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Florida State's Upset of No. 8 Alabama Leaves College Football World Stunned
The Florida State Seminoles went 2-10 a year ago, putting head coach Mike Norvell squarely on the hot seat entering 2025.
Norvell brought in Tony White at defensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn at offensive coordinator and transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos to help flip the script.
Flipping the script got off to a great start on Saturday, as Castellanos and Co. upset No. 8 Alabama 31-17 in one of the surprises of Week 1.
Kalen DeBoer has already tallied as many losses to unranked opponents in 14 games (four) as Nick Saban did in his 17 years with the Crimson Tide.
Perhaps college football fans should have seen this coming, but Saturday's upset left the sport's fans stunned.
Tommy Castellanos called his shot against Alabama and backed it up. Legendary day. pic.twitter.com/CoKDO72F2D
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) August 30, 2025
This Alabama team is soft in a way I can't ever remember seeing under Saban. Just a pitiful performance after all the offseason hype billowing out of Tuscaloosa.
— John Talty (@JTalty) August 30, 2025
You know if you leave Alabama out of the playoff they’re gonna stop scheduling tough non-conference opponents
— Lucy Rohden (@lucy_rohden) August 30, 2025
College football fans watching Alabama get dog walked pic.twitter.com/1wG1ceGJTE
— PokeNation (@Big12Pokes) August 30, 2025
How it feels watching Alabama suffer pic.twitter.com/GYGVBhabHE
— Holland Beck (@hollaa_backk) August 30, 2025
Alabama looks slow and overpowered. That was rare under Saban. But they also look undisciplined and unprepared. And that *never* happened under Saban.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) August 30, 2025
The Crimson Tide will try to get back in the win column next Saturday against Louisiana Monroe, while the Seminoles will host East Texas A&M.
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Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.