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Florida State football's big plays, guts more than enough to upset Alabama in wild opener
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- Florida State football's big plays, guts more than enough to upset Alabama in wild opener
TALLAHASSEE — Tommy Castellanos bounded into the auditorium and let out a "Woo!" to put an exclamation point on a Saturday full of them for Florida State .
The Seminoles started their road back from last year's 2-10 record with an emphatic 31-17 upset over No. 8 Alabama at rocking Doak Campbell Stadium.
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Florida State 's offense rushed for 230 yards.
Florida State's defense had three sacks and fourth-down stops apiece.
And Florida State scored 24 straight points after allowing an opening-drive touchdown by Alabama .
After it all, Castellanos took a final knee to drain the clock and ran straight toward coach Mike Norvell for a bear hug as fans started to storm the field.
"Woo," indeed.
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"We worked our butts off from January to this very moment," linebacker Justin Cryer said. "This game didn't surprise anybody in the (locker) room. That sets the tone for how we want to play. That was not a shock to me at all. I felt confident and good going into and that was the result."
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Here is a recap of Alabama-FSU:
Tide's thorough opening drive
Alabama took the opening kickoff and didn't give it back until 6:10 remained in the first quarter. Just a thorough, well-executed, well-called opening possession by new Tide offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
The Tide drove 75 yards over 16 plays. No gain was longer than 13 yards. Alabama converted three third downs and one fourth down. On third-and-6 from the FSU 19, quarterback Ty Simpson scrambled for six yards. On the next play, he threw 11 yards to dynamic receiver Ryan Williams .
The touchdown was a 2-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to tight end Josh Cuevas, who went in motion left to right and was open when cornerback Ja'Bril Rawls bit on the play-action fake.
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FSU's answers
As the Seminoles gathered on the sideline before their opening drive, Castellanos had a message.
"The first thing I said to the guys (before the drive) was, 'Whatever happens, we have to give our defense a breather,'" he said.
The Seminoles' offense did better than just give the defense a breather. They tied the game, part of 17 straight points to take a 17-7 lead into halftime.
Big play No. 1:On the Seminoles' first drive, they had third-and-11 from the Bama 49. Receiver Squirrel White ran straight go route against true freshman cornerback Dijon Lee to gain 40 yards. On the next play, quarterback Tommy Castellanos kept it for a 9-yard touchdown run.
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Big play No. 2:On second-and-7, Castellanos froze the Bama defense with a play-fake and flipped it back to receiver Micahi Danzy on an end round to the left side. Danzy broke a tackle at the 18 and scored a 32-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 lead.
Seminoles take control
The three-play sequence early in the third quarter …
Cryer stopped Alabama running back Kevin Riley short on fourth-and-5 from Seminoles' 36. Alabama would finish 2 of 5 on fourth down in the game.
Castellanos threw 64 yards to receiver Jaylin Lucas (49 post-catch yards), who was wide open down the right sideline.
Running back Caziah Holmes scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. Florida State rushed for four touchdowns.
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Just like that: Florida State 24, Alabama 7.
Alabama's squandered chance
The Tide drove to the Florida State 15-yard line after a fourth-down penalty by the Seminoles. But then, nothing.
Dropped pass by receiver Ryan Williams, who would later leave the game with a concussion.
Ty Simpson incompletion under pressure.
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Delay of game penalty.
Sack.
Alabama kicked a 40-yard field goal to cut FSU's lead to 24-10 with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
Mistake not costly
Lucas gave Alabama hope when a punt near midfield went off his shin and was recovered by the Tide.
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Alabama was in business at the FSU 31 after Williams drew another penalty (15-yard pass interference). But again, it couldn't capitalize.
Simpson threw incomplete on second- and third-and-7. On fourth down, he got out of trouble in the pocket and could have run for the first down but instead threw inaccurately (and incomplete) to Williams.
FSU led 24-10 entering the fourth quarter.
One-possession game
Fans storm the field after Florida State upset Alabama 31-17 in Tallahassee on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.
After an FSU three-and-out, Alabama closed the lead to seven points (24-17) with 11 minutes remaining.
Cephus broke two tackles on a 27-yard catch-and-run to the FSU 33. Four plays later, Simpson found Germie Bernard (who was terrific during the entire game) for 12 yards. On the next play, receiver Rico Scott scored on a 6-yard touchdown catch, breaking a tackle attempt by FSU cornerback Ja'Bril Rawls.
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Norvell's gutsy call
His team semi-reeling, Norvell rolled the dice around the nine-minute mark. FSU faced fourth-and-1 from its 34-yard line. Knowing the momentum was with Alabama, Norvell went for it and running back Roydell Williams gained 4 yards.
Two plays later, Castellanos was stopped for no gain, but Alabama defensive tackle James Smith was penalized 15 yards for a late hit.
Two plays later, Danzy — on the same type of play he scored a touchdown on earlier – gained 26 yards on an end around.
Two plays later, running back Gavin Sawchuk scored on a 14-yard touchdown run with the help of teammates, who pushed the pile over the goal-line with 7:17 left. FSU led 31-17.
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"We wanted to be aggressive and we were," Norvell said. "Our players rose to the challenge. The coaches did an outstanding job of putting together a great plan and we wanted to be on the attack regardless of the situation.
"You saw heart (from the FSU players) and you saw a team that loves playing this game together and was physically dominant."
Tone-setting win
At the final buzzer, the FSU student section began to empty on the field, which was equal parts celebration (for Saturday) and therapy session (for last year).
"I came here for moments like these and days like these," said Castellanos, who transferred from Boston College .
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Said Norvell: "For our crowd, that was special. To be back in Doak Campbell Stadium and (at) full capacity, we felt it. It was rocking tonight."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FSU football's upset of Alabama puts awful 2024 season in rearview
