FSU football: 3 reasons FSU pulled off the upset and dominated Alabama

Physicality and Effort was UNMATCHED

The thing that surprised everyone the most was how physical FSU was in the game. It didn’t start off great with the defense getting the ball run down their throat. However, the FSU offense matched Alabama’s physicality in their first drive, and the FSU defense seemed to feed off that once they tied the game.

The FSU defense made some bone-jarring hits, especially Earl Little Jr. coming downhill from his Rover position. FSU dominated Alabama on both lines of scrimmage, rushing for over 200 yards and averaging 4.7 yards per rush.

The FSU defense had three sacks and seven tackles for a loss. Alabama only had one sack and three tackles for a loss. We knew Gus Malzahn and Tony White liked to play a physical brand of football, but I think what we saw on Saturday exceeded every expectation possible. The fourth down conversion by Roydell Williams and the touchdown run by Gavin Sawchuk was the epitome of physicality.

FSU became the bully in the game, especially when they went up 24-7, and that’s something we hadn’t seen since the 2023 season.