Mike Norvell believes win over Alabama 'opened some eyes' to Florida State football

Florida State made one of the biggest statements in all of college football’s opening weekend by taking down No. 8 Alabama 31-17 in Tallahassee. The Seminoles rattled off 24 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0 and won comfortably, completely wiping off the stigma of last season’s 2-10 record (worst in program history).

Thanks to its big win, Florida State jumped from unranked to No. 14 in this week’s AP Poll and has suddenly emerged as one of the contenders in the ACC alongside No. 4 Miami and No. 8 Clemson. FSU head coach Mike Norvell revealed on Thursday that he believes the win over the Crimson Tide truly ‘opened some eyes’ to how good his Seminole team really is.

Norvell says win ‘opened some eyes’ around the sport

“I think it opened some eyes,” Norvell said. “What I like is the ones that beforehand had seen some of the process, whether it was the spring or summer or whenever they were here. The confidence that they had in what this could be and just obviously the way we performed in the first game. That’s really all that has been accomplished is the first game. We gotta continue to be all that we are as a team and it definitely shocked some. There’s been some phone calls that have been made and some phone calls that have been received.

“I’m excited about continued progression because you can hear a lot of it with new faces, new coaches and new players. One of the things that the guys liked was that they saw a lot of freshmen. They got a chance to go in because they were prepared and ready to play early and as a recruit you want to be able to go to a place that you have a chance to make an impact. The guys came in and earned that and I think they saw it all.”

Castellanos fueled Florida State victory with swagger and poise

Boston College transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos had a huge game for Florida State in his program debut. He completed 9-of-14 passes for 152 yards in the air, but made his mark on the ground with 16 carries for 78 yards and a touchdown as part of a high-powered Seminoles rushing attack under new coordinator Gus Malzahn.

Asked about Castellanos’ performance, Norvell said it was emblematic of the way the whole team played. Florida State got it done in all three phases, which shows the payoff of the work the program put in over the offseason.

“It was a complete team victory, and that’s what I love,” Norvell said postgame. “Offense, defense, they showed up big. … That’s what this game is all about. That’s how we train, that’s how we work. They were there for each other and just did a great job together.”

Alabama looked to impose its will on offense with the ground game, but the Florida State defense held strong as well. The Crimson Tide totaled just 87 rushing yards while Ty Simpson completed 23-of-43 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in the air. FSU, meanwhile, totaled 230 rushing yards on the ground – led by the 78 from Castellanos and 56 yards on three carries from Micahi Danzy.

The Seminoles opened the season strong and will look to parlay that performance into another dominant win over East Texas A&M on Saturday. Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM ET on ACC Network.