Thomas Castellanos stands 5 feet, 11 inches tall, but he’s planted atop a mile of moxie. From that perch, the Florida State quarterback boldly boasted this summer that the Alabama Crimson Tide don’t have Nick Saban to “save them” anymore, and that Alabama’s defense didn’t stand a chance of stopping him.
He told no lies. In fact, he might have undersold it.
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Alabama had no Saban, no ferocity and none of that “hard edge” – whatever that means – that we heard about in the preseason.
Castellanos and his companions made minced meat of a defense Saban once made the most feared in the land.
I thought Castellanos had been wrong to poke the bear, but I was wrong. The bear doesn’t reside in Tuscaloosa anymore. What’s left is a 31-17 loser to Florida State.
“There’s no excuse about what happened,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said.
Truly, there isn’t any excusing this. Under DeBoer, Alabama has become a team you can talk trash to and get away with it.
I’m not prepared to author the eulogy to DeBoer’s Alabama coaching tenure, but there’s no polishing his first 14 games as Saban’s heir, either.
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The backslide in Alabama’s defense that started at the end of the Saban era slipped into freefall in this season opener.
Saban said on “College GameDay” a few hours before kickoff that he sensed “a different culture” within Alabama’s team after last year’s disappointing debut under DeBoer. His praise turned out to be fluff from a TV bobblehead.
Castellanos is right: This isn’t a fearsome Alabama defense of the Saban heyday – certainly not at the line of scrimmage.
I could underscore that DeBoer lost to a team that won two games last year, less than 11 months after he lost to Vanderbilt. But, FSU’s 2024 record isn’t particularly relevant. The Seminoles live and die by the transfer portal. Two years ago, they struck it big. Last year, they whiffed. Part of the miss came in choosing DJ Uiagalelei as quarterback.
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Castellanos corrected that problem. The Boston College transfer led the team in rushing, and he made his nine completions count.
New Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn reprised his role as the boogeyman who spooks ‘Bama.
You need more evidence that the Alabama brutality present at the peak of Saban’s prime is long gone? There’s this: Florida State outrushed Alabama 230 to 74, and the Seminoles had more than twice as many tackles for loss.
There was a theory around Alabama throughout the offseason that the team could improve without new starting quarterback Ty Simpson being a superstar in the mold of Bryce Young or Tua Tagovailoa.
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Make good decisions, avoid mistakes, put the ball on the money more times than not, and let the supporting cast take care of the rest.
That logic hinges on Simpson enjoying an excellent supporting cast.
We got a look at his supporting cast in Tallahassee. Florida State’s is better. So is its quarterback.
There’s no bear left to fear at Alabama. Just some cuddly defense that couldn’t stop a 5-foot-11 transfer quarterback from Boston College.
Here’s what else I’m eyeing after the season’s first full Saturday:
ACC pecking order needs to be reworked?
So, is Florida State the ACC favorite, after its upset victory and after Clemson failed to muster a punch in a 17-10 loss to LSU? Let’s hold off on that judgment until we see No. 10 Miami play No. 5 Notre Dame.
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If you picked unranked Florida State as your playoff sleeper, you’re looking mighty wise about now, but the schedule houses more landmines. The Seminoles will host Miami, play at Clemson and play at Florida.
At the very least, it’s a three-horse race in the ACC.
Nay, a four-horse race, because I’ll add Louisville to the mix of Florida State, Clemson and Miami. I’d consider SMU, too, except I can’t unsee what happened at Penn State eight months ago.
Julian Sayin supplies ‘smart’ first start
Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. aptly described Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin’s first career start thusly: “He played smart.”
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Can’t argue that. The redshirt freshman didn’t dazzle but also didn’t destruct while executing a conservative game plan in a 14-7 takedown of No. 1 Texas.
Sayin outdueled Arch Manning. Tell that to the grandkids.
As for Archie Manning’s grandkid, he might want to call his uncle. Peyton Manning completed a modest 7 of 14 passes for 79 yards in his first career start, although Tennessee won that game.
This wasn’t Arch Manning’s first start – he started two games last season against hapless competition – but it marked his first road start. He looked jittery against the defending national champions.
Coach Steve Sarkisian’s game plan didn’t help, either. Score one for new Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. He outfoxed Sarkisian, and Sayin outplayed Manning.
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“I just loved his composure,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said in a postgame interview on Fox.
Speaking of first career starts …
Buckeyes fans watching the New Mexico-Michigan game at a bar just outside Columbus erupted when the Lobos scored their first touchdown. After New Mexico’s second touchdown, two Ohio State fans ordered a shot. Enjoy the bourbon, but after sobering up, realize that Michigan’s true freshman Bryce Underwood played beyond his years while smoothly tossing for 251 yards and a touchdown in a 34-17 victory.
New Mexico isn’t Texas, but both Sayin and Underwood passed their first tests.
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Brian Kelly quiets critics
The sharks were circling, ready to barbecue Brian Kelly with a series of mean tweets and memes if he lost another LSU season opener. Garrett Nussmeier and a retooled LSU defense refused to allow that to happen.
The Tigers secured the most impressive Week 1 victory this side of Florida State by unleashing their meaner, smarter, faster defense on Clemson.
LSU outplayed Clemson more significantly than the score indicates, too.
Nussmeier made some big-league throws, thriving on a day when fellow Heisman Trophy frontrunners Manning and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik struggled.
This result doesn’t knock Clemson from the playoff picture. Far from it. Remember what happened after Clemson got trounced by Georgia in last season’s opener? Beating a good SEC opponent and winning the ACC are challenges of two different orders.
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But, this outcome does show Kelly made smart investments in an offseason portal raid that transformed LSU’s personnel.
Holy smokes, Joey Aguilar
I jokingly texted this to a couple of colleagues on Saturday: Auburn vs. Tennessee in the SEC Championship Game? In seriousness, Auburn and Tennessee were among the SEC’s big winners in Week 1.
Nico Iamaleava did Joey Aguilar a massive favor by transferring to UCLA. Now, Aguilar gets to play for Josh Heupel and Tennessee instead of DeShaun Foster and UCLA. Talk about a massive upgrade for Aguilar. Perhaps, Tennessee upgraded, too. Aguilar cooked Syracuse in his first game with the Vols.
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He transferred after UCLA replaced him as starter with Iamaleava. How’s that looking, Bruins?
Iamaleava, the five-star in pajama pants, threw for a meager 136 yards in a 43-10 beatdown at the hands of Utah.
Round 1 of the UCLA-Tennessee quarterback trade goes to Aguilar, and it was a mismatch.
Another key transfer in the SEC, Auburn’s Jackson Arnold, helped Hugh Freeze quiet his critics for a week in a pivotal road win at Baylor.
If Alabama stays as feeble as it looked against Florida State, then the schedules become easier for Auburn and Tennessee. Maybe, I wasn’t joking about that SEC Championship matchup.
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Three and out
1. My favorite scene from my time on the road in Week 1: I watched Lee Corso eat a couple of hot dogs with a knife and fork in the press box during the first half of the Texas-Ohio State game. Earlier, Corso made his final pick, putting on the Brutus Buckeye head, inside Ohio Stadium before kickoff on his “College GameDay” farewell. ESPN’s 90-year-old pregame show personality is retiring, but not before a final press box meal. George Costanza would approve of Corso busting out the utensils on a food item others would eat with their hands.
2. I’m not a poll voter this season. If I had a ballot, LSU would be ranked no lower than No. 3 in my voting after Week 1, with Ohio State and Penn State joining them on the podium. That LSU defense, a unit that’s struggled for years, looked quite salty against Clemson.
3. Speaking of rankings, try to convince me that Alabama should be ranked after that dud. There’s no evidence for it.
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Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama football should not be ranked after loss to Florida State
