On Saturday, the Florida State Seminoles shocked the college football world by picking up a huge home win over the Alabama Crimson Tide to kick off their 2025 season. It was a stark contrast from the brutal start that Florida State got out to a season ago, and it also allowed the Seminoles to exact some revenge on a Crimson Tide team that many people feel unfairly took Florida State's spot in the 2023 playoffs.
After the game, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell had nothing but praise for both his players and the fans in attendance in Tallahassee.
“Being back in Doak Campbell full capacity, I mean, we felt it. The marching Chiefs, it was rocking tonight,” Norvell said, per Brian Schaible of The Sporting News. “It was incredible. That’s why you do this and why you come to Florida State. It is the people that make the place.”
Norvell also spoke on the intensity with which his team played throughout the afternoon.
“We wanted to be the aggressor and we were, and our players rose to the challenge,” Norvell said. “I thought you saw a great heart. We’ve talked all year and I’ve used the buzzwords of edge and desperation. Well, that comes from the heart, and you saw heart tonight.”
A huge win for Florida State
Many eyebrows were raised when new Florida State football quarterback Thomas Costellanos took repeated jabs at the Alabama football program heading into the season, claiming that they were not the same team that they were win Nick Saban was patrolling the sidelines.
That certainly looked to be exactly the case on Saturday, as Florida State overcame an early 7-0 deficit to score 24 unanswered points, and eventually coasted to a comfortable 31-17 victory over the Crimson Tide. The raucous home crowd certainly seemed to have a big effect on Alabama throughout the day.
The Seminoles now have half of their win total from a season ago, and will look to build on the momentum with (seemingly) easier matchups over the next couple of weeks against East Texas A&M and Kent State before conference play gets underway.
