Florida State goes to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on September 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET, in a matchup that will air nationally on ABC and brings the teams together there for the first time in nearly 52 years. Florida State enters as an 18.5-point underdog, with Alabama ranked No. 10 and protecting a home record that has made this trip especially difficult for visiting teams.
The search for this game now is about whether Florida State can answer the same questions it left hanging a week ago. The Seminoles are 1-1 and 0-1 in the ACC after a 27-24 loss to No. 19 SMU, a game in which they forced 4 turnovers but turned them into only 7 points. That kind of waste can decide a road game quickly, especially when the next opponent is Alabama in Tuscaloosa for the first time in nearly 52 years.
Alabama has looked more settled early. It is 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC after beating Kentucky 45-17, a result built on a second-half surge that erased a 17-13 halftime deficit. The Crimson Tide scored 32 unanswered points and shut out Kentucky after halftime, a reminder of how fast a game can change when one side stops giving away possessions and the other starts finishing drives.
Keelon Russell is the name tied to that comeback because he had three first-half turnovers against Kentucky before Alabama took control. That is the kind of detail Florida State has to study, because the issue is not just who played better for one half but which team can absorb mistakes without letting the game get away. Alabama’s response to last week’s opening deficit also sits against a broader backdrop: Florida State upset Alabama 31-17 last year, snapping Alabama’s 23-game season-opening win streak, yet Alabama has won 89 consecutive home games against unranked opponents dating back to 2007.
That is the friction in this matchup. Florida State knows it can beat Alabama, but it has to do it in Tuscaloosa, where Alabama is 2-0 against the Seminoles and where the home streak is still part of the setting whether Florida State is ranked or not. The next meaningful checkpoint is simple: kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, with Florida State trying to turn a familiar upset from last year into a result that travels.
