College football insider: beating Florida State is an 'absolute must' for Alabama

The Florida State football season begins with a tumultuous test against the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tallahassee on August 30. Alabama is coming off a 2024 campaign that came up just short as the Crimson Tide were the first team left out of the most recent edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP).

The Seminoles, despite the top-10 preseason ranking, produced an abysmal 2-10 record after going 13-1 the year before.

With both programs (in differing degrees) taking a step back in 2024, college football analyst for 247Sports Brad Crawford described the season opener for the Crimson Tide as an "absolute must" if 'Bama wants to return to national title contention.

An excerpt from Crawford's piece can be seen below:

"After accurately projecting Alabama to be on the outside of the postseason looking following the coaching change, the 2025 schedule offers no let up for a team that could potentially face four top 10 opponents, including a pair (Georgia, South Carolina) away from Tuscaloosa. Winning the opener and taking care of business against Wisconsin two weeks later are absolute musts for Alabama. Lose one of those matchups and the margin for error in the SEC is slim."
Brad Crawford, 247Sports.

Both teams will be sporting a new quarterback with the departures of DJ Uiagalelei and Jalen Milroe, but FSU has brought in a transfer, Thomas Castellanos, from Boston College. It is unsure who will get the nod at field general for the Crimson Tide, but head coach Kalen Deboer has a fourth-year QB in Ty Simpson on his roster.

However, Castellanos has more experience as a Division 1 starter.

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