Top-10 Upset: Alabama becomes second top-ranked SEC squad to lose during Week 1
By Mark Kern
Published:
Top-10 teams across college football are off to a tough start, especially when it comes to the SEC. The No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns started the day with a 14-7 loss to Ohio State in which the offense was able to muster only 1 touchdown, and that was late in the game.
It got worse for the conference, as Kalen DeBoer and No. 8 Alabama went and got dominated in a 31-17 loss to the unranked Florida State Seminoles.
The Crimson Tide entered year 2 with DeBoer with high expectations and pressure. The team finished last season with a 9-4 record, which was the first time that Alabama failed to win at least 10 games in 17 seasons while also failing to make it to the College Football Playoff.
All offseason had been about the team bouncing back and being the Alabama of old, but it was a tough day against the fired up Seminoles.
Led by first-year starter Ty Simpson, the Crimson Tide marched right down the field to take a quick 7-0 lead. However, that unit really struggled the rest of the day, with the rushing attack failing to dominate the line of scrimmage. Alabama rushed the ball 29 times for only 74 yards. Simpson finished 23-of-43 with 254 yards and 2 touchdowns, but a lot of those numbers came late in the game.
The defense also really struggled at the line of scrimmage, as Florida State rushed 49 times for 230 yards and 4 touchdowns. Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos said all offseason that Alabama wouldn’t be able to stop him, and he delivered on Saturday.
For Alabama, the heat from the fans and media is going to get extremely high. The Crimson Tide will be back in action next week at home against Louisiana-Monroe.
