Birr's FG Lifts Tech Past No. 10 FSU

Dublin, Ireland – Aidan Birr kicked a 44-yard field goal at the final horn, lifting Georgia Tech to a 24-21 victory over No. 10 Florida State Saturday evening in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium. It was the 2024 season opener for both teams.

Tech tasted victory for the second time in as many trips to Aviva Stadium, having defeated Boston College on a late rally in 2016, 17-14, and also knocked off a top-10 team for the first time since upending the Seminoles, 22-16, on Oct. 24, 2015 in Atlanta.

The field goal culminated a 49-yard drive that took 12 plays and melted the final 6:33 off the game clock. Birr, a sophomore from Kennedale, Texas, had missed a 51-yarder on the Yellow Jackets’ first possession of the second half after hitting 17-of-19 last season as a red-shirt freshman (with his longest having been a 48-yarder).

Tech got in position for the winning kick despite an errant snap two plays earlier that lost 10 yards and set the Jackets back to the FSU 38. Quarterback Haynes King hit receiver Eric Singleton, Jr., to get back 12 yards, setting up Birr at the Seminole 26. His placed the kick just inside the left upright for the win.

FSU had tied the game on the prior possession, marching 84 yards on 15 plays in 8:18. QB D.J. Uiagalelei converted two fourth-down passes in Tech territory to keep the drive alive, and Roydell Williams scored from a yard out. Ryan Fitzgerald’s PAT kick tied the game at 21 with 6:33 to go.

Tech ran for 190 yards in the game, led by 75 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns from Jamal Haynes, and 54 yards on 15 tries from King. King also completed 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards.

The Jackets held FSU under 100 yards rushing (98), while Uiagalelei connected on 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards.

Linebacker Kyle Efford led Tech defensively with 10 tackles.

Both teams scored on their opening possessions. Florida State received the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in seven plays, reaching the end zone on Lawrence Taofili’s 28-yard run. The Seminoles added a two-point conversion on a trick-play run by tight end Brian Courtney. But Tech answered right back with a 79-yard drive on six plays, capped by a 1-yard plunge by backup QB Zach Pyron and a Burr PAT to make it 8-7 Seminoles at the end of one quarter.

FSU extended its lead to 11-7 on Ryan Fitzgerald’s 52-yard field goal, but the Jackets drove 75 yards on 14 plays to grab a 14-11 lead with 3:13 remaining in the half on Haynes’ 1-yard rush. FSU tied the game at the end of the half with Fitzgerald’s 59-yard field goal.

The Yellow Jackets return to Atlanta to open their home season next Saturday, Aug. 31, against Georgia State at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Kickoff is at 8 p.m., with the game televised live on the ACC Network.

The Yellow Jackets celebrate Aidan Birr’s (33) 44-yard field goal that lifted Tech to a 24-21 win over No. 10 Florida State (Danny Karnik photo).

Postgame Notes

Team Notes

• Georgia Tech moved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in ACC play.
• No. 10 Florida State fell to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in ACC play.
• Georgia Tech won the game on a 44-yard field goal by r-So. PK Aidan Birr as time expired. It was the first time that the Yellow Jackets scored a game’s winning points as time expired since DB Lance Austin returned a blocked field goal 78 yards for a touchdown in Tech’s 22-16 “Miracle on Techwood Drive” win over No. 9 Florida State on Oct. 24, 2015.
• Saturday’s win was also Georgia Tech’s first over a top-10 opponent since the “Miracle on Techwood Drive” win over No. 9 FSU in 2015.
• Georgia Tech moved to 5-0 against nationally-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference opponents in head coach Brent Key’s 16 conference games as head coach.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s first over a nationally-ranked opponent in a season opener since a 23-14 win at No. 16 Auburn on Sept. 3, 2005.
• The win was Georgia Tech’s first over a top-10 opponent in a season opener since a 24-21 win at No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 12, 1981.
• Georgia Tech snapped a three-game skid in season openers with its first win in an opener since a 16-13 victory at Florida State on Sept. 12, 2020.
• Georgia Tech also snapped a three-game skid in ACC openers (with the 2020 win at FSU also being its last win in an ACC opener).
• Georgia Tech moved to 6-5 all-time when opening the season against an ACC opponent.
• Georgia Tech won for the third time in its last four games against Florida State.
• Georgia Tech moved to 90-38-4 (.697) in 132 all-time season openers.
• Georgia Tech moved to 2-0 all-time in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. In its first appearance in the game on Sept. 3, 2016, the Yellow Jackets defeated Boston College, 17-14. That game also came down to the final minute, as the Jackets scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run by Dedrick Mills with 35 seconds remaining on the clock.
• Georgia Tech moved to 3-0 all-time when playing outside of the continental United States – 2-0 in Ireland and 1-0 in Hawai’i (an 18-17 win over Stanford in the 1991 Aloha Bowl).
• Georgia Tech limited Florida State, which 401.6 yards per game in 2023, to just 291 yards of total offense on Saturday.
• Florida State finished with just 98 rushing yards on 31 carries (3.2 avg.). After rushing for 58 yards on five carries (11.6 avg.) on their first possession, the Seminoles had only 40 yards on 26 carries the rest of the game (1.5 avg.).

Individual Notes

• Birr’s 44-yard game-winning field goal was the fourth-longest of his career (career long: 48 at Wake Forest – Sept. 23, 2023).
• Castleisland, Ireland native and Sr. P David Shanahan was an integral part of the game-winning field goal as well, serving as the holder on the play. Shanahan also punted twice for 93 yards (46.5 avg.).
• For the first time in his career, r-Jr. RB Jamal Haynes had multiple rushing touchdowns (1 and 2 yards) in a game. It was the second two-touchdown game of his career – he had a rushing and receiving touchdown in last season’s win over Syracuse (Nov. 18, 2023).
• Reserve r-So. QB Zach Pyron scored Georgia Tech’s first touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run, good for his first touchdown since a 9-yard touchdown run at Virginia Tech on Nov. 5, 2022.
• r-Jr. DB Ahmari Harvey set a career high with seven tackles (prev.: 7 vs. UCF in 2023 Gasparilla Bowl – Dec. 22, 2023).
• r-Jr. WR Malik Rutherford’s 42-yard reception on Georgia Tech’s first possession of the game matched the second-longest catch of his career (career long: 55 vs. Louisville, Sept. 1, 2023 – matched: 42 vs North Carolina, Oct. 28, 2023).
• r-Jr. LT Jordan Brown was the only Yellow Jacket who made his first collegiate start in Saturday’s game.

A swarming Georgia Tech defense limited Florida State to just 291 yards of total offense in Saturday’s 24-21 victory (Danny Karnik photo).

Multimedia

Coach Key Postgame Press Conference (Video)

Student-Athletes Postgame Press Conference – Haynes King, Jamal Haynes and Weston Franklin (Video)

Student-Athletes Postgame Press Conference – Ahmari Harvey, Kyle Efford, Aidan Birr and David Shanahan (Video)

Georgia Tech Game Highlights (Video)

Full Game Replay (ACC Digital Network)

Around Social Media

What a night in Dublin! 👏🇮🇪@GeorgiaTechFB defeats @FSUFootball in the 2024 Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the @AVIVAStadium.🏟️#MuchMoreThanAGame | #TouchdownIreland pic.twitter.com/vjW4SClWo6

— Aer Lingus College Football Classic (@cfbireland) August 24, 2024

Congratulations to @GeorgiaTechFB 🏆🐝

The Yellow Jackets are your 2024 @AerLingus College Football Classic Champions. #MuchMoreThanAGame | #TouchdownDublin pic.twitter.com/GsY3Vc1LGw

— Aer Lingus College Football Classic (@cfbireland) August 24, 2024

📍𝐃𝐔𝐁lin

Aidan Birr makes a 44-yard field goal to secure @GeorgiaTechFB‘s win and upset over No. 10 Florida State@GeorgiaTechFB | #StingEm 🐝 | @cpisecurity pic.twitter.com/PwApBFN0nJ

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) August 24, 2024

“Everybody was very confident coming in.”

Haynes King on @GeorgiaTechFB‘s statement win over No. 10 FSU 😤 pic.twitter.com/0BQ3GJ1OQ9

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) August 24, 2024

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) August 24, 2024

We didn’t forget about QB1….@haynes_king10 went 11-16 and amassed a 145.4 passer rating 💪@GeorgiaTechFB | @GTAthletics | #StingEm 🐝 pic.twitter.com/FtRi7eV3xm

— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) August 24, 2024

Your @AerLingus Player Of the Game goes to Haynes King ! 👏🤩

What a performance by the @GeorgiaTechFB Quarterback! #MuchMoreThanAGame | #TouchdownDublin pic.twitter.com/kPI3zyQ8OL

— Aer Lingus College Football Classic (@cfbireland) August 24, 2024