Aidan Birr made a 44-yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia Tech a 24-21 upset victory over No. 10 Florida State on Saturday in the season opener for both teams at Dublin, Ireland.
After missing a 51-yard field goal earlier in the game, Birr capped a closing 12-play, 49-yard drive with the game-winner. Saturday marked the Yellow Jackets’ first victory against a top-10 team since 2015, a 22-16 win that was also over Florida State, then ranked ninth.
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King completed 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards and added 54 rushing yards for Georgia Tech (1-0), while running back Jamal Haynes ran 11 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
In his Florida State debut, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was 19 of 27 for 193 yards in the air. Roydell Williams carried the ball 12 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, while Lawrance Toafili added 32 yards and a score on the ground.
With the score tied 14-14 at halftime, Georgia Tech began the third quarter with a five-play, 41-yard drive, but Birr’s 51-yard field-goal attempt missed wide right.
Late in the third quarter, Georgia Tech embarked an 11-play, 89-yard scoring drive that ended with Haynes’ 2-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Yellow Jackets a 21-14 lead on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Uiagalelei led the Seminoles to a 15-play drive, which included a pair of fourth-down conversions. It was capped on Williams’ 1-yard rushing score that tied the game with 6:33 remaining.
Florida State began the scoring on the game’s opening drive, going seven plays for 75 yards, and ending Toafili’s 28-yard TD run. Florida State then ran a direct snap to Brian Courtney for a successful two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead at the 10:58 mark.
Georgia Tech immediately answered as King’s 42-yard pass to Malik Rutherford set the Yellow Jackets up on Florida State’s 13-yard line. Three plays later, backup Zach Pyron scored from 1 yard on a quarterback sneak, cutting the deficit to 8-7 with 7:29 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Seminoles offense then capped an eight-play, 41-yard drive with Ryan Fitzgerald’s 52-yard field goal, extending Florida State’s lead to 11-7 with 11:06 remaining in the first half.
On the ensuing possession, Georgia Tech turned in a 14-play, 75-yard drive that was capped with Haynes’ 1-yard TD run, as the Yellow Jackets took a 14-11 lead.
Fitzgerald boomed a game-tying 59-yard field goal for Florida State to end the first half.
–Field Level Media