In the aftermath of the Alabama loss 31-17 to FSU on Saturday, the fanbase and the Bamateurs are reeling as the team started the season the wrong way. Step 1 of 12 steps went the wrong way. Given the loss, we are going to have a Festivus moment and have an airing of our football grievances. 1. How bad is the defense – cannot stop a running game anchored by a dual threat QB. Felt like a repeat of Vanderbilt and Oklahoma game. The swarm defense looked like a confused swarm of bees. Could not stop the RPO/Option game. 2. Failure to alter the defensive scheme and give multiple looks to confuse the QB and the offense. 3. No adjustments made at halftime. No lessons learned from the losses to Vandy and Oklahoma. 4. And guess what, we will see dual threat QB’s again this season. 5. Gunner Stockton can run. Diego Pavia, Bo Pribeuala can run. Joey Aguilar, Lanorris Sellers, John Mateer can run, and Jackson Arnold. 6. Offense abandoned the run after the first series. Too much passing. 7. Had one great drive and then never went back to the mentality of let’s get 3 to 6 yds per play. 8. Interior D-line 9. O-line after the first drive 10. Penalties 11. Kicking game 12. Failure to play assignment football Ten plays that determined Alabama’s fate and the outcome on Saturday 1. Bama leading 7-0 in 1st Q. 3rd & 11 on Bama 49 yd line. Stats Bama 6 for 17 on 3rd down Bama 87 yds rushing on offense Bama gave up 230 yds rushing to FSU Penalties 8 for 70 yds Silver Lining Germie Bernard Ty Simpson no turnovers and 2 TD passes and 250 yd passing Still have a talented roster Still have 11 games to go. Cannot play a whole lot worse

New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide's streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.

Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn's head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.

The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.

DeBoer fell to 6-4 against unranked teams at Alabama; Saban went 124-4 in such games.

Alabama couldn't solve Florida State's defense, finishing with 87 rushing yards on 29 carries. Florida State halted Alabama three times on fourth down, the final time coming with 5:39 to go.

Castellanos, a Boston College transfer, had 16 carries while no one else had more than seven rushing attempts for the Seminoles. He also completed 9 of 14 passes for 152 yards as Florida State defeated its first ranked opponent since knocking off No. 19 Louisville in the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Micahi Danzy, Caziah Holmes and Gavin Sawchuk also had rushing touchdowns for Florida State.

Ty Simpson completed 23 of 43 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns in his Alabama debut. Germie Bernard led Alabama with eight catches for 146 yards.

The takeaway

Alabama: The Crimson Tide scored on an opening drive that went 8 minutes, 50 seconds, but struggled to sustain drives the rest of the afternoon.

Florida State: The Seminoles bounced back on a big stage as coach Mike Norvell began his sixth season by picking up a fifth win over a Southeastern Conference team.

Up next

Alabama hosts Louisiana-Monroe next Saturday.

Clay Hall

Clay’s history and background, Long time sports broadcaster, sports commentator, and sports reporter in Columbus, Ohio. Worked with ABC affiliate and Fox Affiliate in Columbus as the sports director. Been part of the Ohio State radio broadcast team

Recently retired as sports director, but not retired from being active in the sports talk space as he is now part of the podcasting universe.

Clay is in the know for Ohio State football and all things Ohio State sports

Preview of Ohio State Texas

Julian Sayin vs Arch - QB

Ryan Day vs Sark - coaching

Roster changes at Ohio State

Lost 14 players to the draft in 2025

O-Line for OSU

Defense for OSU

Younger roster this year

Led by Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith

Keys for Ohio State to win

Why Ohio State will win

Why Texas can win

Which team is better? 2014-2015 team or 2024-2025 team? Why?

Ohio State win over Bama in 2015 on the way to the natty

Ezekial Elliott, Terry McLaurin, Devon Smith, Joey Bosa, and Cardale Jones

Bama 21-6 led and then Ohio State rolled

Bama QB Blake Sims three 2nd half Interceptions

Ohio State loss to Bama in 2021 as Bama won the natty 52-24 – loaded Bama team

Best Ohio State team not to win a natty in the last 30 years – CJ Stroud team that lost to Georgia?

Prediction