Florida State's Upset of No. 8 Alabama Leaves College Football World Stunned

The Florida State Seminoles went 2-10 a year ago, putting head coach Mike Norvell squarely on the hot seat entering 2025.

Norvell brought in Tony White at defensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn at offensive coordinator and transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos to help flip the script.

Flipping the script got off to a great start on Saturday, as Castellanos and Co. upset No. 8 Alabama 31-17 in one of the surprises of Week 1.

Kalen DeBoer has already tallied as many losses to unranked opponents in 14 games (four) as Nick Saban did in his 17 years with the Crimson Tide.

Perhaps college football fans should have seen this coming, but Saturday's upset left the sport's fans stunned.

Tommy Castellanos called his shot against Alabama and backed it up. Legendary day. pic.twitter.com/CoKDO72F2D
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) August 30, 2025

This Alabama team is soft in a way I can't ever remember seeing under Saban. Just a pitiful performance after all the offseason hype billowing out of Tuscaloosa.
— John Talty (@JTalty) August 30, 2025

You know if you leave Alabama out of the playoff they’re gonna stop scheduling tough non-conference opponents
— Lucy Rohden (@lucy_rohden) August 30, 2025

College football fans watching Alabama get dog walked pic.twitter.com/1wG1ceGJTE
— PokeNation (@Big12Pokes) August 30, 2025

How it feels watching Alabama suffer pic.twitter.com/GYGVBhabHE
— Holland Beck (@hollaa_backk) August 30, 2025

Alabama looks slow and overpowered. That was rare under Saban. But they also look undisciplined and unprepared. And that *never* happened under Saban.
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) August 30, 2025

The Crimson Tide will try to get back in the win column next Saturday against Louisiana Monroe, while the Seminoles will host East Texas A&M.