The opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. The worst way to hurt your rival isn’t by showering hate on them, but by dismissing and disregarding them. What’s worse than being hated? Being forgotten.
Not so long ago, Florida State inspired fear and dread, those war drums heralding one of your season’s worst beatdowns. But last season, the Noles morphed from terror into terrier, plummeting from a preseason top-10 ranking into the depths of a two-win nightmare.
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It’s tough to overstate the cascade of horrors that was Florida State’s 2024 season. The Noles went 1-7 in conference play, their only win a grimy 14-9 survival against Cal. Their 2-10 record wasn’t just their worst record as a school since 1974, it marked the first time in college football history that a program ranked in the preseason top 10 posted double-digit losses. The Seminoles’ two primary rivals, Miami and Florida, more than doubled up Florida State, winning by a combined score of 67-25. The only player on the team to win a consensus All-American? Punter Alex Mastromanno. (He had plenty of opportunities to burnish his resume.)
The Noles never really recovered from missing out on the final four-team playoff even after posting an undefeated 2023 season, watching in shock as Alabama jumped them for the final spot. Head coach Mike Norvell kept his job, likely thanks to the $65 million buyout provision he secured after Nick Saban’s retirement, but most of FSU’s top coordinators lost theirs. The one-year DJ Uiagalelei rental proved ineffective; injuries limited him to five games, and he lost four of those.
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So Florida State has cleared the board. New coordinators, new quarterback, new season, new round of hopes and prayers. And they’re flying into their season-opening matchup with teeth bared and knives out, exactly the way they ought to.
New quarterback Tommy Castellanos when he told On3 that he was stoked to face Alabama in the season opener. “I dreamed of moments like this,” Castellanos said. “I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.”
Yes. Yes. That’s the good stuff there. Anything to light a fire under the moribund, 15.6-points-per-game Seminoles, a team that seemed to just give up before October last year. Plus, Alabama is a prime target for this sort of jab; outside of Florida State, the Tide have more to prove in Year 2 of the Kalen DeBoer Era than almost any other program in the country.
New Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos speaks during the ACC Football Kickoff. (Matt Kelley/Getty Images)
(Matt Kelley via Getty Images)
, Castellanos — who transferred to Florida State after losing his starting job at Boston College — was asked about his Alabama comments. He politely but firmly doubled down.
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“We stand on what I said,” Castellanos said. “But there’s no disrespect between that team or anything like that. It’s just the confidence that I have in my teammates and the way we’ve been preparing and putting this preparation together this offseason. I just feel confident in the guys and the work that we’ve been putting in.”
At the ACC Kickoff, Norvell backed Castellanos, noting that words alone won’t get the job done. “We’re not here to try to speak ourselves into a victory. We’re trying to go earn a victory. You better show up every single day, and let’s go be what we’re capable of being,” he said. “If we’ll do that, the rest will take care of itself.”
Naturally, Alabama has responded to Castellanos’ comments, largely by dismissing them as irrelevant summertime speak. But defensive lineman Tim Keenan III did offer up an ominous warning at SEC Media Days last week:
“The disrespect will be addressed.”
Still, this is exactly what Castellanos and Florida State ought to be doing. It’s the equivalent of pushing all-in with the smallest stack at the table. Chances are you’re going to get whomped — Alabama is a 13.5-point favorite right now, per BetMGM — but hey, stack a couple wins here and there and before long you’re back in the game.
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“This is the old Florida State,” Castellanos. “This is how grimy and tough we were. We wasn’t scared of nobody. We were already talking smack and always putting fear in people’s hearts. I just want to re-install what Florida State used to be and bring that standing and confidence and making people fear us.”
Nobody fears Florida State yet. But if Castellanos, Norvell and new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn can back up their attitude and their potential with a bit of fight, well … things can change fast in Tallahassee.
Between Texas-Ohio State and LSU-Clemson, August 30 will be one of the finest football Saturdays of the year. Alabama-FSU falls right between those two, and it too will be a must-watch — which isn’t something you could say about Florida State for quite awhile now.
