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Alabama’s Upset Loss To Florida State Ends Unbelievable 18-Year Streak

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 3:40 PM ET

The No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide suffered heartbreak on Saturday, falling to the unranked Florida State Seminoles to open the 2025 season.

It's the worst possible outcome to start year two of head coach Kalen DeBoer's tenure with the Crimson Tide, entering the game 13.5-point favorites according to ESPN BET.

The loss represents a slow descent for Alabama since the retirement of the legendary Nick Saban, who in 17 years as the program's head coach produced a 206-29 record and won six national championships.

The upset also broke an 18-year streak for Alabama, which from 2007 to 2024 never had a winning percentage below .500 at any point during a season.

This is the 1st time Alabama has been below .500 at any point in a season since the end of the 2006 season.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) August 31, 2025

The last time it happened was in 2006, when Alabama went into its bowl matchup against the Oklahoma State Cowboys with a 6-6 record. They would lose a close 34-31, putting them at 6-7.

The head coach on the other end of that 18-year streak was Mike Shula. Following that bowl game loss, he would be fired and replaced by Saban.

Alabama has a very strong chance of returning to .500 in Week 2, though, facing the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, who earned spot No. 118 out of 136 in Steve Lassan's Athlon Sports rankings of every FBS program.

However, beating up on a lesser opponent like the Warhawks isn't going to tide over Alabama fans, who following the loss to the Seminoles, were calling for DeBoer to be fired.

That's not such a simple solution, though, because he's tied to Alabama through the 2031 season after signing an eight-year contract worth $87 million.

It would cost the program a lot of money to cut ties with DeBoer, with Matt Hayes of USA TODAY reporting that a potential buyout would be worth $70 million.

He certainly has a chance to turn things around, though, with two top 10 matchups still on the schedule with No. 5 Georgia (Sept. 27) and No. 9 LSU (Nov. 8).

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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