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Thomas Castellanos publicly calls out start time for Florida State vs. Alabama

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•05/14/25•

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Tuesday brought along some information the college football world has been waiting on. ESPN announced kickoff times for some early-season showdowns, including Florida State‘s massive nonconference game against Alabama. Doak Campbell Stadium will play host, with things set to get underway at 3:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 30.

However, not everybody is impressed with the start time. Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos wanted the game to be in a primetime spot. He tweeted out “lol no prime time is crazy but bet” after hearing the news.

Another ACC vs. SEC matchup will take place in primetime to close out the first official Saturday of the season. Clemson and LSU will battle inside Death Valley — the Clemson version, that is. Those two teams very well may wind up inside the preseason top 10. ESPN gave it a nod over Alabama-Florida State.

In fact, an ACC/SEC triple header will take place. Tennessee and Syracuse will be the first game of the day on ABC. While the other two are on campuses, this one is in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff there is scheduled for noon ET and will lead right into the game Seminoles fans are anticipating.

Castellanos will have to settle for the mid-afternoon time slot. His Florida State debut will come against Alabama and the offense will look different for the Seminoles. Gus Malzahn has taken over as the offensive coordinator, a name Alabama fans are quite familiar with.

More on matchup between Alabama, Florida State

Both Alabama and Florida State will enter 2025 with critical seasons ahead, just for different reasons. Over in Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer is looking to get the Crimson Tide back on the right track. Three losses in the regular season were out of the ordinary from the Nick Saban days. Just missing out on the College Football Playoff was a disappointment inside the program.

As for the Seminoles, Mike Norvell is in need of a bounce-back campaign. Florida State finished 2024 with a record of 2-10, one of which was against an FCS program. Norvell is motivated to get back to winning ways and return to the national stage.

Castellanos is hoping to be a part of the equation, coming to Florida State via the NCAA transfer portal. Alabama will be starting a new quarterback too. Ty Simpson appears to be the front runner, although nothing is official yet. No matter when the game takes place, a fun one is brewing.