Clay Travis' Starting 11: Alabama Isn't Alabama Anymore

For a few minutes on Saturday, Alabama looked like the Crimson Tide we have all grown used to watching for nearly twenty years -- they marched down the field at Florida State with a deft mixture of runs and passes and claimed a 7-0 lead. Inside Doak Campbell Stadium, you could feel the trepidation building. A 2-10 Florida State Seminoles season had been an epic nightmare for FSU fans, a debilitating and cascading stream of awfulness since Jordan Travis broke his leg to ruin a perfect 2023 season, setting up the crippling debacle that was 2024. 

Now in this opening game of the new season, with stadium renovations complete, with a brand-new roster stacked with transfers, with Mike Norvell having brought in a new coaching staff, the question loomed: Would Florida State buckle under the rushing Tide, or could they answer a score with a score of their own? 

So the Seminoles found themselves facing a 3rd and 11 near midfield. 

The first quarter had 3:18 remaining and something happened that almost never happened with Nick Saban in charge. A Tide defensive back didn't get his hands on a receiver and FSU transfer wide receiver Squirrel White ran right past the Tide corner. The safety didn't get over the top and a relatively easy 40-yard completion on third and long prolonged the drive and put FSU in a first and goal situation. 

On the next snap, FSU's quarterback Tommy Casellanos, who had called out the Tide defense, something no one dared to do for nearly two decades, scampered around right end, and it was tied at 7. 

On the next drive, Alabama attempted a 53-yard field goal, left it well short, and then FSU took possession and scored. 

Later, a field goal came and FSU took a 17-7 lead they would never give up. 

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA - AUGUST 30:  Ryan Williams #2 of the Alabama Crimson Tide is tackled by Edwin Joseph #3 of the Florida State Seminoles after making a reception during the second quarter of a football game at Doak Campbell  Stadium on August 30, 2025 in Tallahassee, Florida. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)

Shortly thereafter, a Florida rainstorm hit, and it felt a bit like an absolution. All the awful plays from last year were washed away and what was left by the end of the game was this reality: Alabama isn't Alabama anymore. 

No one fears them. 

Sitting in the stadium, I told my son, who is great except for his Alabama fandom, that he's grown up in a college football era that isn't normal. After Bear Bryant died, from 1983 to 2008, a full 25 years, Alabama won a single national title and just three SEC championships. Under Nick Saban, Alabama's title contention seemed like a birthright, but some Alabama fans reading this now remember those long years of futility, decades where the Tide went from one ill-chosen coach to another. Heck, when one coach, Mike Price, even got fired before he coached a team because of a strip club trip, among other things, that featured the immortal line, "It's rolling, baby, it's rolling!"

Alabama even had a coach leave for Texas A&M. 

In the dead of night!

Hell, Phil Fulmer and Tennessee owned the Tide, running up a 9-1 stretch over a decade. If you were an eight-year-old Alabama fan in 1995, you grew to adulthood with Tennessee ruining your fall almost every year. Heck, Tommy Tuberville won six, SIX!, Iron Bowls in a row and ran Mike Shula out of town. 

Yes, Nick Saban came and changed everything, by year two, mind you, but lingering in the back of the mind of any Alabama fan thirty or older is the recollection of what it was like in those dark years, when nothing seemed to go right and Alabama searched with futility for a coach to replace the Bear.

Is it starting all over again?

Maybe.  

Here are some sobering stats if you're an Alabama fan: 

Since 2007, in games when Alabama was favored by at least 14 points, Nick Saban was 131-2, Kalen DeBoer is 4-4. 

As I tweeted on Saturday, Kalen DeBoer has lost more games to unranked opponents in 14 games than Nick Saban did in his final 15 years coaching the Tide. 

Since Alabama beat Georgia last year on September 27th, the Tide has gone 1-5 in away games or neutral sites, including losses to unranked Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Michigan and Florida State. 

It's clear the transition isn't working, but with a buyout that's a reported $70 million, does the Tide have the financial wherewithal to pull the plug if things really go off the tracks even worse? I happen to think the answer is no because, unlike in past years, paying players is now a huge part of the athletic department's budget too. So the money you use to buy out coaches has to be layered on with money you pay the coaches not to coach too.

Plus, it's not like a new coach for Alabama would come cheap. 

You'll have to pay close to $10 million to get a new coach, and you'll have to pay a gargantuan buyout for the old one as well.

All while paying tens of millions to players every year too.  

We'll dive into all these story angles, but I don't want Alabama looking awful to overwhelm a phenomenal weekend of college football. 

So let's hit the Starting 11. 

1. Credit to Florida State for the big win.

I feel like much of the post-game conversation has focused on Alabama losing more than Florida State winning. 

And that's unfair to the Seminoles. 

Because they won this game on both lines of scrimmage, running against the Tide and stopping the run on defense. 

Lots of criticism has come down on Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, but I think he was far from the issue for the Tide. In fact, he avoided a bevy of sacks thanks to his athleticism. The Alabama offensive and defensive lines got whipped all day on Saturday, and they left Simpson running for his life. 

That's what would alarm me if I were a Tide fan. 

Sometimes you can lose football games on flukish plays -- fumbles and tipped ball interceptions, for instance, or when you turn it over six times against Ole Miss like happened one year with Saban -- but it was actually Alabama that benefited from the most flukish play on Saturday, a poorly fielded punt that caromed off an FSU returner's foot and set up the Tide in prime position to drive down late in the third quarter and get a score to inch the game closer. 

But the Tide couldn't capitalize. 

Because Florida State's defensive line refused to fold. 

All told, FSU ran the ball 49 times for 230 total yards. Alabama? The Tide managed just 87 yards on 29 carries. That was your ball game. 

This wasn't a fluke, Florida State flat out dominated on the lines of scrimmage. 

And, remember, Alabama didn't turn the ball over all game. And still only put up 17 points. 

What happens when they get the turnover bug too?

I said before the season I thought Alabama was a 9-3 or so team and Tide fans lost it. Maybe this loss drops Alabama to 8-4, but I think they have too much talent for the wheels to completely come off. 

Sidenote: I took my son to the game. We sat in the newly renovated west side stadium suites. They were fantastic. As were the FSU fans we met. We drove in and out in the same day from the beaches on Florida's 30A where we stayed for the weekend. 

If you haven't been to FSU for a game, I highly recommend it. 

I'm slowly checking the power conference stadium gameday visits off my list. I've been to most of the Big Ten, all the SEC, but Oklahoma, and many of the ACC and Big 12 schools too. Eventually, I'm going to hit all the power conference schools.  

Sidenote part two: I know I'm getting old because I had an incredible parking spot -- backed in! -- and all game long all I could think was how fast I was going to get out after the game ended. I used to see old guys leaving the stadium early at full old man sprint and wonder what in the world they were doing with the game still going on, but now I totally get it. If you leave at the wrong time -- or god forbid you have the wrong parking spot -- you're sitting in traffic for an hour or more.

I've got Titans season tickets and may start leaving those games in the first quarter.  

Sidenote part three: Alabama should just hire Gus Malzahn to keep him from coaching against them. Pay him a few million and park him somewhere in the athletic department just so nobody else can get him. 

2. LSU outlasted Clemson in a battle for the soul of Death Valley. 

For my money, this was the biggest win of the weekend. 

Why?

Because it's insanely hard to beat good teams on the road in college football and LSU did just that. 

Road wins in college football should count for far more, like they do in college basketball.  

That's why I have LSU as my number one team in the OutKick top ten. Winning road or neutral games against power conference opponents is almost impossible to do. We should reward it even more than we do. 

:LSU's defense held Clemson to 261 total yards including, and this is a wow stat, 31 yards rushing on 20 attempts. 

Are you kidding me? 

In so doing, LSU finally exorcised the demons of week one and notched their first week one victory of the Brian Kelly era. 

We know Garrett Nussmeier is a really good quarterback. If LSU has an elite defense to pair him with, look out. 

As for Clemson, I wouldn't come close to panicking. I still feel like the Tigers are a playoff team too. 

3. Ohio State's defense choked out a super-conservative Texas offense. 

Yes, the Buckeyes got the win, but here's a wild stat for you -- Ohio State posted only 203 yards of total offense, the fewest by a Buckeye team in a decade. 

The Texas defense performed at a truly elite level and Buckeye fans have to be a bit nervous about the quarterback position. Is Julian Sayin really the answer? Of course, you could also say with this receiving corps, does it really matter much who the quarterback is?

But unfortunately for Texas, they wasted a solid defensive performance. Their offense got stopped on fourth down twice, once on the one-yard line, and Arch was just okay. He missed a ton of throws, and it felt like Sarkisian went a bit too conservative. I think he'll be fine, but if you'd told Steve Sarkisian that Texas was going to run for 166 yards and hold Ohio State to 14 total points, he would have bet his yearly salary on the Longhorns winning.

And maybe they will win going forward if these teams meet again, but, see above, it's really, really hard to win on the road against good teams. Texas should roll over San Jose State, UTEP, and Sam Houston before they go back on the road at Florida for an October test to see if they can redeem themselves in a big road game. 

In a 12-team playoff era, this felt like what it may well have been an opening week NFL game between two teams you expect to see in the playoffs several months in the future. 

Yes, Ohio State gets the advantage going forward because they can make the playoff with a 7-2 run through the Big Ten now, but if Texas gets to 9-3 and loses two tough ones in the SEC, I think they'll still be strongly in the mix, because I think college football wants to encourage games like these instead of discouraging teams from playing them. 

And that means not dinging the teams who lose these games too much for the losses.  

COLUMBUS, OH - AUGUST 30: Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) carries the ball while being knocked out of bounds by Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. (3) during the game against the Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes on August 30, 2025, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

4. The U is back, baby!

The stadium was rocking, the college football stars from years past with Miami were out in full force, and Mario Cristobal got the good Carson Beck from two years ago and Miami took down Notre Dame in an epic Sunday night tilt. 

College football is more fun when traditional powers like Notre Dame and Miami are battling it out. 

I was impressed with CJ Carr -- in fact, I thought of the three new quarterbacks starting big games on the road -- Arch Manning, Ty Simpson, and Carr -- that Carr had the best game, but Notre Dame has to get ready fast because with Texas A&M coming to town in two weeks, the Irish schedule starts with the only two ranked teams on the entire schedule.

Lose both, and I just don't see how a 10-2 Irish team has the schedule muscle to justify a playoff spot. (To be fair, the odds of Notre Dame losing the first two and running the table after are probably very low.)

As for Miami, they have stacked several top recruiting classes together and used the transfer portal well. They play Florida in Miami and then at FSU -- plus a dangerous South Florida team -- all by October 4th. 

Can the defense hold up? If so, this team is in the playoff mix for sure.    

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - AUGUST 31: Malachi Tony #10 of the Miami Hurricanes celebrates his touchdown against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Hard Rock Stadium on August 31, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

5. Lee Corso said goodbye to college football with a perfect pick performance for all the big games. 

Credit to Fox for carrying his final headgear pick as well. 

I love this quote I saw from Lee Corso: "Football is just the vehicle. It's entertainment, sweetheart."

That's so well said and part of what makes college football, I think, the most entertaining sport in America. 

Certainly it's the one I love the most. As is true for most of you reading this column too. 

Lee Corso gave to the game more than he took, which is just about the best thing I think you can say for anyone who does any job. He will be missed.  

6. Rumors of the SEC's demise are greatly exaggerated.   

Auburn, Tennessee, LSU and South Carolina all won road or neutral game victories against power conference competition. 

I know people want to tapdance on the SEC's grave because they are sick of Alabama's dominance -- believe me, I get it -- but the SEC went 4-2 in power conference match ups, more wins than any other conference and all six of these games were on the road or neutral. (I'm actually stunned the SEC did this in week one, I think it should have gotten more attention. None of these big games were at SEC venues. Now next week Oklahoma will host Michigan, but for week one, they were all road games.) 

The Big Ten went 2-1 in power four matchups, the ACC went 3-4, and the Big 12 went 2-3. (The Big Ten and the ACC also had losses to non-power conference opponents too.)  

Yes, Alabama looked bad, but the rest of the SEC was actually pretty solid. 

I think people jumped the gun on this SEC attack after the combo of early in the day losses of Texas and Alabama.  

ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 30: Star Thomas #9 of the Tennessee Volunteers makes a 7-yard touchdown reception in front of Derek McDonald #15 of the Syracuse Orange during the AFLAC Kickoff Game on August 30, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

7. Nico looked awful as Utah dominated UCLA and, meanwhile, Joey Aguilar looked very solid for Tennessee against Syracuse.

Nico left a better team with a better coaching staff for a worse team with a worse coaching staff. 

And the results were pretty clear. 

Joey Aguilar went 16-28 for 247 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also ran for 34 yards too. More importantly, at least to me, he seemed to run the offense at a fast pace, more akin to the way Hendon Hooker ran it than either Joe Milton or Nico the past two years. That bodes well going forward. 

Along the way, the Vols notched a 45-26 win too. 

Meanwhile, Nico went 11 for 22 passing with 136 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 47 yards. But his team lost 43-13 and he was significantly outplayed by Utah's transfer quarterback Devon Dampier, who looked like Kyler Murray as he ran circles around the UCLA defense. (Put him on your radar to check out.) 

Utah looked phenomenal on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and UCLA looked awful on both.

What's more, almost no one was there to watch UCLA play. 

Check out this crowd of roughly 35,000 fans, of which a decent number were Utah fans. 

Nico, I'm afraid, is going to become a cautionary tale for what can happen in the NIL era. He took less money to play for a worse team and a worse coaching staff. And I think the results are going to be awful for him. Honestly, I feel sorry for him because I think he's surrounded by people who aren't making the best decisions for his long-range success. 

I stayed up late to watch this game and Nico at UCLA looked similar to what he did last year at Tennessee. He missed too many wide open receivers -- including a sure touchdown on his first drive with the Bruins -- but occasionally rips a pass with such panache that it makes him look like a first-rounder. Right now, if his first receiver isn't open, he lacks the ability to see the field. Put simply, he doesn't process the field rapidly. His arm is big enough sometimes to save him there, but only some of the time.  

Where does it go from here?

I don't think this story ends well. 

Either Nico tosses his name in the draft and hopes to catch on somewhere and develop in the NFL or, more likely, in my opinion, his family makes up an excuse about why UCLA wasn't the right fit for him, and he transfers to another school in the offseason. 

But the problem is his asking price is going to decline even more if he transfers somewhere new. 

He's a redshirt sophomore now. This is his third year of major college football. He's becoming a known quantity, no longer just the young kid with the golden arm. 

Which means if he doesn't show major growth this year -- and against UCLA he looked to have regressed -- he's going to find himself taking a beating behind a weak offensive line and stacking a bunch of losses in the Big Ten. 

PASADENA, CA - AUGUST 30: UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) carries the ball during a football game between the UCLA Bruins and the Utah Utes on August 30, 2025 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Greg Fiore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

I don't know how the Joey Aguilar experiment at Tennessee will turn out, but I'm confident Tennessee saved themselves a ton of money and the Vols may have ended up with a quarterback who is better suited to run Heupel's offense than Nico was. We don't yet know how high Aguilar's ceiling is at Tennessee, but we know that Nico's ceiling in college football isn't very high either.  

Finally, Josh Heupel is imperfect, as all coaches are, but I'm not sure any head coach could have gotten more out of Hendon Hooker, Joe Milton, and Nico than Heupel has. I'm extremely confident that Nico would have had a far better season in Knoxville than he's going to have in LA. The fact everyone around him couldn't see that is, frankly, just sad. The adults in your life should help you see the big picture, not lead you to make awful decisions that put you in tougher situations for no benefit.

We know Nico traded down, it remains to be seen how much Tennessee traded up.    

8. South Florida smoked Boise State.  

Pay attention to Alex Golesh. 

He was Tennessee's offensive coordinator under Josh Heupel. Now in his third season at South Florida, the Bulls, after back-to-back 7-6 seasons, look poised to make a bit of a run. 

I'm going to try and give more attention to the non-power five on occasion again in the Starting 11 this year, so congrats to USF on the biggest upset win, probably, of week one. 

9. Chapel Bill opened with a thud. 

I said before the season that Bill Belichick to North Carolina was either going to be a spectacular success or a spectacular failure. 

This was not a promising beginning. 

TCU didn't just win, they outgained UNC 542 to 222 yards. 

Belichick's team looked poorly coached, of all things, and didn't appear to be well-prepared on defense, which I thought would be Belichick's one guaranteed calling card. 

The eyes of the sports world were on Chapel Hill, but the off-field Jordon Hudson story becomes messier if you don't win. Win and all is forgiven. Lose and the pressure mounts in a hurry. 

This didn't look like a team headed to a bowl game, but the saving grace for Belichick is that only one top 25 team is on the schedule.  

And, yes, for the rest of recorded history, every college football fan base will cite Nick Saban's year one record at Alabama as a sign of how even great coaches can have bad first years, but Belichick is 73. He doesn't have a long tenure in him.

He has to win. 

Now. 

And this was an ominous debut to be sure. 

10. My OutKick National Top Ten

As always, I rank teams only based on the games we've seen played. And I try to rank teams based on early-season power conference wins. 

With that in mind. 

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Miami

4. Florida State

5. Utah

6. Auburn

7. Tennessee

8. South Carolina

9. TCU

10. South Florida 

11. SEC power rankings 1-16 

I feel good about the top four because I'm rewarding power conference wins at road or neutral venues. . 

After that, it's a total crapshoot. But I didn't bury Texas and Alabama for losing road games while everyone else played inferior opponents at home. 

Stop your complaining, this will work itself out in a hurry in the weeks ahead.  

But for now, I just kept everyone who played inferior opponents tied for seventh in the conference.  

1. LSU

2. Auburn

3. Tennessee

4. South Carolina

5. Texas

6. Alabama

7. Ole Miss

7. Georgia

7. Oklahoma

7. Florida

7. Texas A&M

7. Mississippi State

7. Missouri

7. Kentucky

7. Arkansas

7. Vanderbilt