Seminole Stunner! FSU shocks No. 8 Alabama in season opener, 31-17

The renovations to Florida State Football this offseason went a lot further than the additional suites and chair-back seats inside Doak Campbell Stadium.

With new coordinators on both sides of the ball and nearly 50 new players on the roster, the Seminoles looked nothing Saturday like the team that struggled to a 2-10 record one year ago. And after giving up a touchdown drive on Alabama’s first possession of the game, the ‘Noles rolled the rest of the way.

Despite being two-touchdown underdogs, Florida State pulled off a stunning 31-17 victory against the No. 8-ranked Crimson Tide.

It was Alabama’s first season-opening loss in 24 years, and it will likely put a lot more heat on the seat of second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer. And it could be the beginning of a redemption season for Mike Norvell.

Florida State took a stunning 24-7 lead early in the third quarter, thanks in large part to a 64-yard pass from Tommy Castellanos to Jaylin Lucas on first-and-10 from the Seminoles’ 32-yard line. Senior running back Caziah Holmes rumbled into the end zone from 4 yards out one play later.

Alabama responded with a 40-yard field goal from Conor Talty to keep the Tide within striking distance at 24-10. Then after both teams exchanged drives with little success, Alabama went 63 yards on seven plays to cut Florida State’s lead to 24-17 with 11 minutes remaining.

But the ‘Noles responded with a 10-play touchdown march, capped off by a massive 14-yard touchdown run from Oklahoma running back transfer Gavin Sawchuk, to go ahead by 14 once again.

As improbable as it was, the victory was a major vindication for quarterback transfer Tommy Castellanos, who predicted during the summer that Alabama’s defense wouldn’t be able to stop him and Gus Malzahn’s offense.

In his first game as a Seminole, Castellanos finished with 152 through the air on 9-of-14 passing. He also rushed for 78 yards on 16 carries.

Things looked bleak for the Florida State defense on the game’s opening drive, as Alabama marched 75 yards on 16 plays and gobbled up nearly 9 minutes of game clock while taking an early 7-0 lead.

But Tony White’s group quickly settled down and didn’t allow another point in the first half.

The Seminoles’ offense, meanwhile started strong and maintained that pace through the entire first half.

With the big playing being a 40-yard pass from Castellanos to Squirrel White, Florida State went 75 yards on just seven plays to tie the score at 7-7. Castellanos sprinted into the end zone from nine yards out to finish off the scoring drive.

After the FSU defense forced a long field goal attempt, which came up short, the Seminoles went 65 yards on eight plays to take a 14-7 advantage. Redshirt freshman Micahi Danzy finished off that drive with a nifty 32-yard touchdown run.

The Seminoles then went ahead 17-7 on a 45-yard field goal from redshirt freshman kicker Jake Weinberg. That capped off a nine-play, 52-yard drive.

Florida State only had the ball four times in the first half and scored on three of them. The one they didn’t was just before halftime, when the Seminoles played it safe and ran out the clock to carry their 10-point lead into halftime.

FSU will return to action next Saturday at home against East Texas A&M.

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