The Alabama Crimson Tide’s second season under head coach Kalen DeBoer opened to an absolutely dreadful start on Saturday afternoon, dropping their opening game on the road against the Florida State Seminoles by a score of 31-17.

For a minute at the start of the game, it looked like all the improvements the team had made, widely touted in the offseason — both personnel and coaching staff wise — were paying off.

Alabama got the game started off with a 17-play, 75-yard and nearly nine-minute touchdown drive, which was vintage Tide.

Power running, dominant offensive line play, a mobile quarterback making the throws in Ty Simpson, and everything looked phenomenal as the Tide took a seven-point lead following a short touchdown to Josh Cuevas:

The Seminoles struck back in just seven plays though as Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos began what was a clinic for him all afternoon long. Castellanos dominated all day both with his arm and his legs, and Florida State would climb to a 17-7 lead at halftime.

The second half brought more of the same, and the ‘Noles opened up the lead to 24-7 after a big completion to Jaylin Lucas from Castellanos and a short rushing touchdown.

Alabama pulled back within a score in the fourth quarter after a field goal and a Rico Scott touchdown to make it 24-17, but they never got the ball back in their hands with a real chance to tie the game as Castellanos and Florida State’s offense continued to gash the defense.

Castellanos — who made headlines during the offseason with some trash talk directed at Alabama — finished the game with 78 yards and a touchdown on the ground as the Seminoles rushed for 230 yards as a team. Alabama was able to muster just 74 yards on the ground as they were physically overmatched all day long.

Simpson finished the game 23 of 43 for 254 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Germie Bernard led the way through the air with eight receptions for 146 yards.

It’s nothing short of a disaster for DeBoer and his staff as they struggled to tackle and block in a game where they were simply dominated at the point of attack.

There’s plenty of season left, but if Alabama does not turn things around quickly, the noise is only going to get a whole lot louder.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.