The first game of the 2024 college football season was a big battle of ACC teams as No. 10 Florida State – the reigning conference champions – against Georgia Tech.
The game was played in Dublin, Ireland and proved to be an absolute gem.
Florida State struggled to move the ball through the air the entire game under new starter DJ Uiagalelei. But the running game was just as anemic with only one run of over 10 yards by a Seminoles player the entire game. The Seminoles were bailed out of some tight spots by their stellar kicker, Ryan Fitzgerald, who drilled two field goals of 52 and 59 yards in the second quarter.
Georgia Tech weren’t exactly world beaters, throwing the ball only 16 times all game. But they did enough as quarterback Haynes King completed 11 passes for 146 yards and was mistake-free all game.
Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes put the team on his back with 75 rushing yards, 16 receiving yards and two rushing touchdowns. But kicker Aidan Birr was the hero.
After missing a field goal in the third quarter, Birr lined up 44-yard field goal with five seconds remaining and nailed it, securing a 24-21 win for Georgia Tech.
THE GEORGIA TECH KICK TO UPSET NO. 10 FLORIDA STATE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JT6axonYn4
— ESPN (@espn) August 24, 2024
Fans absolutely loved it. About half were delighted to see Georgia Tech win while the other half was happy to see Florida State lose:
“What a great way to start the season! Love to see GT going strong!” one user wrote.
“All that whining FSU did only to start this year off as losers,” another joked.
“Watched every minute. An awesome start to the college football season,” a third wrote.
College football is so, so back.
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