Biggest Takeaways From Georgia Tech's Win Over Florida State As College Football Returns With A Bang

DUBLIN, Ireland — College football is the greatest sport in the world, and Georgia Tech showed the world why on Saturday in the 24-21 win over No. 10 Florida State at Aviva Stadium in the Aer Lingus Classic.

On paper, it was an upset. After all, the Yellow Jackets were 10.5-point underdogs at kickoff. It didn’t look like it, though, as they won the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball from the moment toe met leather.

Should you buy the Yellow Jackets after the win? Should those of us (myself included) erase Florida State from our College Football Playoff predictions? Let’s break down the top takeaways.

Dublin , Ireland - 24 August 2024; Florida State Seminoles running back Roydell Williams during the 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic match between Florida State and Georgia Tech at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Ben McShane/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Georgia Tech Is No Joke

I tried to tell you that the Yellow Jackets are for real in our chat with head coach Brent Key, that this team is going to punch teams in the face on a consistent basis. That’s exactly what happened, as the offensive line pummeled a Seminoles defensive front that was widely considered one of the best in the country headed into the season. That domination helped the Jackets rack up 5.3 yards per rush and wear down the ‘Noles on the final drive of the game.

Defensively, they had ‘Noles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei running for his life. The former Clemson/Oregon State signal-caller averaged just 5.8 yards per attempt through three quarters. Yes, it’s fair to say that Florida State coach Mike Norvell didn’t trust his quarterback and worked his hardest to keep him from taking downfield shots. He wouldn’t have had time to take shots anyway.

This is "Georgia Tech football." It’s exactly how Key designed this team. Win the battle up front and go from there.

Florida State’s Biggest Concern Got Exposed

There had been murmurings throughout fall camp that the Seminoles were struggling through the air, and it showed up when it counted in the opener. That’s not what is really concerning, though. It’s that the glaring hole on defense was much wider than expected.

Dublin , Ireland - 24 August 2024; Florida State Seminoles quarterback DJ Uiagalelei during the 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic match between Florida State and Georgia Tech at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Defensive line depth is something that was of major concern heading into the season, and the Jackets took advantage as running back Jamal Haynes (75 rushing yards and two touchdowns), quarterback Haynes King (54 rushing yards) and running back Chad Alexander (41 rushing yards) made life miserable for a Seminoles front that was getting pushed several yards back on virtually every play.

The combination of a putrid downfield passing attack and a defense that has no fight is a bad look — especially since there is virtually no margin for error in the quest for Florida State to win its second straight ACC title.

Is Georgia Tech A Title Contender?

Speaking of the ACC title, is it fair to put the Jackets into that discussion? I think so after this performance. Defense doesn’t win championships anymore, "just enough" defense does. There was no doubt that the offense was going to be a force this year, which means that the defense just doesn’t have to be horrendous again if they’re going to contend.

It looked much better than "horrendous" on Saturday as it gave up just 291 yards.

In an ACC that will probably lack two superpowers, getting to the ACC Championship Game is certainly a possibility — especially with a head-to-head win over a team that was thought to be one of those superpowers going into the season. If they can make it to the conference championship game, all they’ll need to win it is 60 good minutes to win it — which is exactly what they got on Saturday.