Florida State Will Kick Off Redemption Season With A Dominating Win

Florida State vs. Georgia Tech, 12:00 ET

College Football is back and different than ever before with this season being the official start of the expanded College Football Playoffs. This should be an interesting dynamic that we will break down and discuss over and over again before the final trophy is hoisted. And, as soon as that trophy is lifted up, we will hear from people all over the United States saying how the old system was better, or more teams should be allowed, or some other random thought. The point is, no matter what the committee does, there will be issues and unhappiness from others. Either way, kick off to the new season officially starts today with the Florida State Seminoles taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

If the College Football Playoffs were to start today (imagine the season ended and these were the rankings) the Seminoles would be in the playoffs as the 10th ranked team. At least that is somewhat how it works - there are conference winners and other ways that a team that might be ranked lower than 12th could make the final bracket of 12 teams. Last year Florida State had a strong campaign, going 13-0 and then having to face Georgia in a game that saw them without the majority of their roster. They were upset about not making the Final Four last season and basically decided to not let the NCAA have a competitive game. Essentially their quarterback was injured and it seemed like the NCAA committee decided to hold that against Florida State and not let them have a top spot last year. So the team responded by barely showing up for a 63-3 drubbing at the hands of the Bulldogs. That was last year, now they can try and make a different statement, but this is a different team. Last year they had a talented defense, and this year they did get some strong players via transfer, but it will be hard to replicate the success right away. They also aren't likely to have that same chip on their shoulder from last season. Perhaps most notable of all changes is actually under center on offense where quarterback, DJ Uiagalelei will be in charge. He seems like he has been everywhere in his college career. This will be his fifth season and third team. There is nothing wrong with Uiagalelei, but he will need to quickly establish rapport with receivers against a decent but not great Georgia Tech team. 

Dec 22, 2023; Tampa, FL, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) stands on the field during the first half of the Gasparilla Bowl against the UCF Knights at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

On the other side of the field the Yellow Jackets await an opportunity to play early season spoiler and ruin this Florida State team's chances. There is a bit of optimism around the team mostly due to how they finished the season. They were able to beat UCF in the Gasparilla Bowl, but it was the game prior that had people buzzing. In a game against #1 ranked Georgia, they gave Georgia all it could handle before coming up just short and losing 31-23. That put Georgia Tech with a 6-6 record to end the year, but was at least encouraging that they could hang with, at the time, the best team in the country. Another reason for some optimism this season is due to their quarterback, Haynes King, returning to the team. He wasn't spectacular or anything last year - he threw for fewer than 3,000 yards and didn't even have a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio, but he had moments where he looked really poised and good. He didn't rush a ridiculous amount, but he was able to amass another 10 touchdowns on the ground and average 6.1 yards per carry last year. Defensively, there is a new coordinator and a lot of new faces. It will take a while for them to all get up-to-speed and ready for this game. 

The truth is Georgia Tech is going to be overmatched in this game. If the Seminoles want to win the game through the air, they probably have the better quarterback. If they want to win on the ground, they should effectively attack a new defense, and one that was bad against the run last year. If they want to win with defense, they are playing a quarterback that had too many turnovers last year. The coaching is better, the offense is better, and the defense is better, the only thing that might work in Georgia Tech's favor is that the game is in Ireland and it is the first game. That's the only reason it might be close. I'll take Florida State to win this game by 11 or more points. I expect it to be two touchdowns at least. 

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