ESPN analyst has Florida State vs. Alabama circled on the calander in 2025

Along with Miami and Notre Dame, Florida State’s matchup with Alabama could carry major implications.

Sep 21, 2024; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell before a game against the California Golden Bears at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images | Melina Myers-Imagn Images

The Florida State Seminoles are slated to face off against Alabama for the first half of a home-and-home series to start the year. The Crimson Tide will travel to Tallahassee, Florida, on August 30, and a lot of eyes will be on the clash between the two historic programs.

One of those sets of eyes will be ESPN's Andrea Adelson during the Week 1 matchup. When asked what game she was most excited about ahead of the 2025 season, Adelson chose both Alabama against FSU and Miami vs. Notre Dame.

"Can I pick two? On the same weekend? Because my ultimate dream road trip in Week 1 begins in Tallahassee for the Alabama-Florida State game, then a seven-hour drive south to Miami to watch Notre Dame take on the Hurricanes," Adelson wrote. "Both these games have fairly important significance. Though Alabama slipped a little and Florida State slipped a lot in 2024, potentially taking some luster away from this game, this is a huge one for both programs."

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Adelson is right. Both teams have a lot to prove. However, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer seems to have a little more wiggle room than Norvell, depending on how you look at it, given that he is in year two at the helm. But, he is also taking the reigns of a program with fans and donors just or, if not more, as ravenous and impatient as the ones in garnet and gold.

Members of the Florida State Seminoles football team and fans celebrate the team s victory over the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Fsu V Uf Second Half1187 | Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

"Was a 9-4 mark in Year 1 under Kalen DeBoer a sign that he might not be the long-term answer, or was it just a byproduct of installing his system and culture at a place Nick Saban made into the model college program? Was 2-10 a sign Florida State and Mike Norvell cannot sustain a high level of success?"

This matchup has multiple layers. It was rumored that FSU head coach Mike Norvell was sought after for the lead role in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before the hiring of DeBoer after Nick Saban retired. Alabama currently holds a 3-1-1 record in the series, and a win for either side could have major implications for the 2025 season and both coaches moving forward.

The last time Florida State beat Alabama was in 2007, 21-14. When you witness the relentless clamoring of Alabama fans yelling at the Golden Corral for their dinner rolls (dinner roll tide?), echoing the week before the game, just know it’s setting the stage for a night to remember inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

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READ MORE: four-star 6-foot-9 offensive tackle Chastan Brown commits to Florida State

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