The first College Football game of the 2024 season will take place in Dublin Ireland on Saturday afternoon. A pair of Atlantic Coast Conference teams will square off. The Florida State Seminoles will battle the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Florida State comes into the season ranked 10th in the preseason poll. The Seminoles finished the season with a 13-1 record last year. The Seminoles won their first 13 games, and did not get invited to the College Football Playoff. Florida State, missing many starters, got smoked in their bowl game against Georgia.
For Georgia Tech, they are coming off a season where they went 7-6. The Yellow Jackets won 5 out of 8 conference games last season. The Yellow Jackets finished the season strong with a 30-17 win over Central Florida in their bowl game.
These two teams have not played since 2022. In that game, the Florida State Seminoles blasted Georgia Tech. That score was 41-16. In this game, Florida State is -11 over Georgia Tech. The total is listed at 55.5.
Norvell’s Seminoles
A season ago, the Florida State Seminoles were one of the best defensive teams in all of College Football. In fact, Florida State finished sixth allowing just 15.9 points per game. The offense for the Seminoles was good too, but 22nd, scoring just over 34 points per game.
The Florida State offense is going to have a different load under head coach Mike Norvell. DJ Uiagalelei looks to be the man in charge of the offense under center. This is his third program now. He will take over for Jordan Travis, who tossed 20 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions last season.
Trey Benson is also gone. He was the top running back with over 900 yards and 14 touchdowns. It appears Roydell Williams will take over the role. Keon Coleman is another big loss for Florida State, which moves other guys to the top receiver spot in the Seminoles offense.
Underdog Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech looks to send Haynes King behind center for the 2024 season. King tossed for 27 touchdowns and 16 interceptions a season ago. King was also second on the team in rushing yards with 737 and 10 touchdowns.
The top running back option appears to be Jamal Haynes this season, with Trey Cooley backing up. Haynes carried the football 174 times for over 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns a season ago. Cooley also got 64 carries and 3 touchdowns.
The receiving core for Georgia Tech will likely be Chase Lane, Eric Singleton Jr and Malik Rutherford. Singleton and Rutherford were the top two targets last season, with nearly 100 combined receptions and 10 touchdowns.
Yellow Jackets Cover
We like this game a ton. We think this is going to be a really interesting game. Georgia Tech is building a team and a program. They are going to continue getting better. Florida State is one of the contenders to reach the College Football Playoff. In the end, this is a tight game in Ireland. The fans there get a good game to watch. Florida State wins close, but Georgia Tech covers the spread. Take the Yellow Jackets +11.
