Gus Malzahn couldn’t cease smiling. Patrolling Florida State’s sideline on Saturday, the longtime Auburn coach turned play-caller watched the Seminoles dismantle Alabama, 31–17, in a season-opening shocker that felt like a profession revival.
It felt like previous occasions, Malzahn later shared in a sly put up on social media, poking at Alabama. However this wasn’t Auburn-Bama for Malzahn, who was as soon as so embroiled within the Iron Bowl rivalry he refused to make use of crimson purple pens on his playsheets. This was Florida State’s new offensive coordinator orchestrating the largest upset of Week 1.
The opener got here loaded with strain: one yr faraway from a 2–10 debacle and a roster stripped to the studs, Florida State needed to show it was beginning over, not ranging from scratch.
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For Malzahn, the win wasn’t nearly toppling Alabama. It was proof that, stripped of the burdens of being a head coach, he might as soon as once more be the mad scientist who flipped school soccer on its head.
“If you’re simply calling performs, it’s a very totally different deal than calling performs and attempting to handle a recreation. I sort of forgot what it felt like,” Malzahn instructed CBS Sports activities. “You could have a complete lot extra time in between collection, and now which you could take a look at the video and sit down along with your quarterback, you could have much more time to consider the subsequent collection and what they’re doing and what you might want to do.”
The free time afforded Malzahn alternatives within the offseason to experiment and re-evaluate the scheme. He unearthed previous playbooks, pulling dusty pages from the archives that hadn’t seen gentle in years. Formations he used at Tulsa within the late 2000s and at Auburn in 2009 and 2010, when his “Hurry Up, No Huddle” offense shocked the SEC’s system, breathed new life into Malzahn and the Seminoles.
He even pulled out his favourite trick play, “Struggle Track.” An offensive deal with traces up as a receiver, serving as a decoy for a display screen go, whereas a receiver or tight finish traces up as an inside lineman and shoots upfield for a wide-open go. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was prepared for the decision, possible recognizing the formation from his days taking part in fullback for Malzahn at Arkansas in 2006.
“We had to try this,” Malzahn chuckled. “It didn’t work. We bought about six yards as a result of [Castellanos] needed to take off operating. They’d the route coated. Kane performed for me and he did an important job being prepared for that. That’s one in all my all-time favorites, so we needed to throw that on the market.”
Malzahn stored Alabama off stability, complicated linebackers with pre-snap eye sweet and motions, efficiently manipulating and out-leveraging the Tide’s protection. The Seminoles crushed Alabama within the trenches with 254 dashing yards, and quarterback Tommy Castellanos backed up his preseason proclamation for the sport when he stated Nick Saban couldn’t “save them,” with 230 mixed yards and a dashing landing.
“He performs with a chip on his shoulder, and the remainder of the offensive guys feed off that,” Malzahn stated. “He made performs on his personal outdoors the system. If you’re taking part in a extremely good staff, a extremely good protection, like they’re, you’ve bought to have a man that may try this.”
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Wommack stated Monday Alabama was not caught off guard by the play calls.
“We performed hesitant,” he instructed reporters, “which isn’t the id of this protection. I believe we’ve bought a gaggle of younger males that take numerous pleasure in the best way they play, the trouble that they play with, and I believed we performed an excessive amount of on our heels on the street with adversity.”
Malzahn’s ordinary staples on offense had been there, however so had been just a few tweaks, which had soccer aficionados drooling on social media. His guard-tackle bluff reverse, the place left deal with Gunnar Hansen turned inside after which rapidly turned again outdoors to function a lead blocker for a jet sweep, paved the best way for Micahi Danzy‘s 32-yard landing, which gave the staff a 14-7 lead.
The Seminoles employed the “sugar huddle,” the place the offense huddles tightly close to the road of scrimmage, rapidly breaks into formation and snaps the ball earlier than the protection can determine their keys. Malzahn referred to as it because the offense ran down the sector after an explosive 64-yard go set them up on the 4-yard line. FSU scored on a fast pitch to Caziah Holmes to take a 24-7 lead.
Different methods had been integrated into the sport plan. Early within the second quarter, the offensive line froze of their stances after the snap for a delayed display screen go. Earlier, on a third-and-5, Castellanos regarded to the sideline for a faux “examine” play, nonchalantly clapping his palms to sign his heart to snap the ball, although the quarterback’s physique was nonetheless dealing with Malzahn on the sideline.
The efficiency was thrilling and satisfying, notably after a summer time of hypotheticals with out a lot proof of idea.
“I actually had numerous questions. We now have 11 new starters and within the spring we had been so beat up, we weren’t in a position to get any continuity,” Malzahn stated. “It’s actually all been about fall camp.”
It’s no secret Malzahn has been at his finest with cellular quarterbacks. From a sure-fire prospect like Cam Newton to an unproven junior school product like Nick Marshall, Malzahn pursues each the blue-chip and the neglected athletes. Castellanos was recruited out of highschool by a number of SEC applications to play cornerback and operating again, ranking because the No. 37 athlete in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings in 2022.
“I knew he was a quarterback,” Malzahn stated. “I knew he was able to being a extremely, actually good quarterback. Now he’s a veteran man, and the second is just not too massive for him. He performs with an edge.”
Castellanos signed with Malzahn at UCF, and departed after one season for Boston School, the place he excelled beneath coach Invoice O’Brien earlier than he was benched late final season.
When Castellanos entered the switch portal once more in December, FSU focused him as their No. 1 quarterback. Reunited, Castellanos and Malzahn discovered new life Saturday of their shared focus and separate histories with the Tide. Malzahn improved to 6-6 towards the Tide as a coordinator and head coach, together with wins that propelled Auburn to the SEC title recreation in 2013 and 2017.
“They’re at all times actually good. They’re at all times actually proficient,” Malzahn stated of Alabama. “If you beat a extremely good staff and a extremely proficient staff, it at all times feels fairly good.”
