With Saturday’s upset defeat at the hands of Florida State, No. 8 Alabama lost a season opener for the first time since 2001. Second-year Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer slipped to a relatively pedestrian 9-5 to begin his tenure. The program’s once-untouchable status against unranked teams is a thing of the past after some of the losses DeBoer has suffered as the heir to Nick Saban.
Former Texas A&M quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel said Alabama’s fearsome edge is gone. The frightfulness and stature of the Alabama program that helped to make his “Heisman moment” against the Crimson Tide in 2012 so legendary was a hallmark of college football for nearly two decades. But after Saban’s retirement, the gap between Alabama and the average Power Four team seems much slimmer.
“In the past, you walk in to face an Alabama team, you probably got a little fear,” Manziel said on “Nightcap” after Saturday’s game. “This is Bama, the team that’s been a dynasty. You got a little fear. That fear aspect of what Alabama is is completely gone. Ain’t nobody scared of them boys. Not Vandy. Not Kentucky. Not nobody. Nobody’s walking and seeing Alabama on the schedule and having any kind of shake, any kind of fear, nothing. They’ve been getting wiped the last couple of years.”
The Crimson Tide’s losses since DeBoer took the reins came against Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Michigan and now Florida State. The Volunteers, then No. 11, were the only ranked team of that bunch to defeat mighty Alabama. With that string of defeats in such short order, Alabama is not “Alabama” anymore.
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Not only did the loss snap a 23-game winning streak in season openers, but it also marked the first time since 2013 that Alabama lost consecutive games (the Crimson Tide dropped the ReliaQuest Bowl to end last season). The program was also 119-1 against unranked opponents from 2008-23 but is just 6-4 against them since DeBoer’s arrival.
Florida State had its way with the Crimson Tide defense in Week 1, and it all started with transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos, who excelled in his debut in the Gus Malzahn offense. The dual-threat weapon, after letting his intentions be known with his offseason trash talk, dissected Alabama with a sharp 9-of-14 passing effort for 152 yards and an additional 78 yards and a score with his legs.
“Castellanos for Florida State jumped off the page in every aspect of everything,” Manziel said. “You look at what they did — he only threw the ball nine times. That’s super effective to be able to go put 31 points up and you’re only 9-of-14 for 152. That’s efficient.”
Alabama seeks to rebound and keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive next week when it hosts ULM for its home opener.
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