FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards

VIDEO ABOVE: Watch Aidan Birr make his first game-winning field goal in Georgia Tech’s 24-21 victory over the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles in Dublin, Ireland.

DUBLIN, IRELAND – Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr kicked a late 44-yard field goal to give the Yellow Jackets a 24-21 victory over No. 10 Florida State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.

Florida State tied the game at 21-21 with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter, forcing the Yellow Jackets to make what would prove to be the game’s final drive at their own 25-yard line. Tech gained 49 yards in 12 plays and used every second of the clock to set up the game-winning field goal.

FSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards in his first game at FSU. Roydell Williams and Lawrance Toafili accounted for Florida State’s two touchdowns, both on the ground, and Toafili added 25 yards on three pass catches.

Eight different receivers caught a pass for Florida State, led by Ja’Khi Douglas with four catches for 55 yards. Malik Benson caught four passes for 39 yards, including a 19-yard catch on 4th-and-7 in the 4th quarter that set up Williams’ 1-yard touchdown that tied the game 21-21 on the next play.

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King completed 11 of 16 passes for 146 yards, but it was Tech’s running game that allowed them to keep the ball away from FSU’s offense.

The Yellow Jackets averaged 5.3 yards per carry on their 36 carries and totaled 190 yards on the ground. Jamal Haynes was Tech’s best runner with 11 carries for 75 yards. King had 54 yards on 15 carries, while Chad Alexander had 41 yards on seven carries.

FSU couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game, gaining 75 yards on just seven plays from the opening kickoff and taking a 6-0 lead on Toafili’s 28-yard touchdown run with 10:58 left in the first quarter.

The Seminoles stayed aggressive after the touchdown as Brian Courtney drove into the end zone for a 2-point conversion and an 8-0 lead. The 2-point conversion was the first for FSU since Courtney converted a 2-point play in the 2023 win over Virginia Tech.

Georgia Tech was also successful on its first possession, gaining 79 yards in six plays, with backup quarterback Zack Pyron running down the middle and scoring a 1-yard touchdown to make it 8-7.

The Seminoles extended their lead to 11-7 when senior Ryan Fitzgerald made a 52-yard field goal at 11:06 of the second quarter.

The Yellow Jackets took a 14-11 lead with 3:13 left in the first half when Haynes scored a 1-yard touchdown to cap a 14-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 7:53.

Georgia Tech’s slim lead seemed to hold until halftime, but Fitzgerald kicked 59 yards on the final play of the first half for the longest field goal of his career to tie the score at 14-14 at halftime. Fitzgerald’s kick was the longest in a conference game in ACC history and the third longest overall. He also became only the third kicker in program history to make two 50-yard field goals in one game.

After exchanging punts in the third quarter, King took a quarterback keeper 21 yards to the FSU 2-yard line on the final play of the third quarter. Haynes scored a touchdown behind the left side of the Tech line to give the Yellow Jackets a 21-14 lead on the next play.

Florida State trailed early in the fourth quarter and launched a 15-play offensive that lasted over 8 minutes. Uiagalelei converted two powerful fourth-down passes during the offensive, including a 19-yard pass to Malik Benson at the Tech 1, and Roydell Williams charged through the middle of the line to tie the score at 21-21 with 6:33 left in the game.