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ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith warned Alabama Crimson Tide fans that the days of Nick Saban are long gone following the team’s crushing upset loss to Florida State on Saturday night.
Seminoles quarterback Thomas Castellanos ran for 78 yards and a touchdown and recorded 152 passing yards in the 31-17 win. Alabama’s 23-game season-opener winning streak was snapped.
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Stephen A. Smith warned Alabama fans amid the Crimson Tide’s loss to Florida State. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)
Smith offered his analysis amid their loss.
“I’m sorry folks. I really am. But it just seems to be as if the days of @AlabamaFTBL – Nick Saban’s @AlabamaFTBL — is looooonnngggg gone. Sacks surrendered. Dropped passes. A QB who’s not a real scrambler/runner, and doesn’t appear to have a strong enough arm to throw on the run,” he wrote on X. “Maybe this turnover by Lucas of @FloridaState, but I doubt it.”
Saban retired from college football before the start of the 2024 season. Alabama hired Kalen DeBoer from Washington to replace him.
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Florida State, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Tallahassee, Florida. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
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Smith said earlier this month that Alabama should consider hiring Deion Sanders to replace DeBoer and that he missed Saban.
Alabama, one of college football’s biggest powerhouses over the last decade or so, failed to make the College Football Playoff last year in its first season since Saban retired. In 2023, the team lost to the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl. Michigan went on to win the national championship.
Alabama tight end Josh Cuevas, left, celebrates with quarterback Ty Simpson after scoring on a two-yard touchdown pass play against Florida State during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in Tallahassee, Florida. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack))
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The Crimson Tide’s schedule is only going to get tougher. The team will take on Georgia next month and, later in the season, have Tennessee, South Carolina, LSU and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks.
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