All offseason long, Florida State football and quarterback Tommy Castellanos have been asking for it from Alabama. The Boston College transfer has been chirping the Crimson Tide all summer long in the lead-in to their season-opening clash on Saturday in Tallahassee, and the Seminoles backed it up.
Florida State came out in the 2025 opener and walked all over the heavily-favored Crimson Tide, running away with a dominant 31-17 victory that could have been even worse if the Noles kept their foot on the gas throughout the second half. It was likely the most stunning result of the opening Saturday in college football, and Castellanos is still talking.
One of the most notable things that Castellanos said during the offseason was that Alabama is not the same without Nick Saban as head coach.
“They don’t have Nick Saban to save them,” he said during the offseason. “I just don’t see them stopping me.”
After the game on Saturday, he released T-shirts for sale that say “Nick Can't Save Them” with the 31-17 score on the front, via Pete Nakos of On3 Sports.
Castellanos struggled at times last season at Boston College and didn't make it through the full season as the starter, but he seems to have found a home at Florida State. Mike Norvell and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn crafted the perfect game plan to take advantage of his strengths on Saturday, and he diced up the Alabama defense on the ground.
Castellanos didn't get a ton done through the air, completing just 9-of-14 passes for 152 yards on a rainy day down in Florida. However, he also led the team in both carries and yards on the ground, toting the rock 16 times for 78 yards and a touchdown while leading the way for a 236-yard rushing day for the Seminoles.
Perhaps the more impressive part of Florida State's win was the defense, which shut Alabama down for much of the day after giving up a touchdown on the opening drive of the afternoon. The Tide ran for just 87 yards on 29 carries as a team as Norvell and company won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball throughout the day.
Florida State already looks much more complete than it was last year when it went just 2-10 in one of the most stunning seasons in recent memory. Now, however, the Seminoles are looking like they are back in business in 2025.
