Alabama dominates Florida State in the biggest opening game ever

No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 3 Florida State 24-7 on Saturday night in Atlanta, Ga. during college football’s biggest opener in the history of the sport. The final score seems to be as expected, and the Noles’ turnovers killed the offense all night long.

Alabama’s first points were just a field goal in the first quarter, but Florida State was able to counter with a touchdown pass from sophomore Deondre Francois to Auden Tate. The lead didn’t last long, as Alabama countered as quarterback Jalen Hurts found Calvin Ridley for a 58-yard touchdown to give the Tide the 10-7 lead which held at halftime. However, Florida State got robbed at the end of the half with a missed pass interference call on a play that would’ve resulted in an FSU touchdown to give them the lead.

In the second half, turnovers killed Florida State’s chances. Alabama’s starting running back (no, really!) blocked this FSU punt in the third quarter that resulted in a Tide field goal to make it 13-7.

Francois then threw back-to-back interceptions, and Harris scored an 11-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to extend Bama’s lead to 21-7, which was later added to by a field goal in the fourth quarter. Simply put, Alabama’s defense stifled Francois and the Noles’ offense in the second half, despite the unit looking solid in the first half.

What’s even more baffling is how stout Alabama’s run defense was, holding the Noles to an average of negative one yard per carry. Cam Akers was the team’s rushing leader, with a whopping 30 whole yards. Alabama’s defense has a history of making offenses one-dimensional, and the Noles fell on the wrong side of that on Saturday night.

It gets worse. With 5:44 left in the fourth quarter, Francois left the field with what appeared to be a lower leg injury, and he did not return and was using crutches on the sidelines.

The good news for Florida State though, is that this team still has absolutely everything in front of it, depending on the status of Francois’ injury. The Noles are still the favorites to win the ACC Atlantic and could land a spot in the College Football Playoff come December.

As far as Alabama is concerned, it’s still a long season ahead, but as Nick Saban continues to do, the defense reloads without a beat year after year. Hurts went 10-of-18 with a touchdown, but the Nole defense kept him from breaking loose on the run, rushing for just 14 yards. Harris was the leading rusher with 74 yards and a touchdown.

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The biggest season opener in college football history is now upon us. No. 1 Alabama plays No. 3 Florida State on Saturday night in Atlanta, and it’s the first time in history that a No. 1 has opened against a team higher than No. 4. The winner is an instant frontrunner for a playoff berth and, really, the national title.

They’re playing this thing at the outrageous new Falcons’ stadium in Atlanta, which will also host the national championship and a few other huge games this year. The stage is massive, and it’s entirely possible (though not outright likely) that these same teams play here again in January for all the marbles. There probably won’t be another game this season with more talent on the field than this one.

As head coaches, former Nick Saban assistants are 0-10 against him. Former Saban LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher is trying to be the first. We’ll see how it goes.

The case for an Alabama win, basically: The Tide have had the best recruiting class in the country seven years running, and that’s resulted in them having the deepest roster in the country. FSU is also massively talented, but the Seminoles are at a slight disadvantage here. Alabama played a bunch of elite teams last year and squashed all of them except Clemson in the title game. FSU lost to both Louisville and Clemson.

And the case for an FSU win, basically: Alabama’s losing a lot on defense, particularly in the front seven. The Tide have a new offensive coordinator, former Patriots assistant Brian Daboll, and won’t be a finished product on either side of the ball in their first game. Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts is great, but he’s got a ways to go as a passer. FSU can stop the run if it loads the box on defense, and maybe Hurts won’t torch them. Maybe Deondre Francois will hit enough key throws to win the game.

Neither of those arguments is in any way farfetched. Alabama’s a clear favorite because it’s Alabama, but the Noles are one of the few teams in the country that doesn’t need a perfect storm of wild events to beat the Tide. It won’t be stunning if Bama rolls over FSU and delivers a standard Saban blowout, but it’d be surprising. And as long as FSU keeps things close, the fourth quarter could tilt either way.

Short of the playoff, we almost never get games this juicy in the college football season. Now we’re getting the premium product in Week 1, which should jolt all of us back into the spirit of things quickly. The only shame is that, soon, it’ll be over, and every other game on the schedule will feel less nationally significant.