Alabama vs Florida State Prediction, Picks & Odds for August 30 — College Football Week 1

Farmer's prediction: Kalen DeBoer’s first season with Alabama may have been disappointing, but he’s set to have the Crimson Tide firing on all cylinders from the start in Tallahassee.

Douglas Farmer - Betting Analyst at Covers
Douglas Farmer • Betting Analyst
Aug 28, 2025 • 21:27 ET • 4 min read
Kalen DeBoer Alabama Crimson Tide NCAAF
Photo By - Imagn Images. Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer coaches his players during warm ups.

Ignore any offseason chatter from 18- to 23-year-olds on either roster. This is a season opener.

Both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Florida State Seminoles were always going to be waiting to cut loose.

The thing is, one of them should be far more ready, simply because of a distinct talent advantage, not to mention a coaching edge.

My Alabama vs. Florida State predictions expect the Tide to roll.

Read more in my college football picks for Saturday, August 30.

Alabama vs Florida State prediction

Alabama vs Florida State Best bet: Alabama -13.5 (-120 at FanDuel)

Get ready to learn Kalen DeBoer, national media. 

Get ready to learn Kalen DeBoer, SEC fans. 

And this week, get ready to learn Kalen DeBoer, Florida State.

The Seminoles will be improved this season. Their long-term trends can still be debated, but in 2025, Florida State will be better than in 2024.

Then again, that bar is about as high as a nickel in the hallway.

Unfortunately for FSU, Alabama is going to be much better in 2025 than it was in 2024. The Tide were pretty good in 2024, going 9-3 in the regular season and lingering in the SEC title conversation until they laid a dud at Oklahoma the weekend before Thanksgiving.

DeBoer has a proven track record of three-win improvements in his second season at every one of his stops as a head coach. You do not have to be good at math to see what that could mean this year after last season’s 9-3.

Getting Ryan Grubb back in the fold as offensive coordinator should only further that thought, particularly with Ty Simpson’s arm now behind center. Jalen Milroe was a fun quarterback, but he was not built for DeBoer’s and Grubb’s efficiency-based passing offense.

Alabama vs Florida State same-game parlay

Jam Miller is a wonderful running back, but Alabama should hardly miss a beat turning to Richard Young in Miller’s place.

Furthermore, Young will often face a light box as opponents have to devote a safety to covering Ryan Williams in just about any scenario.

Our deep-ball SGP: Roll Tide

The unusual confluence of Simpson Over 1.5 passing touchdowns and Simpson Under 249.5 passing yards, not to mention the Over 50.5 total points, is a nod to Alabama's defense. 

It should set up the Tide with a couple of short or reasonable fields, allowing scores but not necessarily gross yardage.

Alabama vs Florida State odds

  • Alabama vs. Florida State spread: Florida State +13.5
  • Alabama vs. Florida State moneyline: Alabama -630, Florida State +450
  • Alabama vs. Florida State Over/Under: 50.5

Alabama vs Florida State betting trend to know

The Crimson Tide went 4-1 against the spread in their last five regular season games. Find more college football betting trends for Alabama vs Florida State.

How to watch Alabama vs Florida State

Location Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, FL
Date Saturday, August 30, 2025
Kickoff 3:30 p.m. ET
TV ABC

Alabama vs Florida State latest injuries

Alabama vs Florida State weather

Monitor gametime conditions with our College football weather info.

Alabama vs Florida State moneyline prediction
That Alabama -630 moneyline is pretty steep, but it should not be doubted. To some degree, the Tide laying that egg at Oklahoma late last season should serve as a reminder to both DeBoer and the locker room to never let focus stray. New coaching regimes often need that reminder for the locker room.

Alabama vs Florida State spread prediction
As long as this spread sits within two touchdowns, the choice should be siding with Alabama. If it climbs to +14.5, the worry of a backdoor touchdown in a blowout should slow down any bet. The Seminoles are reliant on transfers for their offensive line, a mistake, as well at receiver. That latter possibility yielded some talent that could capitalize late.

Alabama vs Florida State Over/Under prediction
That thought of a backdoor cover is also further incentive to grab the Over, especially as long as it stays below the key number of 51.

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Douglas Farmer
Betting Analyst

Douglas Farmer spends his days thinking about college football and his nights thinking about the NBA. His betting habits and coverage follow that same pattern. He covered Notre Dame football for various outlets from 2008 to 2024, most notably spending eight seasons as NBC Sports’ beat writer on the Irish. That was also when his gambling focus took off. Knowing there were veteran beat writers with three decades more experience than he had, Douglas found his niche by best recognizing Notre Dame’s standing in each year’s national landscape, a complex tapestry most easily understood and remembered via betting odds.

In 2021, that interest created a freelance opportunity with Covers, a role that eventually led to Douglas joining the company full-time in 2023. In the fall, Douglas will place five or six dozen bets each week, a disproportionate amount via BetRivers because the operator tends to have lines slightly different than the rest of the market. The same can be said of Circa Sports’ futures markets.

While Douglas is an avid NBA fan and covers the league throughout the year, the vast majority of his bets are on college football, because that is the biggest key to sports betting: Know what you do not know.

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