The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From Georgia Tech's Win Over Florida State

Georgia Tech had a dominant ground attack against No. 10 Florida State

Aug 24, 2024; Dublin, IRL; Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King hands the ball off to Jamal Haynes at Aviva Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tom Maher/INPHO via USA TODAY Sports / Tom Maher/INPHO via USA TODAY Sports

Georgia Tech came into yesterday's season-opener vs No. 10 Florida State as a double-digit underdog, but left with a win. It was a close back and forth game, but the Yellow Jackets dominant offensive line and ground attack won the day and got Georgia Tech a massive win to start the season.

There were a lot of things to like and not too much to dislike in this game for Georgia Tech. Let's discuss everything in the first edition of the year of the good, the bad, and the ugly from the win vs Florida State.

The Good

• Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in ACC play.
• No. 10 Florida State fell to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play.
• Georgia Tech won the game on a 44-yard field goal by r-So. PK Aidan Birr as time expired. It was the first time that the Yellow Jackets scored a game’s winning points as time expired since DB Lance Austin returned a blocked field goal 78 yards for a touchdown in Tech’s 22-16 “Miracle on Techwood Drive” win over No. 9 Florida State on Oct. 24, 2015.
• Saturday’s win was also Georgia Tech’s first over a top-10 opponent since the “Miracle on Techwood Drive” win over No. 9 FSU in 2015.
• Georgia Tech moved to 5-0 against nationally-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents in head coach Brent Key’s 16 conference games as head coach.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s first over a nationally-ranked opponent in a season opener since a 23-14 win at No. 16 Auburn on Sept. 3, 2005.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s first over a top-10 opponent in a season opener since a 24-21 win at No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 12, 1981.
• Georgia Tech snapped a three-game skid in season openers with its first win in an opener since a 16-13 victory at Florida State on Sept. 12, 2020.
• Georgia Tech also snapped a three-game skid in ACC openers (with the 2020 win at FSU also being its last win in an ACC opener).
• Georgia Tech moved to 6-5 all-time when opening the season against an ACC opponent.
• Georgia Tech won for the third time in its last four games against Florida State.
• Georgia Tech moved to 90-38-4 (.697) in 132 all-time season openers.
• Georgia Tech moved to 2-0 all-time in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. In its first appearance in the game on Sept. 3, 2016, the Yellow Jackets defeated Boston College, 17-14. That game also came down to the final minute, as the Jackets scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run by Dedrick Mills with 35 seconds remaining on the clock.
• Georgia Tech moved to 3-0 all-time when playing outside of the continental United States – 2-0 in Ireland and 1-0 in Hawai’i (an 18-17 win over Stanford in the 1991 Aloha Bowl).
• Georgia Tech limited Florida State, which 401.6 yards per game in 2023, to just 291 yards of total offense on Saturday.
• Florida State finished with just 98 rushing yards on 31 carries (3.2 avg.). After rushing for 58 yards on five carries (11.6 avg.) on their first possession, the Seminoles had only 40 yards on 26 carries the rest of the game (1.5 avg.).

• Birr’s 44-yard game-winning field goal was the fourth-longest of his career (career long: 48 at Wake Forest – Sept. 23, 2023).
• Castleisland, Ireland native and Sr. P David Shanahan was an integral part of the game-winning field goal as well, serving as the holder on the play. Shanahan also punted twice for 93 yards (46.5 avg.).
• For the first time in his career, r-Jr. RB Jamal Haynes had multiple rushing touchdowns (1 and 2 yards) in a game. It was the second two-touchdown game of his career – he had a rushing and receiving touchdown in last season’s win over Syracuse (Nov. 18, 2023).
• Reserve r-So. QB Zach Pyron scored Georgia Tech’s first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run, good for his first touchdown since a 9-yard touchdown run at Virginia Tech on Nov. 5, 2022.
• r-Jr. DB Ahmari Harvey set a career high with seven tackles (prev.: 7 vs. UCF in 2023 Gasparilla Bowl – Dec. 22, 2023).
• r-Jr. WR Malik Rutherford’s 42-yard reception on Georgia Tech’s first possession of the game matched the second-longest catch of his career (career long: 55 vs. Louisville, Sept. 1, 2023 – matched: 42 vs North Carolina, Oct. 28, 2023).
• r-Jr. LT Jordan Brown was the only Yellow Jacket who made his first collegiate start in Saturday’s game.

• The Offenisve Line was Super Impressive yesterday against what is supposed to be a talented FSU defensive line

• Haynes King did not have a turnover yesterday after leading the ACC in turnovers last season.

• Georgia Tech had 7 TFL's compared to FSU's 3. A lot was made of the advantage that Florida State had on defense, but the Yellow Jackets defense outperformed them yesterday.

• A lot of credit should go to the gameplans that offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci came up with. They did a fantastic job yesterday of attacking Florida State and winning the matchups they wanted to win.

The Bad

• I am nitpicking, but the downfield passing attack could be better going forward. The gameplan was to attack the Seminoles up front, but I do think that as the season goes on, the vertical passing attack needs to be better and able to complement the running game.

• There were a couple of fumbles that very easily could have went to Florida State and turned the game in the other direction. Ball security should be a top priority heading into next week's game vs Georgia State