Georgia Tech stuns No. 10 Florida State in college football opener in Ireland
By Kevin Dotson, CNN
(CNN) — For the third year running, the first day of the college football season featured a game in Dublin, Ireland. Nearly 50,000 fans packed into a sold-out Aviva Stadium, Ireland’s national soccer and rugby stadium, to watch Georgia Tech stun No. 10 Florida State 24-21.
The Seminoles, led by senior transfer portal quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, flew down the field on their opening drive, moving 75 yards in just over four minutes to score a touchdown and cap it with a trick play for a two-point conversion.
The Yellow Jackets answered with their own flashy touchdown drive, going 79 yards downfield in just three and a half minutes. In the second quarter, Georgia Tech took the lead behind a grueling 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock.
Florida State’s kicker Ryan Fitzgerald tied the game at the halftime whistle with a booming 59-yard field goal that just barely cleared the crossbar. With his second field goal of over 50 yards in the half, Fitzgerald delighted the Dublin crowd by celebrating with a strut mimicking Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor.
After a scoreless third quarter, Georgia Tech took the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown plunge from running back Jamal Haynes. Florida State responded immediately with a touchdown drive to tie the game up at 21-21.
The Yellow Jackets leaned on the running game to carry the team all day, draining the final six and a half minutes off the clock before Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired.
The game had sounded like a virtual home game for the Florida State much of the day, but the stunning result left the partisan crowd in shocked disbelief.
Legions of FSU fans made the trip to Dublin. The Seminoles were hoping to bounce back from last year’s campaign that ended in disappointment as the team was left out of the College Football Playoff despite finishing the season undefeated and winning the ACC championship.
The controversial decision was rationalized by the selection committee, who said a season-ending injury to FSU’s star quarterback Jordan Travis last November fundamentally altered the team’s playoff credentials. Travis then moved on to the NFL, where he was drafted by the New York Jets during the offseason.
With the playoffs expanding to a 12-team format starting this season, the days of an undefeated major-conference team being snubbed from the playoff will be a thing of the past.
More than 25,000 fans traveled for the game, which is expected to bring €115 million to the local economy according to game sponsor Aer Lingus.
This year’s game in Dublin marked the sixth time since 2012 there has been a college football game played in Ireland.
Aviva Stadium will host Iowa State versus Kansas State next year and Pittsburgh versus Wisconsin in 2027.
The-CNN-Wire
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