College football fans are in for a smorgasbord on Saturday. After feasting on a No. 1 vs. No. 3 showdown in Ohio at noon, viewers can turn their attention to another highly anticipated matchup featuring the No. 8-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide playing the Florida State Seminoles.
Both teams are hoping to forget last year’s results, but for two entirely different reasons. Alabama was human last year, finishing the season with a pedestrian by their standards – 9-4 record, including a 19-13 loss to Michigan in their bowl game.
Florida State went from nearly undefeated to nearly winless, all in the span of 12 months. After being snubbed for the 2023 playoffs, the Seminoles won only two games in 2024. The ACC power dropped seven of those games by double-digit margins.
It’s a new season, and both schools will be motivated to get into the win column early. Which southern power will emerge victoriously on Saturday? We’ll cover that and provide bettors with our favorite player props for the Alabama-Florida State matchup on Saturday.
Junior signal-caller Ty Simpson will get his first start of his four-year collegiate career on Saturday. Previously, the 6-foot-2 athlete completed 29 of his 50 pass attempts for 381 yards, yet he’s been sacked six times over the past three years.
Although he’s had limited opportunities thus far, Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer is an offensive-minded coach who has enjoyed significant success with quarterbacks. Alabama’s head coach helped Jalen Milroe succeed last year, but he finished above 241 passing yards only three times in 2024.
While Simpson will likely star in DeBoer’s offense in 2025, it’s a little much to ask a first-time starter making their debut in a hostile stadium to carry the offensive load. Take Simpson to fall short of his player prop mark on Saturday for that reason.
That same philosophy does not hold true for Simpson’s counterpart. The Seminoles acquired a former starter in the transfer portal when Tommy Castellanos ventured south for his senior season.
At Boston College in 2023, Castellanos threw for 2,248 yards and 15 touchdowns. More impressively, he ran for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns that season. Expect him to use his feet when the Crimson Tide rush gets to him, and he’ll score at least once on the ground in this contest.
The alpha dog in this Crimson Tide offense is sophomore wide receiver Ryan Williams. He had a strong start to his collegiate career in 2024, nabbing 48 receptions for 865 yards and eight scores.
Down the stretch, however, Williams struggled to separate himself from defenders. In his final six outings, the receiver recorded 53 or fewer receiving yards, including a season-low eight receiving yards in the bowl game versus Michigan.
Can Williams show that his final stretch was a fluke? Oddsmakers are predicting he will, expecting him to finish with nearly 70 yards in the season opener. This matchup could be a strong one for Williams against a retooled Seminole secondary, making him a strong bet to cover his player prop wager.
Predicting the Seminoles to cover their spread isn’t calling for the upset. Alabama is the better team, and the Crimson Tide should win this matchup. The two-touchdown margin in this matchup is what I am questioning.
Florida State is a proud program, and the Seminoles aren’t going to enjoy reading about how ‘Bama will dominate them. Expect FSU to make this a game late into the fourth quarter before falling in a closer-than-projected contest.