Previewing Florida State's Matchup Against Alabama + Alford Fired | Florida State Seminoles LIVE 340

Florida State Seminoles LIVE 340 Previewing FSU vs. Alabama + Michael Alford Fired Hosts: Gus Wilson & Cole Kruger | FSUVOCFB Sponsor: FanDuel 0:00–2:00 — Intro Gus and Cole open a busy Wednesday night show. Cole’s power was out in Tallahassee for about an hour; apartment just starting to cool. Gus recorded with Auburn VOCFB and is heading to Oxford for the LSU–Ole Miss tailgate scene (credentials TBD). Game this Saturday: FSU at Alabama, 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC (moved off The CW) at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny. 2:00–7:25 — Michael Alford fired Athletic director Michael Alford was fired Monday. Gus published a piece with Sport and Stage criticizing Alford’s tenure since 2021: failure to adapt to NIL and the new college sports landscape, not just football. Cole was shocked. Rumblings existed all week; the school used the weekend to prepare the announcement. Surprise that Alford went before Mike Norvell. Program did not want Alford picking the next head coach. Alford positives: hired Luke Loucks and Brian Pensky; brought lacrosse to FSU. Failures: player retention (Isaiah Torres cited), unwillingness to spend in the NIL era. Miami spends $5–8 million on QBs; FSU paid Ashton Daniels ~$800K. Stadium renovation viewed as a failure by boosters, alumni, fans, and students — Doak is quieter after losing ~20,000 seats. Not solely Alford’s call. Interim AD: Bruce Warwick. Search should already be in full swing; hosts expect a hire by end of October or sooner. President McCullough’s press conference framed the move around lack of NIL usage. 7:25–16:00 — Norvell hot-seat rumors, moving trucks, buyout Pete Thamel/ESPN-style report (hosts name “Evan’s theory” / similar reporting) that FSU is preparing to fire Norvell after Saturday if they get blown out. Buyout this month: $51 million. Hosts treat it with a grain of salt. Old Row and others posted photos/video of moving trucks and boxes outside Norvell’s house mid-season. Warchant presser clip: Norvell asked about the trucks. He says he doesn’t look online much, focus is on the state and the team, results haven’t been good enough, no excuses, believes in the process and the players. Cole: Who is filming outside a coach’s house? Privacy issue. Norvell’s laugh-then-coach-speak reaction felt like he didn’t know the footage was public. Tallahassee Democrat reported Norvell is staying for the foreseeable future. Cost of a full reset: Norvell buyout + entire staff + $8–10M new coach + new AD ≈ $130 million. Boosters have not shown that appetite the last two years. Hosts do not expect a Sunday firing after Alabama. Norvell’s alma mater Central Arkansas visits next Saturday (family weekend). They expect him to coach that game. Victory lap: both hosts flagged Sunday, October 18 (day after Miami) as the realistic date all offseason. Possible 2–5, 0–4 ACC record with only wins over Central Arkansas and New Mexico State. Road-win drought: approaching three years since last true road win (ACC Championship, Dec. 2023). Cole was at that game. “Mind-boggling” for a program with FSU’s logo and history. 16:00–22:10 — Offense vs. Alabama What FSU needs: Push the ball downfield. Deuce Robinson: 6 catches in 2 games, ~3 per game, under 20 yards per game. Must get him involved; realistically needs double-digit catches to stay in the game. Ashton Daniels has not shown the arm strength or downfield success advertised all offseason. Norvell says he’s improving in practice; hosts don’t buy it yet. Get the ball to Makai Danzy — not just end-arounds; screens and downfield work. He’s faster than most of the secondary. Run game (Usman Kromah, Sam Singleton) is the best part of the offense. Establish it, then play-action. Score on the opening drive to steal first-half momentum. Alabama struggled early vs. Kentucky. Alabama just shut down Kentucky’s run (including C.J. Baxter) and has film on Daniels from last year’s Iron Bowl plus Norvell’s play-calling. Time of possession and getting playmakers the ball. Alabama will key the run; FSU has to prove it can throw over the top. Revenge factor: many Alabama defenders remember last year’s home loss to FSU. 22:10–28:40 — Defense vs. Alabama Priority: contain Keelon Russell’s legs and make him beat them with his arm. Not overly worried about the Alabama run game after a shaky first half vs. Kentucky. Pressure Russell. FSU has 3 sacks in 2 games — all from linebackers. Defensive line has no sample size