Georgia Tech stuns No. 10 Florida State with late FG

DUBLIN — What a day for a dub in Dublin.

Aidan Birr’s 44-yard field goal as time expired gave Georgia Tech a win for the ages Saturday, a 24-21 triumph over No. 10 Florida State at Aviva Stadium.

Birr, who missed from 51 yards earlier on the opposite end of the field, let his right-footed boot fly with five seconds on the clock. Those seconds ticked away as the ball sailed through. The Yellow Jackets stormed the field. The Seminoles (0-1) fell to the ground in disbelief.

Birr’s kick capped a 12-play drive that covered just 49 yards but ate up the final 6:33 of clock.

Tech got 75 yards rushing and two touchdowns from running back Jamal Haynes. Haynes King threw for 146 yards and rushed another 54. The Jackets racked up 190 yards on the ground and averaged 5.3 yards per carry.

Tech (1-0) returns home to host Georgia State (0-0) at 8 p.m. ET next Saturday.

The Jackets’ afternoon didn’t start the way it ended. The Seminoles took the opening possession and gashed Tech’s defense to the tune of 11.6 yards per carry and scored on Lawrence Toafili’s 28-yard run down the right side of the field.

FSU tight end Brian Courtney ran in a two-point conversion making the score 8-0, less than five minutes into the game.

But the Jackets came right back — and quickly.

Zach Pyron’s 1-yard touchdown run up the gut made it an 8-7 game at the 7:26 mark. That drive was highlighted by a slip-screen completion by King to Malik Rutherford that went for 42 yards into the red zone.

Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a 52-yard field goal for FSU with 11:06 left in the second quarter making the Noles’ lead 11-7.

The Jackets put on a clinic on the ensuing drive. They ran 14 plays over 75 yards and bled 7:53 off the clock before Haynes scored from a yard out on third down. Tech finished the drive with eighth consecutive runs and took a 14-11 lead with 3:13 left in the half.

Fitzgerald made a 59-yard kick as time expired to end the first half making the score 14-all.

Tech was outgained by 20 yards in the first two quarters but averaged 6.7 yards per play and 5.6 yards per rush. King threw only five passes, while Uiagalelei was 12-of-14 passing for 96 yards.

After a scoreless third quarter, one that included Birr missing a long field-goal attempt, and Tech guard Keylan Rutledge recovering a botched handoff, the Jackets opened the final period with a 2-yard touchdown run from Haynes to go up 21-14. That score capped a drive that swallowed 6:22 of clock over 11 plays.

The Seminoles responded with a 15-play drive that lasted more than eight minutes and included two Uiagalelei completions on fourth down to keep the series alive. That score made the score 21-21 with 6:33 to go, setting the stage for the finish.