No. 10 Seminoles stunned in Ireland, suffer 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech

DUBLIN, Ireland — After going undefeated and winning the ACC Championship in 2023, the Florida State Seminoles were the preseason pick of league media to repeat as conference champions in 2024.

They looked nothing like it on Saturday here in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

After a crisp opening touchdown drive that gave No. 10-ranked FSU an early lead in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, the Seminoles were terribly inconsistent on offense, ineffective for long stretches on defense and appeared to lose the battles on both lines of scrimmage.

The end result was a 24-21 defeat to a Georgia Tech team that went 7-6 one year ago and was picked to finish toward the bottom of the ACC standings.

The Yellow Jackets’ powerful and well-executed rushing attack helped them control the tempo, and their final long drive sealed the upset victory.

After Florida State tied it at 21-21 with a short touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter, Tech took possession at its own 35-yard line with 6:33 remaining. The Jackets devoured the rest of the game clock and sealed the win with a 44-yard, walk-off field goal by Aidan Birr.

Tech earlier took a 21-14 lead with an 11-play, 89-yard drive that stretched from the third quarter to early in the fourth. Florida State then responded with a 15-play, 84-yard journey that concluded with a 1-yard touchdown run by Roydell Williams.

FSU converted just one of three third downs on the possession, but the Seminoles were successful on two fourth-down attempts. The first was a 20-yard pass from DJ Uiagalelei to Ja’Khi Douglas on fourth-and-7, and the second was a 19-yard strike from Uiagalelei to Malik Benson on fourth-and-8.

In his first game as Florida State’s starting quarterback, Uiagalelei completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

A Florida State running game that was supposed to be a team strength went cold after a strong early start. The Seminoles finished with 98 yards on 31 carries.

It was a stunning result against a Georgia Tech defense that was one of the worst in the country at stopping the run last season. And it was equally surprising after the way the Seminoles opened up the game.

Florida State’s offense could not have gotten off to a better start. On the opening drive, the Seminoles marched 75 yards on seven plays to take an early lead on a 28-yard run by Lawrance Toafili. Tight end Brian Courtney then plunged into the end zone on a tricky two-point play to give FSU an early 8-0 advantage.

But Georgia Tech’s offense looked even more impressive on its first possession. The Jackets racked up 79 yards of offense on just six plays, capped off by a 3-yard scoring run by quarterback Haynes King. The touchdown was set up by a 42-yard pass from King to junior receiver Malik Rutherford.

It would be the first of two touchdown drives for Georgia Tech in the first half. The other was a time-consuming, 14-play, 75-yard march that ate up 7:53 of game clock and ended with a 1-yard run by running back Jamal Haynes.

That score actually gave the Yellow Jackets a 14-11 advantage, but Florida State tied it just before halftime at 14-14 on the second of two 50-plus-yard field goals by Ryan Fitzgerald. The first went for 52 yards, and the second went for 59 — it was the longest of his career and the second-longest ever by a Florida State kicker.

Florida State returns to action one week from Monday in a Labor Day night game against visiting Boston College.

Stay connected with Warchant.com for complete postgame coverage.

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