Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT (3:30 p.m. ET) Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium, broadcast on ABC with Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy on the call and Katie George on the sideline. Fubo TV carries the stream for cord-cutters.

FanDuel has Alabama as a massive favorite: -19.5 on the spread (-112), a moneyline of -1700 to FSU's +890, and a total of 48.5.

FSU enters 1-1, Alabama 2-0. The two programs have met six times all-time, with FSU holding a 2-3-1 edge, including last year's 31-17 win in Tallahassee.

Florida State's unofficial report (neither team has released a formal one for this nonconference game) lists linebackers Izayia Williams, Daylen Green, and Blake Nichelson as out, with Caleb LaVallee questionable.

Alabama's list includes defensive backs Jorden Edmonds and Nick Sherman, linebacker Cayden Jones, and defensive lineman Jeremiah Beaman as out, receiver Noah Rogers as questionable, and lineman Michael Carroll and back AK Dear as probable.

Expect a scorcher. Tuscaloosa is forecast for a high of 98 degrees, feeling like 107 with a prolonged exposure warning, plus a possible afternoon thunderstorm that shouldn't bring much rain but could add some wind.

All eight CBS Sports experts, Tom Fornelli, Chip Patterson, Brandon Marcello, Richard Johnson, Shehan Jeyarajah, David Cobb, Brad Crawford, and Chris Hummer, picked Alabama straight up, and Cobb's own column backs Alabama to cover the 19.5. SportsLine's simulation model, which has gone 33-21 on its top-rated CFB moneyline picks since 2024, ran the game 10,000 times without landing on FSU.

The lone contrarian voice came from Cooper Petagna, who picked Florida State to cover as a 19.5-point underdog, predicting a 35-17 Alabama win, and pointed to Ousmane Kromah, Samuel Singleton, and Tre Wisner as the group that could keep it within range the way they did in last year's upset.

Alabama's run defense has allowed just 32.5 rushing yards per game, and its pass rush has produced 7 sacks and 29 pressures through two weeks, four of those sacks (Devan Thompkins and Caleb Woodson each had two) coming against Kentucky.

FSU went 2 for 15 on third down in the SMU loss, and per Pro Football Focus, Ashton Daniels has completed just 6 of 16 passes for 65 yards when pressured this season, exactly the kind of pressure Alabama has shown it can generate.

Russell has premium arm talent, capable of driving the ball downfield accurately even under duress, and enough pocket mobility to escape rushers, make defenders miss, and throw effectively on the run.

His internal clock has occasionally been late against faster, more physical fronts, and he's still adjusting to the speed of Power-level rushers. He threw a pick-six against Kentucky, a well-timed pressure into a tunnel screen more than a bad read, and had several other ill-advised throws, including one near-miss off a simulated pressure.

Roughly two-thirds of Alabama's pass attempts have gone short, and the offense has leaned heavily on play-action to buy Russell time. He was sacked four times against Kentucky, twice off blitzes and twice off standard pressure, and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack, who historically hasn't blitzed much on third down, appears to be blitzing more as the season goes.

Warchant analyst George Henshaw, who coached seven years under Bobby Bowden at FSU and four more as Alabama's offensive coordinator, says it starts with being the more physical, more disciplined team: win the turnover battle, avoid penalties, and clean up the busted defensive assignments that hurt FSU against SMU.

His biggest strategic suggestion is to slow the game down, snapping the ball with the play clock winding to zero to limit possessions, forcing Alabama to drive the full field instead of cashing in short ones, and getting Duce Robinson one-on-one shots downfield when Alabama can't double him because of Ashton Daniels' legs.

Ousmane Kromah has topped 100 rushing yards with a touchdown in both games this season at 6.4 yards per carry, but Alabama has allowed just 65 rushing yards total through two games behind a front led by Devan Thompkins, making Kromah's ability to find room the swing factor up front.

Ja'Bril Rawls, nearly fully healthy after early-season injury and communication issues in the secondary, had six tackles and a pass defensed the last time these teams met. Mandrell Desir, who had 6.5 sacks as a freshman but has just four tackles and no sacks through two games this year, needs a big one against a Russell who has already been sacked five times this season.

Alabama's own beat writers flagged the same names first. Bama247's Mike Rodak called Kromah "the absolute correct answer" when asked what Alabama fans shouldn't overlook, also pointing to Robinson and receiver Micahi Danzy, who ran for 56 yards against Alabama last season. On Daniels, Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown put it simply: "Different offense. Same quarterback. Same tendencies. He plays to his style and we'll be ready for it."

FSU (5-4) hosts No. 10 Florida (7-1) at 7 p.m. at Tully Gymnasium, the two programs' first meeting in Tallahassee since a five-set match in 2023 after not playing at all in 2025. FSU is looking for its first win over Florida since 2021.

The Seminoles enter off a 3-0 sweep of previously unbeaten North Alabama, tied for first in the ACC in team assists (470) and second in kills (496). Senior Kyleene Filimaua ranks fourth in the ACC with 137 kills, and freshman Sofia Moss tied her career high with 14 kills against North Alabama.

FSU opens its season with the annual intrasquad Garnet & Gold Meet at 3 p.m. Friday at the Morcom Aquatics Center, admission free. Junior swimmers Alice Velden, Maryn McDade, and Logan Robinson captain the Garnet team, with Amelia Marek, Gustav Olsson, Fred Lindholm, and Jack Bessire leading Gold. The regular season opens Oct. 9-10 at the Seminole Fall Classic.

The No. 20 men's golf team competes as a full team for the first time this season at the Olympia Fields Fighting Illini Invitational, a 15-team field with 11 ranked programs, teeing off Friday paired with No. 12 Illinois and No. 1 Florida. Shawn Coultoff already has a top-10 finish this fall, and Tyler Weaver and Jack Whaley rejoin the lineup fresh off helping Great Britain and Ireland win the Walker Cup.

Both cross country teams open their seasons at home Friday for pre-regionals at Apalachee Regional Park, the men's 8k at 7:40 a.m. and the women's 6k at roughly 8:20 a.m. The women return All-Region performers Bieke Schipperen and Rylee Blade, and both squads add transfers, Bella Grenier from Wisconsin and Graham Myers from Florida.

Coaleon Johnson, the No. 11 overall JUCO prospect nationally and No. 2 JUCO cornerback per 247Sports, has scheduled a game-day visit to Tallahassee for FSU's regular-season finale against Florida on Nov. 27. Now at Iowa Western after an All-American freshman season, he already has three interceptions this year and says cornerbacks coach Blue Adams has stood out by talking "about life goals, academics, things like that," not just football.

Giovanni Tuggle, Rivals' No. 47 overall prospect and No. 5 safety in the 2028 class, says FSU has hosted him twice and he has a strong relationship with defensive backs coach Evan Cooper. "I like how he coaches his defensive backs," Tuggle said. "Coach Norvell is a cool coach too, and he has been recruiting me hard." He's in the middle of a heavy visit swing that includes Georgia Tech, LSU, and Ole Miss this weekend, with Clemson, Alabama, Tennessee, and FSU still ahead on his fall calendar.

Stork made the unusual jump from high school tight end at Vero Beach to Florida State center, redshirting as he learned the position before backing up Rodney Hudson and taking over at right guard in 2010. He went on to earn All-American honors and a national title with the Seminoles in 2013, then won a Super Bowl with the Patriots the following year before retiring from the NFL in 2017.

These days, Stork is raising his 3-year-old daughter and has found an unexpected way to stay connected to his old FSU circle: woodworking, mostly custom spears, that he shares on social media. "It's been a lot of fun," he said. "It's a chance to make somebody smile."

Asked about FSU's run-heavy, transfer-built line in 2026, Stork was constructive rather than critical, praising Ousmane Kromah's talent while suggesting he "hit the hole quicker" instead of dancing behind it, and noting this year's linemen are bigger and more SEC-built than the leaner outside-zone group he played in.