For the second straight game, Florida State was competitive against a ranked opponent. For the second straight game, Florida State lost to that ranked opponent.
After losing to SMU in Week 1, the Seminoles were unable to repeat their 2025 upset of Alabama in a 50-36 loss to the No. 10 Crimson Tide. Alabama QB Keelon Russell was the best player on the field as Florida State’s defense wasn’t able to slow down the Tide enough to give the offense a real chance in the second half.
Advertisement
Ashton Daniels cut Florida State’s lead to 43-36 with 7:27 to go. A stop would have given the Seminoles some life. Instead, Alabama went on a nine-play, 90-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock and resulted in a 20-yard TD run by Trae’shawn Brown.
Brown’s TD run was the 32nd carry by an Alabama player. The Tide rushed for 234 yards and three scores on those attempts. That’s an average of over seven yards per carry. SMU averaged five yards per rush against the Seminoles defense in Week 1.
Keelon Russell’s breakout game
Russell beat out Austin Mack in Alabama’s starting QB competition ahead of the season. Mack backed up Ty Simpson in 2025 as Russell redshirted.
Advertisement
The former five-star recruit adds a tremendous rushing threat from the quarterback position in Alabama’s offense and that was clear in his 57-yard touchdown run. Just look at the way he ran away from the Florida State defense.
He also had the best passing day of his career on Saturday. Russell was 23-of-30 passing for 320 yards and threw three scores to three different players. Russell found Lotzeir Brooks for eight catches and 101 yards, and Ryan Coleman-Williams scored his first touchdown of the season on a 46-yard catch-and-run.
Russell rebounded from a rough first half in Alabama’s Week 2 win over Kentucky and carried over that form into Saturday night. If what we’ve seen over the last three halves of football is what the Alabama offense can consistently be in 2026, then the Crimson Tide are a real contender for the SEC title.
Advertisement
What’s next for Mike Norvell?
The loss at Alabama comes just days after Florida State fired athletic director Michael Alford. FSU hired Alford in 2021 after David Coburn’s retirement as Norvell had just completed his second regular season with the Seminoles.
FSU made the decision to keep Norvell following the 2025 season after the Seminoles went 5-7. That was a three-game improvement from 2024, when FSU collapsed to 2-10 after going undefeated in the regular season.
Few coaches entered the 2026 season in a more precarious spot than Norvell did, and nothing has changed three weeks into the season. The Seminoles will be at 2-2 after Central Arkansas comes to Tallahassee in Week 4. But following that game against an FCS opponent, FSU has three straight games against ranked teams in No. 25 Virginia, No. 23 Louisville, and No. 5 Miami.
Advertisement
There’s a very real chance that FSU will be 2-5 after that Miami game on Oct. 17, no matter who is in charge of the football program. This is a team that has shown flashes of competency. But it’s also not shown it’s good enough to compete for the ACC title.
Comments
Advertisement