DUBLIN — Avery Boyd, Chase Lane and Malik Rutherford stepped in front of their Georgia Tech teammates, who were passing around the Aer Lingus College Football Classic trophy, and decided to let loose.
There was one dance fitting for the moment: an Irish jig.
They delivered. It was their second perfect performance of the day at Aviva Stadium.
Aidan Birr made a 44-yard field goal as time expired and Georgia Tech upset No. 10 Florida State 24-21 on Saturday in the first major college football game of the season.
The win was Georgia Tech’s first over a top-10 opponent since a 22-16 victory over the Seminoles in October 2015.
Jamal Haynes ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns for Georgia Tech, while Haynes King threw for 146 yards and ran for 54. The Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were able to control the line of scrimmage and accumulate 190 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per carry.
“Really proud of the offensive line,” coach Brent Key said. “Shocking there, right? Really proud of those guys and how they were prepared.”
Coming off an undefeated regular season and with a remade roster, the Seminoles tied the game with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter on a 15-play touchdown drive that included two fourth-down conversions by DJ Uiagalelei.
Florida State (0-1, 0-1), which was favored by 10½ points according to ESPN Bet, never touched the ball again. Birr came on with five seconds left to hit the winner that just stayed inside the left upright.
Uiagalelei completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards in his Florida State debut, hitting mostly shorter passes until the late fourth-down plays.
Ryan Fitzgerald made a 59-yard field goal, a career long and the second longest in school history, just before halftime to tie the game at 14. Fitzgerald had a 52-yarder earlier.
The teams had just seven drives apiece. Georgia Tech’s final two were among the best, an 11-play, 89-yard touchdown drive and then the 12-play, 49-yard series to set up Birr’s kick.
“Very limited possessions,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “The importance of every snap in that game was monumental.”
Florida State was able to build four scoring drives, but just one in the second half. Though Lawrance Toafili and Roydell Williams had rushing touchdowns, the ground attack stalled as Georgia Tech’s defense held FSU to 98 yards on 31 carries.
“We’re not trying to prove anything to anyone,” Key said. “We’re not trying to go out and impress people. All we’re trying to do is play as hard as we can possibly play — as a team, as a family.”
Coming off a 7-6 season, Georgia Tech certainly impressed, sending quite the message to the rest of the ACC.
Florida State fans packed Aviva Stadium for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, the third straight Week 0 opener in Dublin.
ON ALERT
GT has been upset-minded in ACC play against Top 25 teams. The Yellow Jackets knocked off two ranked ACC opponents — at Miami and vs. North Carolina — in 2023. In 2022, Georgia Tech won games against ranked opponents at UNC and Pittsburgh.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Florida State will tumble in the next AP Top 25, which will be released after Week 1’s games wrap up Sept. 3.
TAKEAWAYS
Florida State: The Seminoles’ defensive line was viewed as one of the ACC’s best but did not record a sack and allowed Tech to run at will.
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets averaged 203 rushing yards per game (13th in the FBS) in 2023 and picked up right where they left off.
UP NEXT
Florida State plays host to Boston College on Sept. 2.
Georgia Tech plays host to Georgia State on Aug. 31.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
