In the inaugural football game of the season, Georgia Tech surprises ranked tenth team Florida State, causing a significant upset.
The Seminoles, steered by senior transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, sped down the field on their opening drive, covering 75 yards in roughly 4 minutes to score a touchdown and wrap it up with a trick play for a successful two-point conversion.
Georgia Tech retaliated with their own eye-catching touchdown drive, covering 79 yards in just 3.5 minutes. In the second quarter, Georgia Tech took the lead, thanks to a grueling 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that consumed around 8 minutes of game time.
Florida State’s kicker Ryan Fitzgerald levelled the score at the half-time whistle with an impressive 59-yard field goal that just scraped over the crossbar. In celebration, Fitzgerald thrilled the Dublin crowd with a strut mimicking Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor.
The rest of the third quarter remained scoreless. Georgia Tech regained the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Jamal Haynes. Florida State swiftly answered with a touchdown drive to equalize at 21-21.
Georgia Tech relied heavily on their running game throughout the game, draining the final 6.5 minutes off the clock before Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Birr kicked a 44-yard field goal as the clock hit zero.
The atmosphere suggested Florida State had the upper hand for most of the match, but the unexpected outcome left the passionate crowd in a state of stunned disbelief.
A wave of FSU fans made the trip to Dublin. The Seminoles were aiming to bounce back from the previous year’s campaign, which ended disappointingly as the team missed out on the College Football Playoff despite ending the season unbeaten and winning the ACC championship.
The team’s exclusion from the playoff was justified by the selection committee, who pointed out that a season-ending injury to FSU’s star quarterback Jordan Travis in November fundamentally changed the team’s playoff potential. Travis then moved to the NFL, where he was chosen by the New York Jets during the offseason.
With the playoffs expanding to a 12-team format from this season, instances of undefeated major-conference teams being overlooked for the playoff will be a thing of the past.
More than 25,000 fans made the journey for the game, an event expected to contribute €115 million to the local economy, as per game sponsor Aer Lingus.
This year’s Dublin game was the sixth time since 2012 that a college football game had been played in Ireland.
Aviva Stadium will host Iowa State versus Kansas State next year and Pittsburgh versus Wisconsin in 2027.
Despite Florida State's dominant atmosphere throughout the match, their sporting comeback in the fourth quarter resulted in a tied score at 21-21. In the final minutes of the game, Georgia Tech secured a lead with a field goal, effectively winning the closely contested sporting event.
