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DUBLIN — Avery Boyd, Chase Lane and Malik Rutherford stepped in front of their Georgia Tech teammates, who were passing around the Aer Lingus College Football Classic trophy, and decided to let loose.

There was one dance fitting for the moment: an Irish jig.

They delivered. It was their second perfect performance of the day at Aviva Stadium.

Aidan Birr made a 44-yard field goal as time expired and Georgia Tech upset No. 10 Florida State 24-21 on Saturday in the first major college football game of the season.

The win was Georgia Tech’s first over a top-10 opponent since a 22-16 victory over the Seminoles in October 2015.

Jamal Haynes ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns for Georgia Tech, while Haynes King threw for 146 yards and ran for 54. The Yellow Jackets (1-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) were able to control the line of scrimmage and accumulate 190 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per carry.

“Really proud of the offensive line,” coach Brent Key said. “Shocking there, right? Really proud of those guys and how they were prepared.”

Coming off an undefeated regular season and with a remade roster, the Seminoles tied the game with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter on a 15-play touchdown drive that included two fourth-down conversions by DJ Uiagalelei.

Florida State (0-1, 0-1), which was favored by 10½ points according to ESPN Bet, never touched the ball again. Birr came on with five seconds left to hit the winner that just stayed inside the left upright.

Uiagalelei completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards in his Florida State debut, hitting mostly shorter passes until the late fourth-down plays.

Ryan Fitzgerald made a 59-yard field goal, a career long and the second longest in school history, just before halftime to tie the game at 14. Fitzgerald had a 52-yarder earlier.

The teams had just seven drives apiece. Georgia Tech’s final two were among the best, an 11-play, 89-yard touchdown drive and then the 12-play, 49-yard series to set up Birr’s kick.

“Very limited possessions,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “The importance of every snap in that game was monumental.”

Florida State was able to build four scoring drives, but just one in the second half. Though Lawrance Toafili and Roydell Williams had rushing touchdowns, the ground attack stalled as Georgia Tech’s defense held FSU to 98 yards on 31 carries.

“We’re not trying to prove anything to anyone,” Key said. “We’re not trying to go out and impress people. All we’re trying to do is play as hard as we can possibly play — as a team, as a family.”

Coming off a 7-6 season, Georgia Tech certainly impressed, sending quite the message to the rest of the ACC.

Florida State fans packed Aviva Stadium for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, the third straight Week 0 opener in Dublin.

ON ALERT

GT has been upset-minded in ACC play against Top 25 teams. The Yellow Jackets knocked off two ranked ACC opponents — at Miami and vs. North Carolina — in 2023. In 2022, Georgia Tech won games against ranked opponents at UNC and Pittsburgh.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Florida State will tumble in the next AP Top 25, which will be released after Week 1’s games wrap up Sept. 3.

TAKEAWAYS

Florida State: The Seminoles’ defensive line was viewed as one of the ACC’s best but did not record a sack and allowed Tech to run at will.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets averaged 203 rushing yards per game (13th in the FBS) in 2023 and picked up right where they left off.

UP NEXT

Florida State plays host to Boston College on Sept. 2.

Georgia Tech plays host to Georgia State on Aug. 31.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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