What a difference a season makes. The Florida State Seminoles, coming off a 2-10 season and their worst in 50 years, defeated the 8th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 31-17 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday. Gov. DeSantis, a Florida State fan, reacted to the upset after the victory.
"What a difference a year makes — great victory for the Noles!" DeSantis said.
The Seminoles, who came into the highly anticipated matchup 13 ½-point underdogs, amassed 230 total rushing yards behind new dual-threat quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who ran for 78 yards and a touchdown himself, to stun the Tide in front of more than 67,000 fans, many of whom suffered through the Noles' disastrous 2024 season.
Castellanos, a Boston College transfer, was the Eagles' starting quarterback before being benched against Syracuse by Head Coach Bill O'Brien in November 2024. He eventually left the team after his demotion and transferred to Florida State.
The Seminoles did not have a game with over 200 rushing yards in 2024. Moreover, Florida State averaged just 89.9 yards per game on the ground last season, including a paltry 2.9 yards per attempt.
Freshman Micahi Danzy, a wide receiver by trade, chipped in with 56 yards on the ground, including a 32-yard reverse with 9:13 to go in the second quarter to give the Seminoles a 14-7 lead.
Junior running backs Gavin Sawchuk and Caziah Holmes added rushing scores for the Noles, who averaged 4.7 yards per attempt on the Tide.
Castellanos also passed for 152 yards, including a 64-yard pass to junior running back Jaylin Lucas in the third quarter to set up Florida State's third touchdown of the game.
Florida State was equally impressive on defense, holding the Crimson Tide to 87 rushing yards on 29 carries. The Seminoles had 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks under first-year defensive coordinator Tony White.
Junior defensive back Earl Little Jr. also helped set the tone for Florida State's defense with nine total tackles. Little Jr. played for Alabama during the 2022 and 2023 seasons before transferring to FSU in January 2024.
So is DeSantis right?
Florida State will likely be ranked inside the top-20 after its win over the Tide, but predicting whether its victory was a flash in the pan or a fluke could take a few weeks.
The Seminoles play FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) East Texas A&M and MAC (Mid-American Conference) Kent State over their next two games, in which they will be highly favored.
A light road test against Virginia on Sept. 26, before playing in-state rival Miami the following week, could foreshadow whether the Noles are ready to compete for an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship in December and a possible spot in the College Football Playoff thereafter.
Florida State, if you ask fans, was robbed of a spot in the College Football Playoff's four-team format in 2023. A strong season, building off their win over the weekend, would leave little doubt that the Noles are one of the best twelve teams under the current format this year.
