Observations after Georgia Tech’s massive upset over Florida State

In possibly the most overlooked Week 0 game, No. 10 Florida State surrendered to the improbable odds that featured a Georgia Tech win. In case you have not heard it enough, college football is here. Welcome to a new season, where the tides have turned in Ireland. 

Georgia Tech defeated Florida State with a walk-off field goal from Aidan Birr. The rupture of screams was heard across the world as Florida State’s war chant was put to its grave. 

It was a 24-21 victory for Brent Keys and the Yellow Jackets. This marks only the second time in FSU history that the Noles lost when ranked top-10 or higher to an unranked opponent. 

After about 24 hours of digestion, here is what I saw…

Georgia Tech's defense stands tall

As possibly the biggest question mark for both teams, the defense was one of the most telling factors in this upset. 

Although Georgia Tech had continuity in key defensive returners, there were still many question marks. There was no doubt the Yellow Jackets struggled immensely against the run last year, but today that was a different story. 

Florida State established the ground game early through many different guys. Ultimately, it was extremely effective early on. I was very concerned after the Seminole’s initial drive where they seamlessly moved the ball into the end zone.

Following that, Florida State went for two and executed on swinging gate play. 

The Seminoles' core offense was established upon the run game and once Georgia Tech made those defensive adjustments, the Noles were lost. The Yellow Jackets essentially shut down DJ Uiagalelei and the FSU passing game, making the game a slugfest. 

The defense, led by Kyle Efford, Ahmari Harvey, LaMiles Brooks, and Romello Height was too much to handle for Florida State. Ultimately, I expected the FSU defense to outshine the Yellow Jackets’s defensive unit in many aspects, but I was proven extremely wrong.

It turns out the Tyler Santucci hire as Defensive Coordinator was very beneficial and needed. 

Where was the FSU pass game?

In my game preview, I predicted this one to be a ground game. I was not under much belief that DJ Uiagalelei would air out the ball much, but I did not expect this outcome. 

Uiagalelei finished with an underwhelming 193 yards on 19/27 attempts. He threw no touchdowns or interceptions, but overall there was not much to his performance. 

As mentioned, the Seminole’s ground game was essentially the offense. Norvell was unafraid to unroll his entire running back room including the likes of Roydell Williams, Lawarance Toafili, Jaylin Lucas, and Caziah Holmes. These three backs combined for 98 yards, which was quite unsatisfactory considering the early success. 

It was inevitable that Georgia Tech would have to make adjustments to the ground game and they did. Florida State was left with limited options after the first drive. I was very intrigued to see which of the receiving crops would emerge as Uiagalelei’s number one target.

Unfortunately, it just never happened. 

I believed Malik Benson to be the guy coming into this game, but his talents were completely overshadowed by the Yellow Jacket’s defense. Ja’Khi Douglas ended up leading the team with 55 receiving yards for 4 receptions. Benson followed with 39 yards on 4 receptions. 

Mike Norvell’s offense is not screen pass-oriented, nor short checkdown passes. That is what DJ Uiagalelei was limited to in most of his throws. We saw Norvell try to be creative and open up the offense, but the number one option was just never there.

If we compare this to last season, it is quite evident the difference between downfield threats. 

In the magical year that was 2023, Florida State had a very simple yet effective game-by-game plan. Norvell would start on the ground and establish a running game presence through Trey Benson.

This would allow Jordan Travis to open up the field and take some shots. There was never any doubt in at least a few big plays between Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, and Jaheim Bell. 

Those playmakers are gone. Frankly, that was one of my worries prior to this game, and it was a good reason why the offense became so stagnant. Norvell is going to have to figure out some alternatives to open up the passing game, especially with an arm talent like DJ Uiagalelei.

Yellow Jackets own line of scrimmage

All right, we can point fingers everywhere. This is a bad loss for many reasons. It comes back to Coach Norvell, DJ Uiagalelei, and many more. But one area where Florida State fans did not see coming was the utter dominance displayed in the trenches by Georgia Tech. 

Let’s just say it was a major struggle for Florida State’s offensive and defensive line. If there is one major point of emphasis that the Noles had, it was to not just control, but dominate up front.

The Seminole’s heart and foundation of all things nitty and gritty was put to shame by Georgia Tech. Florida State was simply defeated at their own game. 

Georgia Tech sought out the game plan and brought it to life. Once again, props to Defensive Coordinator Tyler Santucci, who displayed one heck of a first game. His game plan was to attack, attack more, and keep attacking. 

It was no secret that Florida State had a lot of unknowns in the passing game, especially with DJ Uiagalelei’s shaky history and the lack of receiver depth.

Georgia Tech took that and ran with it. Santucci chose to leave his corners on an island and trusted his boys up front to clash head-on with the Florida State front five.

We saw Uiagalelei take a few shots downfield, and there were some pass interferences, but mostly there was nothing to show in the passing game. This was largely due to the overwhelming victory up front. 

We are talking about a relatively experienced offensive line that stunk the bed. Right tackle Jeremiah Byers got beat on the outside edge multiple times and it was not pretty.

Romello Height, the transfer from USC, absolutely wreaked havoc, securing 3 tackles on the day. Ultimately the FSU offensive line was left scrambling due to the Georgia Tech blitz that was left unanswered.

Likewise, the Florida State defensive line was not much better. I talked about Florida State’s run game which I certainly saw potential in. However, on the other end, it was ground and pound. The difference between the Seminole’s ground game and the Yellow Jackets' was night and day. 

Florida State reloaded on defense and especially addressed the defensive line. Many have fed into the NFL potential for some of these guys up front, but it was a massive flop in game one. 

The rushing yards disparity was just flat-out won by Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets rushed for a total of 190 yards compared to the Noles’ 98 yards. Jamal Haynes accounted for 75 of those yards, while Haynes King rushed for 54 yards. 

There’s nothing more to say than the fact that Florida State was beaten at their own game. Haynes King finished with just 16 passing attempts.

If I had seen that stat before the game I would have certainly picked Florida State. Unfortunately for the Noles, it was a very disappointing and ineffective defensive line. 

What is next? 

Florida State: Take a deep breath Noles fans. I get it, this was a much-anticipated game for many reasons. Coming off an undefeated season, Florida State was poised to run with the torch of anger that followed last season.

Unfortunately, things did not pan out. If you would like a silver lining and some sense of hope just leave things into the hands of the newly expanded 12-team Playoff. A Week 0 loss is certainly tough, but if there is any time to lose it is now.

The Noles have a lot of things to address, beginning from top to bottom. I would expect a bounce-back for my pick of the ACC Champions. It needs to be a quick turnaround as Florida State will face Boston College at home on Monday, September 12. 

Georgia Tech: Atlanta is riding high with this one. The improbable was done and now there is a real spark lit inside every Georgia Tech supporter.

Haynes King looked good, Jamal Haynes looked good, but there is still much to clean up with the Yellow Jackets if they want a real shot at the ACC.

If there is one thing to take away, it is the defense that came through and executed. Tyler Santucci has shown us what one offseason can do. The Yellow Jackets will look to ride this momentum into Week 1 where they will face Georgia State on Saturday, August 31. 

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