Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell arrives at Notre Dame Stadium for the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Florida State’s biggest non-conference game of 2025 already turning heads

Originally posted on Florida State Seminoles on SI
By Jackson Bakich | Last updated May 25, 2025 1:00 PM ET

Florida State football will look to rewrite its own script as the team went 2-10 in 2024 following a 13-0 season in 2023. Everything seemed to go wrong for the Seminoles as a close season-opening loss to Georgia Tech in Ireland snowballed into a pit of despair.

However, if FSU wants to prove that 2024 was a fluke or NIL/Transfer Portal unprecedented territory or a combination of the two, then it will need to get off on the right foot from the get-go against a formidable college football blue blood.

Against who? The Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 1, according to On3's Pete Nakos.

The sports writer lists the FSU-Bama game as the sixth-ranked non-conference matchup heading into 2025, citing the similarities between Mike Norvell and Kalen DeBoer as their respective fan bases get antsy.

Nakos wrote:

"Alabama and Florida State both had disappointing 2024 seasons. While the Crimson Tide won nine games, they failed to make the CFP in Kalen DeBoer’s inaugural season in Tuscaloosa. That continues to hang over the Alabama program heading into the fall. Florida State only won two games, going from 13-1 in 2023 to 2-10 in 2024, making the Seminoles the only team in the AP poll era to have an 11-win swing. The pressure under DeBoer and Mike Norvell is some of the most intense in the sport. Both will try to start the season on the right foot in the Week 1 matchup."Pete Nakos, On3

The 'Noles open up their season against the Tide on Aug. 30 in Tallahassee.