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.
“It’s one of the reasons why I came here, for moments like these, for days like these,” Castellanos said. “We got a long season ahead. Just take it one week at a time, keep grinding.”
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.
DeBoer fell to 6-4 against unranked teams at Alabama; Saban went 124-4 in such games.
“I choose to believe we got a good football team,” DeBoer said. “But we can’t play on our heels. We’re not going to be what we think we can be, what we want to be, if that’s the case.”
Alabama couldn’t solve Florida State’s defense, finishing with 87 rushing yards on 29 carries.
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.
“We wanted to be the aggressor,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “And we were. Our players, they rose to the challenge.”
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.
Poll implications
Alabama will undoubtedly tumble in the rankings. Florida State received votes in the preseason poll and could move into the AP Top 25.
Fourth-down stops
Florida State held Alabama to just 6 of 17 on third-down conversions. The Seminoles also made three stops on fourth down, the final one coming with 5:39 to go.
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 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.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
