Has Florida State or Georgia Tech ever played in Dublin? The history of CFB in Ireland

To kick off the season, the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are both hitting the road... or, more accurately, the ocean, to play in Ireland.

In Week 0 of the 2024 season, the conference opponents will face each other in Dublin, the capital of the European country.

So, what is taking the two neighboring opponents all the way across the pond?

The Aer Lingus College Football Classic, of course.

The Yellow Jackets are familiar with the Emerald Isle, traveling to Dublin to take down Boston College in 2016 at Aviva Stadium. Florida State, on the other hand, is making its first-ever journey to Ireland.

When was the first college football game in Ireland?

Nearly 40 years ago, in 1988, the NCAA had its first sanctioned American collegiate football game in all of Europe, much less Ireland.

It was held at Lansdowne Road in Dublin and was initially called the Emerald Isle Classic

Boston College defeated the Army Black Knights 38-24 in the game's first-ever rendition.

Since then, an NCAA football game has been played in Ireland seven more times (1989, 1996, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2022, and 2023).

The game between Florida State and Georgia Tech will be the tenth college football classic in Ireland, with two more scheduled in 2025 (Iowa State versus Kansas State) and 2027 (Pitt versus Wisconsin).

When are Florida State and Georgia Tech playing in Ireland?

The Seminoles and the Yellow Jackets are scheduled to kick off at noon ET, 5 p.m. in Ireland, on August 24. Fans, from both sides of the Atlantic, can tune in to ESPN to catch the action.

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