage like they did against Alabama, there aren't many teams in the ACC that can match that level. 

So not only is Florida State getting upgraded in terms of how many games they are going to win this fall, the Seminoles are now added to the list of teams that can win the ACC. They'll get their shot at both Clemson and Miami later this year, and thanks to Saturdays win have a good shot at contending for an at-large spot in the College Football Playoff if they finish with 10 wins. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 7:55 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

•  This is Alabama 1st ever loss in the month of August (previously 10-0)
• The 14-point loss is Alabama third-largest defeat as an AP Top-10 team. The only two larger margins of defeat as a top-10 team are from 2024 against Oklahoma (21) and 1942 against Georgia Pre-Flight (16). Kalen DeBoer now is responsible for two of the three worst losses as a top-10 team. 
• In the last 30 years, Alabama has four losses by 10+ points as a double-digit favorite heading into the game. Saturday's loss against Florida State adds to last year's Oklahoma loss as the two worst defeats (by margin) in that group. 
• This is Florida State's 1st win against Alabama since 2007 and second-ever win against the Crimson Tide. 
• Kalen DeBoer is now 6-4 against unranked opponents as Alabama's head coach. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 7:48 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Nick Saban was 158-6 as a double-digit favorite as head coach at Alabama. Kalen DeBoer has been the head coach of the Crimson Tide for 14 games, and the team is 9-5 overall with four losses as a double-digit favorite. Losing games at Alabama can be tolerated, but losing games that the team is supposed to win suggests to Crimson Tide fans that the standard is not being upheld. 

Alabama was good enough to make the College Football Playoff in 2024, but the stunning losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma — two teams that both failed to win eight games — ultimately prevented the Crimson Tide from competing for a national championship. 

Kalen DeBoer's team entered Saturday's game at Florida State objectively rated as a more talented team, in fact the Tide were rated as the No. 1 team in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. But the more talented team did not look stronger or more talented compared to a Florida State group that was fired up and ready for the moment. When talented teams fall short of expectations, as Alabama has done four times over the last 14 games, fans are going to apply real pressure on the coaching staff. 

Kalen DeBoer has one path out of this pressure-packed situation: he must win big in 2025. Defining "win big" is extremely difficult, but to lay it out simply this is a team that must respond and carve a path to the College Football Playoff. Because if late December arrives and Alabama does not have a spot in the competition for the national championship, then it has truly lost its standing among the best programs in college football. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 7:40 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

There are a ton of eerie ties from Saturday's win against Alabama to the events of the last couple seasons. It was, after all, Alabama that got the nod for the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff at the end of 2023 instead of Florida State, which was 13-0 at the time. Even though the Crimson Tide was not directly responsible for that loss, or what followed, the fact that Mike Norvell's program proceeded to lose 11 of its next 13 games after that Selection Sunday made that snub a pivot point for the Seminoles. 

One year later, Alabama found itself as the top snub from the College Football Playoff. 

Also, Florida State entered 2024 ranked inside the top-10 as it looked to rebound from the snub. The Seminoles looked awesome on their first drive of the game against Georgia Tech in Ireland but then got pushed around by a run-heavy effort from the Yellow Jackets in an upset loss. Alabama started this year ranked into the top 10 and also looked awesome on its first drive, only to get pushed around by Florida State the rest of the game in an upset loss. 

Now do we think that means Alabama is going to go 2-10 this year? No. But the cosmic ties do not bode well for Alabama's plans to have a revenge tour from last season's CFP snub.

[Aug 30, 2025 at 7:18 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Florida State has delivered the first top-10 upset of the season, handing No. 8 Alabama a stunning 31-17 loss that kickstarts a revenge tour for the Seminoles and heightens the pressure on Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide. 

Expectations that Alabama, which entered the game as a two-touchdown betting favorite, would be able to overwhelm Florida State with size and talent were dashed by an energetic effort led by new starting quarterback Tommy Castellanos and a re-tooled defense that up with key stops in the game's biggest moments. Mike Norvell re-worked his staff in the offseason by hiring Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator and Tony White as defensive coordinator, and after one game it's clear that both coaches have brought real change to a team that stunningly went 2-10 just one year ago. 

Malzahn, in particular, had Alabama's much-touted defense on its heels throughout the afternoon. With Castellanos utilizing his dual threat ability, the Tide were chasing a variety of Florida State ball carriers around the field and frequently out of position to make a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage. But Florida State didn't just have success because of play-calls or schematic tricks, because when the game was on the line in the second half it was the Seminoles getting the push they needed for short-yardage first downs and touchdowns. 

Alabama, meanwhile, finished 8-for-22 on third and fourth down combined as the Tide were forced to chase the game after going down 17-7 in the first half. New starting quarterback Ty Simpson finished 22-for-43 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, but there was a complete inability to establish the run after the first possession of the game. Alabama received the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards down the field in 16 plays and chewed up 8:50 of clock with most of that damage coming on the ground. But each of the ensuing nine possessions netted less than 40 yards total and the team finished with 87 rushing yards on 29 attempts. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 7:01 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

4Q: Florida State 31, Alabama 17

Mike Norvell elected to go for it on 4th and 1 from his own 34, and Florida State mashed Alabama at the line of scrimmage. Later in the same drive, the Seminoles ran right into the heart of the Crimson Tide defense and pushed the pile into the end zone for a touchdown. For much of this game, Florida State has been the team that is winning the wars in the trenches and that's not something that anyone expected coming into Saturday. 

It's a statement on how the Seminoles were prepared to compete, and what Alabama has to fix if it wants to avoid letting this loss define a trend of Kalen DeBoer's teams falling short as a heavy favorite. If this current result holds, it would mark the third time in the last four games that Alabama has been favored by double-digits and lost outright. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 6:43 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

4Q: Florida State 24, Alabama 17

Alabama's defense starts the fourth quarter strong with a stop and then the offense gets physical on a seven-play, 63-yard touchdown drive to finally give the Crimson Tide their first touchdown since the first possession of the game. Now the pressure is on Florida State to come up with an answer, to keep Alabama from gaining confidence in this hostile road environment. It seems as though Alabama has come up with some good adjustments to Florida State's offensive attack, but a couple first downs could quickly change the leverage in this game. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 6:28 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

END 3Q: Florida State 24, Alabama 10 

Alabama went 27 minutes of game time between scores as only a field goal was able to cut into Florida State's lead. The urgency is clearly mounting here in the second half as Alabama has tried, and failed, to convert on two different 4th downs and the defense has finally forced a pair of punts after allowing Florida State to score on all of its first half drives. But in order to mount a come back the Crimson Tide will have to find far more success than they have so far in this game, as Florida State has been firing on all cylinders and making it very difficult for Ty Simpson to find success. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 5:55 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

3Q: Florida State 24, Alabama 7

Alabama is absolutely reeling right now in Tallahassee, with very few good possessions to speak of since the opening touchdown drive. The Crimson Tide got a stop to start the second half but then turned the ball over on downs, and on the very next play Tommy Castellanos floated a pass to Jay Lucas over the heads of the Alabama defense and Lucas scampered 64 yards down the sideline. That set up a short touchdown run from Caziah Holmes, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. 

Florida State is playing with confidence and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn is absolutely cooking with the play calls for Castellanos. Any expectation that Alabama would have one of the best defenses in the country has been dashed here in Week 1, and any thought that Florida State would be a middling team in the ACC is also out the window. No matter what happens from here on out, this is a tremendous statement for both teams moving forward.

[Aug 30, 2025 at 5:14 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

HALFTIME: Florida State 17, Alabama 7 

Through 30 minutes of football, Mike Norvell's reboot in Tallahassee seems to be going better than most imagined. Florida State endured a lengthy Alabama touchdown drive on the opening possession of the game, but it's been all Seminoles ever since. New starting quarterback Tommy Castellanos has been efficient throwing the football and dangerous with his legs, showcasing how his skill set matches up perfectly with new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Florida State is running the ball effectively, keeping Alabama's defense off balance and now have a roaring home crowd on their side as they prepare to defend their lead in hopes of picking up a top-10 upset to start the 2025 campaign. 

For Alabama, the issues are mostly situational and on the defensive side of the ball. They've allowed long conversions, explosive plays and failed to establish the dominance many expected from a group that returned a several players projected to be picked in the 2026 NFL Draft. Alabama also followed up its opening drive with a missed field goal and a three-and-out, struggling to give its new starting quarterback Ty Simpson the rhythm he needs to lead a comeback effort.

[Aug 30, 2025 at 4:44 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

2Q: Florida State 14, Alabama 7 

Gus Malzahn is absolutely cooking right now, as Florida State has scored touchdowns on both of its offensive possessions and just ripped the Alabama defense for a 32-yard touchdown run. Not every play is a home run, but they've been mostly positive as the Seminoles chip away at a defense that's lacking one of its best defensive linemen in Tim Keenan. Tommy Castellanos has yet to throw an incompletion, and Florida State as a team is currently averaging 8.2 yards per rush with four different rushers (Castellanos included) contributing to the effort. 

The eight-play, 65-yard touchdown drive for Florida State comes after Alabama's second offensive possession ends in a missed field goal. Now the pressure is on Alabama to chase the game, which is a big flip from how Crimson Tide started the game trying to control the contest from the line of scrimmage. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 4:25 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Late 1Q: Alabama 7, Florida State 7

Terrific response by new starting quarterback Tommy Castellanos, leading the Seminoles down the field for a game-tying touchdown. Castellanos was a perfect 3-for-3 passing on the drive, and finished it off with a 9-yard touchdown run. When the Seminoles hired Gus Malzahn as offensive coordinator and brought in the dual-threat Castellanos from the transfer portal, that kind of balanced attack was exactly what Florida State fans were hoping to see. 

But while the balance was commendable, the score doesn't happen if Castellanos doesn't connect with Squirrel White on a 40-yard pass on 3rd-and-11 that set up the Seminoles inside the 10-yard line. The explosive play and the touchdown run has the home crowd rocking, and now Florida State has thrown a punch to prove it can hang in this heavyweight fight. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 4:07 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

1Q: Alabama 7, Florida State 0

Alabama got the opening kickoff and proceeded to string together a lengthy 16-play, 75-yard drive that took 8:50 off the clock. Quarterback Ty Simpson finished off the drive with a rollout and short pass for the score, kickstarting his time as a starter with a touchdown drive. 

Four different players ran the ball for a total of 55 yards, including a couple of runs from Simpson. Even though Alabama is without its projected starter Jam Miller (collarbone), the Crimson Tide have showcased a deep backfield of rushing options. 

The fact that Alabama is leaning on its ground game early could speak both to its confidence in what the Tide up front on the offensive line but also the importance of taking a rowdy Doak Campbell Stadium crowd out of the game. 

[Aug 30, 2025 at 3:00 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

While Florida State may find steadier footing after its offseason changes, it enters this matchup at a disadvantage in several key areas against an Alabama team motivated by last year's disappointments. The Crimson Tide hold the edge along both lines of scrimmage, at the offensive skill positions and in overall roster strength as the nation's leader in the 247Sports Team Talent ratings. Ty Simpson could have some shaky moments in his first road start, but over four quarters Alabama looks equipped to cover the number.  Pick: Alabama -13.5

[Aug 30, 2025 at 2:30 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Florida State did not sit on its laurels after falling to a 2-10 season in 2024. Instead, they quickly moved to restock the roster -- and coaching staff. Florida State reeled in the No. 6 transfer class in the country, headlined by blue-chip transfers WR Duce Robinson, DL Jayson Jenkins and OL Luke Petitbon. 

Gus Malzahn also left his head coaching position at UCF to coordinate the offense, while Tony White left a good situation at Nebraska to become defensive coordinator. This is one of the highest investment rosters in recent Florida State memory, so a no-show against the high-powered Tide would be a disaster.  

[Aug 30, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET · John Talty]

Ty Simpson is an anomaly. Perhaps even the biggest anomaly in the history of big-time quarterback recruiting. In this current era of college football, former five-star quarterbacks like Simpson just don't stay at a school this long if they aren't the starter. In fact, no five-star QB has done what Simpson has done in staying more than three seasons at one school without starting a game in the history of the 247Sports recruiting era from 2010 until now. 

Simpson is set to take over as the starting quarterback at Alabama in 2025 after waiting three years behind Jalen Milroe. In reserve duty, Simpson has only thrown 50 career passes, but his patience could shape a breakout season for Alabama.

How Ty Simpson's long, winding path to Alabama starting QB will benefit Crimson Tide in 2025

John Talty

[Aug 30, 2025 at 1:43 pm ET · Shehan Jeyarajah]

Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos has been vocal all offseason about his confidence heading into the matchup against Alabama. 

"They don't have Nick Saban to save them," Castellanos said. "I just don't see them stopping me." 

The Seminoles brought in Castellanos from Boston College after a miserable 2-10 season, along with Gus Malzahn to coordinate the offense. He threw for 1,366 yards, rushed for 194 and scored 19 total touchdowns for the Golden Eagles last season, including an upset victory against the Seminoles. 

Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos swipes Alabama ahead of Week 1 clash: 'They don't have Saban to save them'

Robby Kalland