The Alabama Crimson Tide are 2-0 to start the 2026 season, and while they are still working through some growing pains, this season is off to a much better start than last year. As fans unfortunately remember, the 2025 season started off with an ugly 31-17 loss to the Florida State Seminoles.
The Tide were able to eventually find their footing, making their way to the SEC Championship game and a College Football Playoff appearance, but the embarrassing loss to Florida State stuck with them. Now, a little over a year later, Alabama will face off with the Seminoles again this Saturday.
While it’s an entirely new year, with significantly different rosters and circumstances, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was honest about the fact that some Tide players and coaches have revenge on their mind.
"In our minds, this is the 2026 team... But I know there’s a lot of guys, including our staff, that certainly know what it felt like last year walking off that football field."Kalen DeBoer
Alabama hasn’t forgotten about their loss to Florida State ahead of rematch
Deboer, in his Monday press conference, was honest about the conflicting mindsets that the team is currently juggling. One mindset is prioritizing the present and only focusing on Saturday’s game, because that’s all that matters anyway. The other mindset is preparing with a little extra edge, because the returning players and coaches remember how they felt when they lost a year ago.
Whatever mindset is necessary for the team to move to 3-0 on Saturday, Alabama needs to find it and make sure they prevent a repeat.
Beyond how the Tide approaches the game, there are several other circumstances that could affect the outcome of Saturday’s game. Last season, the game was played at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. This year, Alabama will be the home team, with the game taking place at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Additionally, following the new norm in college football, the two rosters are significantly different. One notable difference is that quarterback Thomas Castellanos is no longer with the Seminoles. Castellanos was the key to Florida State’s win last season, throwing for 152 yards and rushing for 78. He was replaced by Ashton Daniels, another mobile quarterback that the Tide are familiar with because of his time at Auburn last season.
One returning player who the spotlight will be on is Alabama wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams. Last year’s game against Florida State is when Coleman-Williams really started to deal with drops, finishing the game with just five receptions for 30 yards. It would definitely be great to see him have a big game on Saturday as the Tide try to get an overdue win against Florida State.
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