Florida State defeated Alabama 31-17 on Saturday evening in Tallahassee.
It’s a stunning result for the Crimson Tide, who were favored by as many as 14 points in the betting markets before kickoff. Alabama took an early 7-0 lead in this game following its first drive of the game, but FSU controlled the game on both ends on the field from that point on.
FSU took a 17-7 lead into halftime and then built on its advantage in the second half. Thomas Castellanos was excellent as he threw for 152 yards on just 14 attempts.
Florida State’s running game, engineered by offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, was the difference. FSU averaged nearly 5 yards per carry and generated 7 rushes for 10+ yards.
For Alabama, this is a damaging loss that will add more pressure to head coach Kalen DeBoer as he continues his second season as head coach. The Crimson Tide have College Football Playoff expectations this fall, but now have very little margin-for-error if they’re going to get there in 2025.
Florida State 31, Alabama 17
Here’s the Alabama-Florida State box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Ty Simpson vs. Thomas Castellanos
Here’s a statistical breakdown of the quarterbacks in this matchup:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
