NCAA Football Season Kicks Off with Florida State's Shocking Loss to Georgia Tech

Unexpected Upsets in NCAA Football

We have our first major upset of the 2024 college football season. College football hardly disappoints, and it wasted no time making its presence felt in Week 0.

No. 10 Florida State has been upset by rival ACC opponent, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 24-21 in the Aer Lingus Classic in Dublin, Ireland. Georgia Tech kicker Aidan Barr was the hero for the Yellow Jackets as he hit the game-winner field goal from 44 yards away as time expired.

Game Highlights

• The play that set that winning field goal up was quarterback Haynes King, who moved Georgia Tech to field goal range before a notched shotgun snap pushed the Yellow Jackets back to FSU's 38-yard line.
• King found wide receiver Eric Singleton for an 11-yard gain to put them back in field goal range. The junior quarterback finished the game 11-for-16 with 146 passing yards and 54 rushing yards.

These two ACC schools kicked off the college football season, and it was a thriller from start to finish. The Seminoles' loss marks their second loss as a top-10 team against unranked opponents. Their last loss came in 1989 against Southern Miss.

Saturday's victory by the Yellow Jackets marks their first game win against a Top 10 team since 2015. Ironically, that win also came against Florida State.

On top of that, in the last 40 years, five unranked teams have beaten an AP Top 10 conference opponent in a season opener, and all have come since 2020.

According to CBS Sports, the Seminoles entered Saturday's contest favorites with a -10.5 spread. The over/under was set at 55.5, and the Seminoles' money line was set at -455 compared to Georgia Tech's at +341.

Florida State came into the 2024 season as a team that felt disrespected. Although they finished the 2023 season as an undefeated squad and ACC champions, they did not make the College Football Playoff.

They entered Saturday's contest with a new team, as they lost many of their impact players to the NFL, including edge rusher Jared Verse and defensive tackle Braden Fiske, who were both drafted by the Los Angeles Rams.

This will be a devastating blow for the Seminoles and their playoff hopes. Last season, they felt wronged, and this season, they are already behind the eight-ball. However, with the expansion playoffs this season, at minimum, a three-loss team could still have a chance to compete for the National Championship Trophy in late January.

Implications and Future Prospects

As college football embarks on this unpredictable journey, the ramifications of this upset will be felt far and wide. Fans, analysts, and players alike will be intrigued to see how both teams respond in the upcoming weeks.