Florida State University is set to continue its three-game homestand on Saturday as it faces East Texas A&M.
In their season opener, FSU achieved a significant victory over No. 8 Alabama, winning 31-17 at the newly renovated Doak Campbell Stadium. This win not only ended Alabama’s remarkable streak of 23 consecutive season-opening victories, the second-longest active streak in the nation, but also marked the largest defeat for the Crimson Tide in a season opener since 1970. Additionally, it represented Alabama’s largest margin of loss in any regular season non-conference game since 2000.
Florida State, which previously trounced No. 5 LSU with a score of 45-24, stands out as the only non-SEC team to claim multiple regular season victories against top-10 SEC opponents in the 2023 season. Notably, the only other non-conference losses suffered by top-10 SEC teams this year were by No. 3 Alabama to No. 11 Texas and No. 1 Texas against No. 3 Ohio State.
Head coach Mike Norvell has distinguished himself as the only coach with multiple regular season non-conference wins against top-10 SEC opponents since 2016. Over the past decade, FSU’s nine regular-season non-conference wins against SEC teams rank second in the nation. Notably, Norvell has notched six wins against SEC teams since 2016, placing him second for non-conference victories in that timeframe.
Florida State has been instrumental in both of Alabama’s regular season non-conference losses outside of Tuscaloosa since 2004 and has ended Alabama’s nine-game winning streak against ACC opponents. The last time Alabama experienced a regular season loss against an ACC team was on 2007 when FSU won 21-14 in Jacksonville.
In their inaugural game of the season, the Seminoles showcased a formidable rushing attack, amassing 230 yards against Alabama. This marks the highest rushing yardage for FSU in a game against a top-10 opponent since they gained 264 yards against No. 9 Notre Dame in their 2021 season opener. It was also only the 10th occurrence since 2013 where a team surpassed 230 rushing yards against the Crimson Tide.
Florida State’s offense proved efficient, scoring on five of their eight offensive drives that did not originate from end-of-half situations, including the first three drives that built a 17-7 halftime lead. This lead was the most significant for an Alabama opponent at halftime since No. 17 Tennessee held a 20-7 advantage in 2023, a game that Alabama ultimately won 34-20.
Defensively, the Seminoles limited Alabama to just 87 rushing yards, the fewest allowed by the Crimson Tide in a season opener since 1975. After yielding 55 rushing yards on Alabama’s first drive, FSU’s defense remarkably restricted the Tide to only 32 yards on 17 carries, averaging just 1.88 yards per carry for the remainder of the game.
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has a proven track record, with his offenses averaging 447.4 yards per game throughout his 19-plus years in coaching roles.
