All six Noles247 writers picked FSU comfortably, with four of them landing on exactly 49 points. Kolby Crawford went highest at 52-10, Adam Brown was the most cautious at 40-13, and NoleGameday's pick came in at 52-9. FanDuel has the line up to 45.5, with the total at 62.5.

Trey Rowland's entire analysis: “Nothing to get you back on track like an old-fashioned squash match. Noles dominate throughout. Think Undertaker vs. Barry Horowitz.” If you know, you know.

John Evans cares less about the score and more about the defense cleaning up “communication, alignment, and situational awareness.” Chris Nee wants a pass rush and a secondary that look “on the same page,” because UCA's Donovyn Omolo can extend plays with his legs. Crawford's plan for the offense: “Get Duce touches early and often, then shut him down.”

Norvell's message to the backups: “You're getting better or you're allowing somebody else to have an opportunity against you or in front of you. … Make sure you put yourself in a position to where if your number's called, you're ready.”

“After watching that first 28 minutes, I believe we can say that it's not a matter of talent,” Henshaw said. “We out-physicaled Alabama, we out-coached them, everything.” The missing piece is a player who takes over late: “If that situation comes up, Jordan Travis is gonna figure out how to make a play. Jared Verse is going to bust through.”

His favorite moment from the box: Alabama fans booing their own play-caller in the first half. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh, this sounds familiar! This doesn't just happen in Tallahassee!’”

On fans blaming uncalled holding: “That is nothing but an excuse. … It's your job as a football player to not get held.”

Get the starters out in the first half and the scout team in by the second, something he says FSU missed against New Mexico State. Then spend 30 to 45 minutes of Wednesday and Thursday practice installing Virginia plans, and put a new blitz or a “Bear” front on film Saturday just to give UVA's coaches something extra to prepare for.

An ACC deputy AD on Michael Alford's firing: “Say what you will about Alford, and he had his share of mistakes, but it feels like he was rolled out there to take the fall for some people up the chain. I've heard some board members asserted themselves and grabbed the wheel at times.” Crawford notes that Board of Trustees chair Peter Collins has been described as unusually hands-on in football matters.

A Big 12 deputy AD was blunter: “I mean, it's FSU, it shouldn't be that hard [to turn around]. … I think there's just some scar tissue about organizational structure.” The key for the next AD, in their view, is fundraising, from day one.

A Group of Six AD said the job is still a great one, as long as everyone from the board to the Boosters pulls in the same direction. “When a recruit sees Doak Campbell Stadium and sees 80,000 people and the Tomahawk chop and Renegade and Osceola … I absolutely think it still matters.”

Crawford also reports that last October, after the loss at Stanford, FSU's top decision-makers couldn't unanimously agree on whether to keep Norvell, with a buyout near $50 million in the math.

Hart's tenure included the 1999 national championship, two men's outdoor track titles, 33 ACC titles and 263 All-Americans. With Seminole Boosters, he transformed Dick Howser Stadium, gave softball and soccer real homes, and raised budgets across the department.

The result: FSU climbed from 46th to 15th in the Directors' Cup standings between 1999-2000 and 2006-07, making it one of the most complete athletic departments in the country rather than a football school with a few good teams.

Loesche traces Hart's 2007 exit to friction with then-president T.K. Wetherell after years of trying to fit Bobby Bowden's outsized authority into a normal org chart, including the Jeff Bowden offensive coordinator saga. The facilities Hart built still anchor FSU athletics, but Loesche writes that the university stopped reinvesting the way he did.

The kicker: Hart goes into the Hall of Fame in the same year FSU posted its worst Directors' Cup finish in a quarter century.

Sixteen recruits are expected Saturday, led by 2027 FSU commits Anthony Cavallaro (edge) and Olrick Johnson III (LB), plus Illinois RB commit Steven Alexis. The real recruiting weekend is Oct. 3 against Virginia, with Top247 prospects Zylen Little (DL), Noble Williams (RB), Tromon Isaac Jr. (WR) and Tristian Henderson (edge) all scheduled, along with DL commit Eric Vaulx Jr.

247's Brendan Sonnone reports that three-star LB Gregory Batson decommitted this summer after an official visit because FSU offered “significantly less” than he was seeking. One FSU source acknowledged it couldn't offer much relative to the market. He's now looking at Georgia Southern and South Carolina.

On the brighter side, FSU is still in touch with Texas A&M WR commit Jaden Upshaw (who says he's locked in), and 2028 prospects Jordan McNeil (RB), Deandra Andrews and Trey Bush (both safeties) keep naming the Noles among their favorites.

Last year's team finished 11th nationally in 3-point attempts and was one of the worst defensive teams in the country well into January. So Year 2 starts the other way around. “We're going to flip it,” Luke Loucks told Warchant's Corey Clark. Scrimmages now award points for offensive rebounds, deflections and steals.

“You can score as many points as you want. If you don't know how to guard and rebound, there's going to be long nights when that ball doesn't fall.” Freshman Brandon Bass is still shaping up as the team's top shooter.

FSU's fall roster has 39 players, 24 of them newcomers, and practices are using the automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system ahead of its arrival in ACC games in 2027. Jarrett says the Noles will be challenging plenty of calls this fall.

Key additions include UConn lefty Caden Suchy, the Big East Pitcher of the Year, and RHP John Abraham is back after going to the MLB Draft Combine and not liking the offers. Fall exhibitions begin Oct. 10 against Auburn.

At Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers' affiliate, Tibbs became the first Pacific Coast League player since 1982 with 100 or more RBI, runs and walks in a season. His line: .287 with 30 homers, 107 RBI, 109 runs and a league-leading 108 walks and a .941 OPS in 141 games, while leading the Comets into the postseason.

Three Noles reached the big leagues: Jack Anderson (Red Sox, 2.19 ERA in seven MLB games, and he pitched for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic), Shane Drohan (Brewers, 7-5 with 121 strikeouts across 32 games and 19 starts), and CJ Van Eyk (Blue Jays).

Max Williams climbed from Single-A to Double-A and hit .300 or better at every stop (.326, 15 homers and a 1.019 OPS overall). Alex Lodise, the Braves' No. 5 prospect, earned two promotions and finished with 28 homers and 84 RBI, and lefty Jamie Arnold struck out 130 in 118.1 innings and pitched in the Futures Game.

FSU had at least seven players drafted for the third straight year, a program first, and Link Jarrett has now produced eight first- or second-round picks in four seasons, also a program best. This year's top picks were Wes Mendes (Astros, No. 57 overall), Myles Bailey (Cubs, No. 75) and Brayden Dowd (Diamondbacks, No. 88).

Fresh off a home sweep, both teams run at the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia, Missouri, this morning (women 9 a.m. CT, men 9:45, on SEC Network+). The women face nine nationally ranked teams on a course where they finished fifth at pre-nationals last year, and Bieke Schipperen set a personal best there. The men line up against 13 top-30 squads.

Women's tennis plays the Bedford Cup in Tampa this weekend, where freshmen Nicole Okhtenberg and Ariana Gilbert make their college debuts and senior Laura Putz returns to the site of her 2023 doubles title. On the men's side, Azariah Rusher went 1-2 at the ITA All-Americans, including a loss to former FSU teammate Erik Schiessl.

The Cauthen Fund, led by alum Brian Cauthen, made a major gift to FSU's Mental Health and Sport Psychology Program to add clinical staff and a dedicated office suite for athletes in every sport. “This isn't about one team or one athlete,” Cauthen said. “It's about ensuring all voices are heard.”