Florida State University quarterback Tommy Castellanos called his shot: “I dreamed of moments like this. I dreamed of playing against Alabama. They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.”

Did he follow his shot?

Final score: FSU 31, Alabama 17 — Castellanos followed his shot, and his teammates brought their own chasers. Just in case the scoreboard wasn’t enough evidence, here are a few of the “chaser” highlights poured out for you.

• Opening Round: Tommy Castellanos answered Alabama’s opening touchdown drive with a 9-yard touchdown run that was set up by his 40-yard pass to Squirrel White.
• Wildcard Special: Micahi Danzy outran the Alabama defense for a 32-yard touchdown on a pitch reverse, a classic play call from a Gus Malzahn offense.
• On-time Delivery: Early in the third quarter, off play-action, Castellanos flipped a pass to Jaylin Lucas, who then raced 64 yards to the Alabama 4-yard line. Caziah Holmes scored on the next play (FSU 24 – 7).
• Crunch Time: FSU converted a 4^th and 1 from their own 34-yard line in the 4^th quarter after Alabama cut the lead to seven points.
• Closing Time: Gavin Sawchuk bulldozed his way 14 yards, pushing multiple Alabama defenders into the end zone to put the game out of reach.

Crimson Tide defenders promised to address the “disrespect” that Castellanos threw their way before game day. That promise went unfulfilled.

Alabama’s defense did not force a three-and-out until the 4th quarter, and they didn’t record a tackle for loss until the 3^rd quarter.

Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said that the defense played “timid and hesitant.” That might explain the poor pursuit angles, but does it explain the defensive line routinely losing ground? The poor gap discipline? Or defenders getting dizzy dealing with Gus Malzahn’s motion-heavy scheme?

The Seminoles racked up 230 yards of rushing on 49 carries, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The air attack only needed 9 completed passes to gain 152 yards – that’s a little over 10 yards per pass play. Basically, the FSU offense gained yards in every conceivable way: ground and pound for short yardage, razzle-dazzle trickery, and large chunk plays off long runs and passes.

After opening the game with a sledgehammer, a 17-play touchdown drive featuring the run, the Crimson Tide offense lost steam. The offensive line struggled to open running lanes or protect the quarterback, and the FSU defense produced 10 negative-yardage plays: 3 sacks and 7 tackles for loss.

Tide starting quarterback Ty Simpson battled a collapsing pocket, wide receivers dropping passes, and a running game that lost its punch. The pressure led to too many inaccurate throws, none more costly than the throw on 4^th down to Ryan Williams, off target and unnecessary. He had enough room to make the first down running the ball.

For the glass-half-full crowd, Simpson did connect with Germie Bernard 8 times for 146 yards, easily his most reliable receiver.

The glass-half-empty view? Ryan Williams was not a difference maker – he caught 5 passes for 30 yards. There were no explosive scoring plays for the Tide. For an offense supposedly laden with NFL talent, it produced mediocre results.

Here’s the truth for Tide fans: even with better offensive efficiency, there’s no real evidence supporting a different outcome, because the defense was not capable of stopping FSU’s offense that day.

Cheers to FSU and their fans. The better team won. The only lingering question is, was beating Alabama worthy of storming the field?

Categories: College football

Tags: bama, castellanous, college, College football, football, fsu, ncaa, ncaaf, simpson, sports