FSU Football's New Offensive Line Combination Shows Promise In Loss To Alabama

The Florida State Seminoles made their first significant change on offense leading up to the road game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

After starting the same five up front in a win over New Mexico State and a loss to SMU, the Seminoles chose to switch things up.

The coaching staff flexed fifth-year senior Nate Pabst out to right tackle from right guard, inserting sophomore Paul Bowling in his place. The move sent senior Chimdia Nwaiwu to the sidelines.

Nwaiwu had previously been benched in the third quarter against SMU, and was replaced by Bowling at that time.

The Seminoles ended up setting a single-season high for points (36) and total yards (471) in a single game.

Head coach Mike Norvell reviewed the performance on Monday.

Good And Bad From FSU's New Offensive Line Combo

Sep 19, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels (14) runs against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Going into the matchup against the Crimson Tide, this was obviously going to be a tough test for Florida State.

Alabama only allowed 27 total points and 67 total rushing yards in its first two games, while racking up 12 tackles for loss and 7 sacks.

The Seminoles finished the contest with 94 rushing yards and 3 scores on the ground. Running back Ousmane Kromah averaged 4.7 yards per attempt on 17 carries.

"I thought they did some good things. There was obviously some bad plays that showed up. But that was a talented defensive front. That was a talented defense in general," Norvell said.

"You look at what they had done in the first couple of games, and obviously, as you just turn on film and you see the talent and ability those guys had, I thought our guys battled," Norvell added. "I thought there was good communication."

Though quarterback Ashton Daniels was sacked three times, he had an average of 3.81 seconds of time to throw on his dropbacks, his highest of the season through three games.

The Seminoles also produced a trio of 10+ yard rushing plays, including a 27-yard run by Ousmane Kromah. The electric sophomore nearly broke another big play, but the Alabama defender did just enough to prevent a potential touchdown.

"They were able to give Ashton (Daniels) time for the most part, as well as create some run seams. We had one explosive run in the game, really close to hitting another huge, huge play, but, it was close. I thought we were efficient in the run game," Norvell said. "We want to be better, but we thought we were efficient in our run game, that really opened up some opportunities there down the field."

While there were some positive takeaways, left tackle Xavier Chaplin did have two crucial false starts in the second half.

Chaplin's penalties backed Florida State up on third down.

"I thought those guys battled. We had two false start penalties that you can't have, those were kind of critical situations," Norvell said. "But as a whole, I thought the O-line and tight ends, running backs, I mean, just the whole combination of what they were able to put together was good work."

The Seminoles will likely roll with the same combination in Week 4.

Florida State hosts Central Arkansas on Saturday, September 26. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

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