Dec 31, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer looks on against the Michigan Wolverines in the third quarter during the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Alabama's Kalen DeBoer explains why it's difficult to prepare for FSU football

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Robert Malcolm | Last updated Aug 24, 2025 3:30 PM ET

The Florida State 2025 season kicks off in less than a week, and with the Seminoles hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time, this is the perfect opportunity for Mike Norvell to put his program back into the spotlight after a disappointing 2024 season.

While the Seminoles are coming off a down year, the Crimson Tide comes into 2025 as one of the hottest teams in the country, landing the No. 8 spot in the preseason AP Poll after going 9-4 in 2024 with a loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

As Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer enters his second season in Tuscaloosa, a win to start the season would give the program some much-needed momentum following the worst season for the Tide in nearly two decades.

How Is DeBoer Evaluating Florida State?

With new offensive and defensive coordinators, four new position coaches, a plethora of new staff additions, and a roster overhaul, it's safe to say that, regardless of how FSU performs on August 30th, the team will be different.

Earlier in the week, DeBoer addressed the difficulty of evaluating FSU, highlighting the different kinds of film he is looking at to prepare.

"When you walk in from my shoes, you walk into the offense and defense and special teams, especially offense and defense, and you see a lot of different film being shown for different reasons," DeBoer said to the media earlier this week. "Personnel, scheme, what they were last year, and then the same thing on offense, more scheme, and what they were a year ago as far as their talent returning."

Despite the lack of film that this year's Florida State lineup has as a single unit, DeBoer emphasized that his team will still play Alabama football, regardless of what the Seminoles may bring to the table.

"So, there is a lot, but you've got to make sure you're not chasing ghosts and keep things simple for us, and we can do what we can do and will. We have enough stuff that we see from each side of the ball that we see a lot of variations of our offense, we see a lot of variations from our defense," DeBoer said.

"But there are certainly things that we expect that are different than what we do on offense and defense," DeBoer added. "Whether it's the style of quarterback that they have or what they do defensively, as a system, there certainly are some differences so we've got to be ready for anything and everything."

With the game being less than a week away, it seems as if the lack of available film on FSU is an upper hand against Alabama, as the Tide have no real way of knowing what they will be facing on August 30th.