The 2017 season didn’t start as many hoped as Florida State fell to Alabama, but the first time that FSU’s Jimbo Fisher and Alabama’s Nick Saban were on opposite sidelines since both leaving LSU went the way of the Seminoles, 21-14. It happened on this day 10 years ago.
“We had to be very focused that week in practice,” said De’Cody Fagg, a senior wide receiver for the Seminoles in 2007. “We knew Coach (Bobby) Bowden’s history growing up in Alabama. We knew Coach Fisher’s history with Coach Saban.”
Saban and Fisher had coached together at LSU for five years and won a national championship together in 2003. Saban was in his first year as Alabama’s head coach while Fisher had come from LSU prior to the year to take the job as FSU’s offensive coordinator.
“Coach Fisher knew a lot about Coach Saban,” Fagg said. “I was a senior that year and I was the leader of the receiving corps. I watched a lot of film that week. We knew they had young (defensive backs). I knew they couldn’t guard me one-on-one and that was Alabama’s scheme.”
The Sept. 29, 2007 contest took place in Jacksonville. Both teams came in with a 3-1 record, but only Alabama was ranked at No. 22. Bowden, the legendary head coach for the Seminoles, grew up with an affinity for the University of Alabama and this was the only time during his 34-year career as FSU head coach that he would get to face the Crimson Tide.
“It was a record crowd in Jacksonville,” Fagg said. “It was two of the biggest teams in college football — Florida State and Alabama.”
Both offenses started slow as the contest went to the locker room tied, 0-0. That was when Fisher made a quarterback change, replacing starter Drew Weatherford with Xavier Lee.
“Drew did pretty good,” Fagg said. “Both offenses moved the ball in the first half, just no one could score. Once we put Xavier in, they couldn’t blitz as much, because we had a mobile quarterback.”
Lee was able to take the Seminoles 67 yards on the opening drive of the second half before finding Fagg from seven yards out for the game’s first score to make it 7-0.
The score would remain until the fourth quarter when the FSU defense made its biggest play of the game. Defensive end Everette Brown stripped Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson of the ball on a sack and defensive tackle Letroy Guion recovered at the Crimson Tide’s 5-yard-line. FSU found the end zone one play later on a touchdown run from Antone Smith.
Alabama however, had an answer as Wilson marched the Crimson Tide 91 yards in 13 plays. The drive was capped with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to D.J. Hall with 5:03 remaining that cut the FSU lead in half, 14-7.
It took FSU just one play to answer as Lee found Fagg on a short pass to the left. Fagg turned the corner and raced 70 yards for Florida State’s final touchdown of the day, which served as a dagger to Alabama’s comeback hopes.
“He threw me a hitch before and I dropped it or I probably could have scored then,” Fagg said. “We went back to it and I put a little move on and then showed off my speed.”
Alabama would add a second touchdown on a 17-yard pass to Keith Brown with 1:06 to play. FSU recovered the ensuing onside kick to ice the contest.
Lee finished the day with 224 yards passing, the two touchdowns and one interception in one half of football. Greg Carr led the Seminoles with 107 yards receiving, but Fagg finished with 94 and the only multi-touchdown game of his career.
“I’d put it up there as the best game I ever had other than Boston College (from 2007),” Fagg said. “Looking back, it’s fun. It’s something you can tell your friends and your family about.”
Wilson finished with 240 yards passing for Alabama, but the FSU defense was too much. Brown finished with a pair of sacks in the victory. FSU linebacker Geno Hayes had seven tackles, two for loss, and a forced fumble.
The season wouldn’t wind up being a crowning success for either school as both the Seminoles and Crimson Tide finished the season with 7-6 and both later vacated wins. As far as Saban’s tenure at Alabama goes, the 21-14 FSU victory serves as his only regular season non-conference loss to a Power 5 team and his only regular season loss on a neutral field. It happened on this day 10 years ago.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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