The Alabama Crimson Tide's defense was so bad in their 31-17 loss to the Florida State Seminoles this past Saturday, they were knifed through with regularity by what was ultimately a gritty, but pedestrian, quarterback performance from FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos.
The Athletic's Sam Khan Jr. put Castellanos's performance (9-of-14 passing, 152 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 10.9 YPA, 16 rushes, 78 yards, 1 rush TD) in that context while deeming the signal-caller's stock as "up."
"Castellanos’ speed and mobility seemed to be a good fit for Gus Malzahn’s offense, and that was the case on Saturday. Castellanos was slippery, knifing through the Alabama defense with regularity. When dropping back, he was accurate and made solid decisions. His numbers aren’t eye-popping, but he played winning football," Khan wrote.
Castellanos is cashing in on the performance. Before the game, the Noles' Week 1 hero claimed "Nick can't save them," obviously talking about Saban, and he called his shot perfectly. Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack's defense, which Kalen DeBoer has signed off on for a second straight year, was far removed from Saban's. But with many of the same players.
Things were so bad, current and former Crimson Tide offensive players, who know the difference between a good and bad defense, ripped the effort.
One of Saban's all-time favorites in Tuscaloosa, former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, reported no excitement from the sidelines, hinting at a possible locker room rift between the different groups, or across the roster in general.
“There's just no – there's no excitement. It was weird. I just didn't understand it, when Bama scored. It was a quick excitement, but it was just dead. It wasn't like, hey, we're going out and we're proving something right here. It was, ‘Hey, kickoff team and defense.’ There was just no excitement. It was such a weird, weird vibe,” McCarron said on The Dynasty Podcast.
“Especially when they go down and score quick on their first series -- [the defense] comes to the sidelines and it's like, I hope the offense saves us and gets some momentum back. It was almost like the defense just lost all confidence and faith, and they had this mindset of 'Oh no, they're just gonna score at will.' It was a weird, weird deal.
“No nastiness up front whatsoever. We're just getting pushed around. Then you go to the defensive side – same thing. Just getting pushed around. They can do whatever runs they want. It was just – it was ugly."
Crimson Tide receiver Germie Bernard felt there was a lack of pride on the field.
“Y'all gotta have that pride when y'all go out there and play. This dude is trying to stop you from feeding your family. You’re fixing to let this dude stop you from feeding your family? Nah. I can’t let that happen,” Bernard said.
Alabama needs their Week 2 matchup with the ULM Warhawks to get here so the FSU game's narratives disappear. Despite the obvious 2007 narrative, the Crimson Tide are heavy favorites and should at least pick up the win.
There might not be a ton of those this season for UAT.