Week 1 of the 2025 college football season is finally here. Week 0 action was a good appetizer, but now it’s time for the real major matchups to begin. Alabama vs. Florida State is just one of many great games that kick off what should be a phenomenal weekend, but this one shines as a fun grudge match thanks to some spicy offseason quotes.

Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles are just two seasons removed from going undefeated, but coming off an unimaginably disappointing 2-10 record in 2024 need to prove they compete once again. Their extremely confident Tommy Castellanos certainly believes that Florida State should have no problem beating Alabama now that, as he says, “Nick Saban isn’t there to save them.” But will that actually be the case?

Alabama returns one of the most talented rosters in the country with over a half dozen players expected be day one or two NFL Draft picks next spring. Head coach Kalen DeBoer brought in his former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb to get the offense back where it needs to be. However, there are rightfully questions about new starting quarterback Ty Simpson.

Heading into this epic Week 1 matchup between teams with recent hatred towards one another, media members of A to Z Sports who cover both teams decided to weigh in, sharing their predictions for how this game should play out. Who will win? The picks are in. Enjoy!

Alabama 30, Florida State 17

All that new starting quarterback Ty Simpson has to do in this game is keep the offense on schedule. He’s not likely going to flash as a special dynamic passing talent (maybe ever), but he’s waited his turn, learned Kalen DeBoer’s system and has plenty of offensive weapons to target. Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard both return as Alabama’s first and second options at wide receiver, but there’s much more than just that. The Tide also added Isaiah Horton from Miami who should be their go-to chain mover and red zone threat. The depth behind that trio of receivers is impressive too, and the running back room should be able to run four players deep even with Jam Miller banged up.

Florida State’s offense could surprise with their completely revamped skill position groups and Tommy Castellanos offering some dual threat ability at quarterback. Duce Robinson (USC), Squirrel White (Tennessee), Jayvan Boggs (true freshman), and Randy Pittman Jr. (TE from UCF) look like a pretty good quartet of targets for the Seminoles, but the chemistry might not quite be there yet in Week 1. Alabama’s smothering defense should do more than enough to keep Florida State contained completely (at least this week), perhaps giving up only one or zero touchdowns before junk time. – Travis May

Alabama 34, Florida State 17

At this point, we really don’t know what to expect from Florida State. The amount of turnover across the offense, defense, and coordinators makes this one of the biggest wildcard teams in college football, but we do expect them to be much improved compared to the 2-10 team a season ago. Between that and this matchup being in Tallahassee, Alabama could struggle early as it breaks in a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator.

With that being said, the QB-play-caller marriage should be more aligned than what we saw from Jalen Milroe and Nick Sheridan in 2024. And with Kane Wommack now entering year two as the defensive coordinator and a majority of the starters back on defense, we’re expecting a massive step forward from that side of the football. If they can limit the rushing production from Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos, it could be a long day for the Seminoles on offense.

I can see Alabama getting off to somewhat of a slow start, and possibly even an early deficit if new Florida State OC Gus Malzahn continues his innovative tendencies against his former school’s top rival. But in the end, the Crimson Tide have too much talent on both sides of the football. Once Ryan Grubb and Ty Simpson get into a rhythm offensively, the Seminoles will have a tough time keeping up despite the home field advantage. – Clint Lamb

Alabama 27, Florida State 21

When you look at a game like this, it’s pretty hard to predict what is going to happen. You have a team in Florida State where just nine of their likely starters for Week 1 (on both sides of the ball combined) were on this team last season. The rest of the starters are either transfers or freshmen. Then, with Alabama, they have a new quarterback, and they lost quite a few people to the NFL Draft. However, you can look at both teams and see they have nearly no questions at all with the size, skill, and athleticism in the trenches. FSU has two defensive linemen over 300 pounds in their two-deep with decent pass rushing chops. Alabama always has some of the best talent you can get on both the offense and defensive line.

Yet, with all of that said, I truly think Florida State has put together a team and a roster that is going to compete with some of the best teams in college football. However, because of the new coaching staff, this team will struggle to close out games–at least early on as things gel. In this one, Alabama wins, but FSU keeps it close. – Justin Churchill

Alabama 31, Florida State 13

I’m not nearly as high on Alabama as most of the country seems to be, even though it’s inarguably set to benefit from bringing so much defensive talent back from 2024. The offense has major concerns after losing Jalen Milroe and failing to add any notable stars in the transfer portal. Kalen DeBoer has to get his passing game into a better rhythm with Ty Simpson, and a big part of that will be jumpstarting a rushing attack that was lackluster far too often last fall.

Still, I think it’s enough to overwhelm a Florida State roster that is almost completely made up of transfers. Being so reliant on transfer additions usually points to a roster lacking depth and physicality because these are players who weren’t in blue blood weight rooms over the last few years. With at least nine new starters on offense and a risk-prone quarterback at the helm, the Seminoles will hand this game to Alabama on a silver platter. – Ian Valentino

Alabama 40, Florida State 17

This is a game between two proud programs on the opposite ends of the current food chain getting an early test to see where things stand in crucial seasons for both. Florida State is transfer heavy this year at the top of its depth chart. Not ideal, but at least there will be experience at some key spots, including Thomas Castellanos at QB, which should be a big upgrade from last year’s total mess.

Alabama comes in with plenty of early season hype and looks to return to their usual Airbnb-booked annual College Football Playoff spot after falling just short last season. How well that goes depends in substantial part on how well new starting QB Ty Simpson looks, and if Ryan Williams can take another step in his development (and potentially rival Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith as the best skill position player in the country).

However, I don’t think Alabama fans will have to worry too much on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide is significantly better on both sides of the line of scrimmage, and they’ll pound away at the Seminoles’ remade defensive front with an effective run game, even with Jam Miller on the shelf. Thomas Castellanos will have some “ooh-ahh” moments, but this will be a workmanlike trip as Alabama looks much like they did before 2024, while FSU looks just like they did in 2024. – Craig Smith

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This game looks like it may actually end up being a bit of a blowout according to our A to Z Sports staff. On average, our team predicts that Alabama will win 31-17 over Florida State. Hopefully it’s at least a good game for a while.

We’ll be back with more Alabama & Florida State coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!