Georgia Tech stuns No. 10 Florida State, pulls off upset on last-second field goal

College football made its triumphant return on Saturday – and the season opener came down to the wire. Florida State and Georgia Tech went mano-a-mano in Dublin in what turned out to be a thrilling ACC matchup and had the Seminoles on upset alert.

In the final seconds, it was up to Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr, who missed a field goal earlier in the game. His second try was true from 44 yards out, and it gave the Yellow Jackets the victory of the No. 10-ranked Seminoles in the first game of the year.

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Florida State struck first after Georgia Tech deferred. Lawrance Toafili took a 28-yard rush into the end zone, and Mike Norvell got creative on the two-point conversion attempt. The swinging gate worked and gave the Seminoles an early 8-0 lead over the Yellow Jackets.

But Georgia Tech didn’t back down. Haynes King led an impressive opening drive of his own and Zach Pyron, out for a red-zone package, used a quarterback draw to get on the board and make it an 8-7 ballgame.

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After a 52-yard field goal from Ryan Fitzgerald extended the FSU lead to 11-7, Georgia Tech put together a surgical 7:53 drive capped by a Jamal Haynes touchdown to put the Yellow Jackets out in front 14-11. That score held until Fitzgerald drilled a 59-yard attempt into the half to tie things up.

A missed Georgia Tech field goal got the second half started, and the game stayed tied until the fourth quarter. That’s when, after a 6:22 drive, the Yellow Jackets again found the end zone on Haynes’ second touchdown run of the day to go up 21-14.

Florida State rose to the occasion, though. DJ Uiagalelei made multiple big throws on the ensuing possession, and Roydell Williams brought things back to a 21-21 tie with 6:33 to go. That gave Georgia Tech the ball back, and King led yet another impressive, clock-draining possession.

It ended with Birr’s field goal, sealing the 24-21 victory. In the process, the Yellow Jackets pulled off a major upset in just the first game of the year.

King had a huge day as a dual threat, throwing for 146 passing yards and adding 54 rushing yards on the ground. In addition to his two rushing touchdowns, Haynes added 75 rushing yards to lead a Georgia Tech offense that, in the words of coach Brent Key, chose to “run the ball.”

On the FSU side, Uiagalelei struggled in his debut after transferring from Oregon State. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards, but had a rough go throwing the ball down the field. Georgia Tech also shut down the Seminoles’ running game, holding them to 98 yards on the ground, led by 38 from Roydell Williams.