Gus Malzahn couldn’t stop 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 career revival.
It felt like old times, Malzahn later shared in a sly post on social media, poking at Alabama. But this wasn’t Auburn-Bama for Malzahn, who was once so embroiled in the Iron Bowl rivalry he refused to use crimson red pens on his playsheets. This was Florida State’s new offensive coordinator orchestrating the biggest upset of Week 1.
The opener came loaded with pressure: one year removed from a 2–10 debacle and a roster stripped to the studs, Florida State had to prove it was starting over, not starting from scratch.
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For Malzahn, the win wasn’t just about toppling Alabama. It was proof that, stripped of the burdens of being a head coach, he could once again be the mad scientist who flipped college football on its head.
“When you’re just calling plays, it’s a completely different deal than calling plays and trying to manage a game. I kind of forgot what it felt like,” Malzahn told CBS Sports. “You have a whole lot more time in between series, and now that you can look at the video and sit down with your quarterback, you have a lot more time to think about the next series and what they are doing and what you need to do.”
The free time afforded Malzahn opportunities in the offseason to experiment and re-evaluate the scheme. He unearthed old playbooks, pulling dusty pages from the archives that hadn’t seen light in years. Formations he used at Tulsa in 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 favorite trick play, “Fight Song.” An offensive tackle lines up as a receiver, serving as a decoy for a screen pass, while a receiver or tight end lines up as an interior lineman and shoots upfield for a wide-open pass. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack was ready for the call, likely recognizing the formation from his days playing fullback for Malzahn at Arkansas in 2006.
“We had to do that,” Malzahn chuckled. “It didn’t work. We got about six yards because [Castellanos] had to take off running. They had the route covered. Kane played for me and he did a great job being ready for that. That’s one of my all-time favorites, so we had to throw that out there.”
Malzahn kept Alabama off balance, confusing linebackers with pre-snap eye candy and motions, successfully manipulating and out-leveraging the Tide’s defense. The Seminoles crushed Alabama in the trenches with 254 rushing yards, and quarterback Tommy Castellanos backed up his preseason proclamation for the game when he said Nick Saban couldn’t “save them,” with 230 combined yards and a rushing touchdown.
“He plays with a chip on his shoulder, and the rest of the offensive guys feed off that,” Malzahn said. “He made plays on his own outside the system. When you’re playing a really good team, a really good defense, like they are, you’ve got to have a guy that can do that.”
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Wommack said Monday Alabama was not caught off guard by the play calls.
“We played hesitant,” he told reporters, “which is not the identity of this defense. I think we’ve got a group of young men that take a lot of pride in the way they play, the effort that they play with, and I thought we played too much on our heels on the road with adversity.”
Malzahn’s usual staples on offense were there, but so were a few tweaks, which had football aficionados drooling on social media. His guard-tackle bluff reverse, where left tackle Gunnar Hansen turned inside and then quickly turned back outside to serve as a lead blocker for a jet sweep, paved the way for Micahi Danzy’s 32-yard touchdown, which gave the team a 14-7 lead.
The Seminoles employed the “sugar huddle,” where the offense huddles tightly near the line of scrimmage, quickly breaks into formation and snaps the ball before the defense can identify their keys. Malzahn called it as the offense ran down the field after an explosive 64-yard pass set them up at the 4-yard line. FSU scored on a quick pitch to Caziah Holmes to take a 24-7 lead.
Other tricks were incorporated into the game plan. Early in the second quarter, the offensive line froze in their stances after the snap for a delayed screen pass. Earlier, on a third-and-5, Castellanos looked to the sideline for a fake “check” play, nonchalantly clapping his hands to signal his center to snap the ball, even though the quarterback’s body was still facing Malzahn on the sideline.
The performance was thrilling and satisfying, particularly after a summer of hypotheticals without much proof of concept.
“I really had a lot of questions. We have 11 new starters and in the spring we were so beat up, we weren’t able to get any continuity,” Malzahn said. “It’s really all been about fall camp.”
It’s no secret Malzahn has been at his best with mobile quarterbacks. From a sure-fire prospect like Cam Newton to an unproven junior college product like Nick Marshall, Malzahn pursues both the blue-chip and the overlooked athletes. Castellanos was recruited out of high school by several SEC programs to play cornerback and running back, rating as the No. 37 athlete in 247Sports’ recruiting rankings in 2022.
“I knew he was a quarterback,” Malzahn said. “I knew he was capable of being a really, really good quarterback. Now he’s a veteran guy, and the moment is not too big for him. He plays with an edge.”
Castellanos signed with Malzahn at UCF, and departed after one season for Boston College, where he excelled under coach Bill O’Brien before he was benched late last season.
When Castellanos entered the transfer portal again in December, FSU targeted him as their No. 1 quarterback. Reunited, Castellanos and Malzahn found new life Saturday in their shared focus and separate histories with the Tide. Malzahn improved to 6-6 against the Tide as a coordinator and head coach, including wins that propelled Auburn to the SEC title game in 2013 and 2017.
“They’re always really good. They’re always really talented,” Malzahn said of Alabama. “When you beat a really good team and a really talented team, it always feels pretty good.”
