Alabama v Florida State
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Florida State fans stormed the field after Saturday's 31-17 upset of No. 8 Alabama in a cathartic experience after the trials and tribulations of last year's two-win season -- not to mention the frustration in 2023 when the Crimson Tide made the College Football Playoff over an undefeated Seminoles squad. The celebration came with a price, though, as the ACC levied a $50,000 fine against Florida State as part of its new field-storming regulations.

The ACC announced in July that it will take a more aggressive stance against fans entering the field or court after football and basketball games starting with the 2025-26 academic year. The conference's memo stated that visiting team and personnel and game officials must have the opportunity to safely exit the competition area before fans access the field or court. If the ACC deems that a member school violates the regulations, it may levy financial penalties.

Fines for field-storming infractions increase in size with subsequent occurrences over a rolling two-year period. The first time a school is penalized, it faces a $50,000 fine -- like the one Florida State just received. The fine for a second offense doubles to $100,00, and the third and any further offenses beyond it come with $200,000 fines. Money paid to the conference will go to its postgraduate scholarship account.

Florida State's field storm came at the end of college football's first top-10 upset of the young season. The Seminoles entered Week 1 as two-touchdown underdogs to the Crimson Tide and fell behind early when first-time starter Ty Simpson led Alabama on a 16-play touchdown drive to open the game. But transfer quarterback Tommy Castellanos backed up his sharp offseason comments toward the SEC foe with a tremendous debut effort atop the Florida State offense and quickly put the home team in front for good.

Tommy Castellanos backs up talk in FSU's stunner over No. 8 Alabama: 'We heard everything everybody said'
Cody Nagel
Tommy Castellanos backs up talk in FSU's stunner over No. 8 Alabama: 'We heard everything everybody said'

Castellanos completed nine of his 14 passes for 152 yards, and as a clear fit in Gus Malzahn's rushing scheme, he added 78 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He was the star of the day for a clearly improved and more highly motivated Florida State team than the one that underwhelmed last season in a stunningly poor two-win season.

The Seminoles now have palpable program momentum again, while Alabama continues to search for answers in what remains a subpar start to the Kalen DeBoer era. The second-year coach is now 9-5 to open his tenure, and his season-opening loss marked the first for an Alabama team since 2001.