Alabama’s Week 3 trip back to Tuscaloosa brings a familiar opponent with a very different feel.
Florida State comes in at 1-1, Alabama at 2-0 and 1-0 in the SEC, and the Crimson Tide are a heavy favorite for the 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC. The Seminoles would love nothing more than to flip the script after last season and get their year moving in the right direction, while Alabama is trying to keep building momentum with a roster that has plenty of new faces.
One of the biggest personnel questions centers on Noah Rogers. The North Carolina State transfer was the wideout the Alabama staff seemed most excited about during spring, but a lower-body injury in the A-Day scrimmage changed that fast.
At one point, it looked like he might miss at least half the regular season. Still, Rogers has been dressing out for initial warmups before Alabama’s first two games, then changing into street clothes once the team heads back inside.
He was listed “out” on all availability reports last week.
Kalen DeBoer didn’t offer much clarity Monday, though he did hint that Rogers may be nearing a return.
"We took him on the trip, he didn’t play," DeBoer said of Rogers. "We weren’t expecting him to play, but that kind of gives an indication, I think, of how close we are.
And again, we’ll see how the week of practice goes. But I would say in the next week or two, you can see him out there helping us out."
Before the injury, Rogers was expected to line up with Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks in Alabama’s starting receiver group. Rico Scott has started the last two games and found the end zone in the win over Kentucky, so Rogers’ return wouldn’t necessarily put him straight back into the starting three. Even so, it would change the mix at receiver, with Scott and Derek Meadows behind Brooks and Coleman-Williams.
On the other side of the ball, Kane Wommack is expecting Florida State’s best shot.
"We got embarrassed in the first game of the season, and we saw their absolute best effort, and probably the best that they played all last season, and I would anticipate we will get their absolute best on Saturday as well," Wommack said.
Florida State’s situation adds another layer. Mike Norvell may not be directly coaching for his job against Alabama, especially after the Seminoles fired athletic director Michael Alford on Monday, but a lopsided loss would only crank up the pressure.
Florida State opened with a 34-17 win over New Mexico State in Week 0, then lost to SMU at home on Labor Day night. The team had last weekend off and extra time to prepare for Alabama, though that still leaves a tough task on the road in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Seminoles did pull the upset last season, but repeating it in Tuscaloosa is a different challenge entirely. Florida State has talent, but it will need a full 60-minute performance to beat Alabama again.
There’s also the kicking game, where Conor Talty enters with some momentum after a rough start to 2025. His season opened with the loss at Florida State, when he went 1-for-2, missing a 53-yard field goal on Alabama’s opening drive of the second quarter before hitting from 40 yards in the third.
Since then, Talty has settled in. He bounced back late last season after an outburst at teammates was caught on the broadcast during the win over Eastern Illinois, owned the mistake, won the offseason competition over transfer Lorcan Quinn, and has now made 10 straight field goals dating back to last season.
Quinn has handled kickoff duties while Talty has worked on field goals and extra points.
Alabama fans are hoping this one doesn’t come down to the kicker, but if it does, Talty has shown he can be trusted.
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