TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.
Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.
Students and fans swarmed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate the upset by the Seminoles, who were 13 1/2-point underdogs according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn’s head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.
The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.
DeBoer fell to 6-4 against unranked teams at Alabama; Saban went 124-4 in such games.
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Alabama couldn’t solve Florida State’s defense, finishing with 87 rushing yards on 29 carries. Florida State halted Alabama three times on fourth down, the final time coming with 5:39 to go.
Castellanos, a Boston College transfer, had 16 carries while no one else had more than seven rushing attempts for the Seminoles. He also completed 9 of 14 passes for 152 yards as Florida State defeated its first ranked opponent since knocking off No. 19 Louisville in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
Micahi Danzy, Caziah Holmes and Gavin Sawchuk also had rushing touchdowns for Florida State.
Ty Simpson completed 23 of 43 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in his Alabama debut. Germie Bernard led Alabama with eight catches for 146 yards.
The takeaway
Alabama: The Crimson Tide scored on an opening drive that went 8 minutes, 50 seconds, but struggled to sustain drives the rest of the afternoon.
Florida State: The Seminoles bounced back on a big stage as coach Mike Norvell began his sixth season by picking up a fifth win over a Southeastern Conference team.
Up next
Alabama hosts Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.
Florida State hosts East Texas A&M next Saturday.
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