The Reason behind FSU firing AD & does FSU have a shot at Bama? / Florida State PrimeTime LIVE 26

Florida State Primetime Live (presented by FanDuel) Host: Jackson Burleson Guests: Colby Crawford (Noles247 / 247Sports FSU) and Jackson Johnson (Alabama VOCFB / SEC VOCFB) Theme: Why FSU fired AD Michael Alford midseason, recruiting ripples, fan buyout campaign, SMU film leftovers, and Alabama preview. Segment 1 — Alford out before Norvell (00:00–09:58) Burleson opens with the question: if someone told you before the season that AD Michael Alford would be fired before Mike Norvell, what would you say? Colby Crawford: Not shocked. Timing was a little messy, but the writing was on the wall. Board chair Peter Collins and president Richard McCullough did not want Alford “with his hands on the wheel” for the next football-coach hire. Football results drove it: 2-10, 5-7, then 1-1 to start 2026 after an uninspiring Labor Day effort vs. SMU. Facility wins (football-only building, Doak upgrades) and other sports (soccer national title) weren’t enough. Football is the moneymaker. President McCullough’s “we’re behind” comments = FSU got outpaced in NIL / revenue sharing. Alford publicly favored staying under the ~$20.5M cap while peers spent more. Money went to buildings instead of roster. Interim AD: Bruce Warwick. Stop-gap for day-to-day; Collins still pulling strings. Norvell implication: Firing the AD midseason is not an endorsement. “When, not if” if the season keeps trending this way. Alabama this weekend is the next test. AD candidates (very early): Jeremiah Dickey (Boise State — hottest name), Derek Brooks (USF COO), Zach Selman (Mississippi State), Ed Scott (Memphis). Priority: fundraiser with connections. Aggressive timeline could be early November; realistic is winter so a new AD + GM staff can hit signing day / portal. Fan takeaway: First domino. Alignment among president, board, new AD, and (likely) new coach matters more than ever with realignment still unfolding. Segment 2 — Recruiting scare: Sakari / Zachary Johnson (10:00–16:20) FSU 2027/28 commit (reclassified) safety/athlete Sakari Johnson (Miami Carol City) visited Miami’s home opener vs. FAMU (Hurricanes put up 77). He has now called Miami his “dream school.” Burleson is baffled. Committed in July after reclassifying from 2028. Versatile (WR/QB/DB), 6-1 frame, local kid. Tallahassee is a long drive from South Florida; Miami is home. Losing a four-star in-state safety would be a bad look on top of the AD news and 1-1 start. Compares the versatility (not the talent) to Travis Hunter flipping away. Asks chat: can FSU hold the rest of the 2027 class? Segment 3 — Fans crowdfunding Norvell’s buyout (16:20–19:00) SaveFSUFootball.com wants 250,000 fans to give $102 each to cover half of Norvell’s reported $51M buyout. Site cites 44.9% ACC winning percentage vs. pre-Norvell 76-8, and 0-6 vs. “legit” teams. Burleson calls it insane and funny — also a temperature check on how done the fan base is. Plans to track how much they actually raise. Chat already wants Tony White gone too. Segment 4 — SMU film + Tony White + Quintravion Wisner (19:00–27:10) Rewatched SMU. More flashes than it felt live (power outage, fans leaving), but scheme issues persist. 3-3-5 / heavy DB look getting beat over the top. Cushion coverage on 3rd-and-short is “cooked.” Jabril Rawls ran past the LOS at the snap on a long TD. Tony White presser: “69 of X plays were good, we want 9 back.” Burleson hates coaches saying “we as coaches need to be better” — it confirms what fans already believe. Mandrell Tisdale pre-snap crossover: White said they’ll cut it out. Biggest personnel gripe: Quintravion Wisner (Texas transfer, ~$800K) played zero snaps vs. SMU and wasn’t on the injury report. High-level CFP experience, receiving back. Singleton and Croma are fine, but Wisner changes pace on 3rd/4th down and would help Ashton Daniels get the ball out. “He has to touch the field vs. Alabama.” Offense too vanilla / run-heavy. Daniels running for his life. Conservative play-calling compared to Texas going for it on 4th-and-9 vs. Ohio State. Segment 5 — Alabama preview with Jackson Johnson (27:10–end) Spread: Alabama -19.5. Both stay away from the number; Johnson would only consider Bama moneyline. History: First meeting in Alabama since 1974 (Bama won big; later context 8-7 Orange Bowl era before Bowden). Last year FSU won at Doak. Johnson on Alabama: Wants 150+ rush yards (shouldn’t be hard). Keelon Russell: trust his instincts more than Ty Simpson did last year vs. FSU; will scramble but “reads the ro