The Aer Lingus College Football Classic between the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets kicks off the 2024-25 college football season on Saturday in Dublin, Ireland, and I have my predictions for the college football Week 0 opener, FSU vs. Georgia Tech.
Florida State vs Georgia Tech Predictions
Florida State vs Georgia Tech Prediction: Florida State -11
For the Florida State vs. Georgia Tech game, my best bet is for the Seminoles to cover the spread, according to the live NCAAF odds page and the best line currently available on DraftKings.
This will be the fifth college football game played at Aviva Stadium, which has averaged 48.8 points since opening in 2012.
This will be the Yellow Jackets' second trip as a team since beating Boston College in Dublin in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Seminoles enter the season with plenty of motivation for their returning players after being ignored by the College Football Playoff selection committee last season.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 12pm ET, with temperatures expected to drop into the 50s by kickoff. It's worth noting that as Aviva Stadium is an outdoor venue, wind gusts of over 20 mph are forecast to be possible.
These lineups have some similarities since the two teams met in 2022. Florida State narrowly covered a -23 point deficit two seasons ago in Tallahassee, beating Georgia Tech by 25 points.
So what's the value of this bet? Let's take a closer look at our predictions for Florida State vs. Georgia Tech, the opener of the 2024 college football season.
Florida State vs Georgia Tech odds
Saturday, August 24
12pm ET
ESPN
University of Florida Odds Spread Total Money Line
-10.5
-110
55.5
-110o / -110u
-455
GA Tech Odds Spread Total Money Line
+10.5
-110
55.5
-110o / -110u
+345
FSU vs Georgia Tech point differential: Florida State -10.5 | Georgia Tech +10.5FSU vs Georgia Tech total: Over/Under 55.5FSU vs Georgia Tech moneyline: Florida State -455 | Georgia Tech +345
The spread started at Florida State -13 but is currently hovering between Florida State -10.5 and Florida State -11.5 depending on the book. The total started at 51.5 and has risen to 55.5.
For more college football previews and analysis, check out our NCAAF picks.
Collin Wilson's Florida State vs. Georgia Tech preview
Florida State Seminoles betting preview: The start of the DJ Uiagalelei era
The Seminoles will be without their offensive coordinator for this game due to the NCAA's three-game suspension of Alex Atkins for player recruiting violations. Head coach Mike Norvell was quick to respond to media inquiries, saying they “executed a plan through scrimmage opportunities.”
Atkins won't be calling the plays, but Florida State is expected to place more emphasis on the run game after balancing 50 percent of its pass attempts last season.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei returns to the ACC after one season at Oregon State, and the fifth-year senior had a great season in Corvallis, setting career records for big-time passes and average depth of target.
Uiagalelei was just as mobile in the Pac-12 as he was under center at Clemson, improving his career rushing yards to 1,133.
Atkins called for counter and outside zone read run concepts a lot last season, which was a perfect match for Uiagalelei and running back Roydell Williams, who transferred from Alabama.
Williams will assume the starting role after spending four years in Tuscaloosa with a deep roster, and the fifth-year senior averaged 3.4 yards after contact and had double-digit yards on 15 of his 112 rushes.
The one-two punch of Uiagalelei and Williams will see the offensive line bolstered by the transfer to 190 starts and 90% of the snaps starting in 2023, with reinforcements arriving in the trenches.
Florida State finished with an offense that ranked outside the top 100 in line yards and stuff rate, but the continuity in the trenches should ease Atkins' absence.
The strength of Georgia Tech's defense has been in the secondary, with the unit blocking just 50 percent of its passes from last season. Florida State will have a number of new faces at receiver, with redshirt freshman Jaylen Brown surprisingly announced as the starter on the outside.
The handicap on that side of the ball is whether the Yellow Jackets can defend the rush.
New defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci is expected to bring new tactics to Georgia Tech, moving to a 4-2-5 similar to that used by Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko.
The first-time coordinator used two portal players at linebacker but had thin defensive depth and inexperienced edge rushers, with Sylvain Yongjuen playing just 27 times last year because of injuries and Romello Height playing just a few hundred games in four years as a reserve at Auburn and USC.
FSU offensive tackle Darius Washington is expected to be the best in the ACC, and the Seminoles may not encounter resistance if they play consistently on standard downs.
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets betting predictions: Can the Tech team keep up?
One of the most powerful offensive teams in the ACC is the Downtown Atlanta Yellow Jackets.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner is poised to take on a bigger coaching job, but first he'll spend a full season with quarterback Haynes King under center and running back Jamaal Haynes in the backfield.
Georgia Tech leaned toward the rush 55% of the time last season, running over 300 zone read option plays and over 120 plays against the run concept.
My play in yesterday's game. I really like Jamaal Haynes' play.Jamal Haynes 16), his transition to running back was smooth.
He really showed off his speed and vision on this play, setting the stage for his team to end the first half on a high after South Carolina State's score. pic.twitter.com/F11Ouy8PtJ
— Jared Halus (@JaredHalus) September 10, 2023
Coach Faulkner returned starters on the offensive line at center and right tackle, with the unit returning 120 starts and 67% of the snaps from last year.
The ground attack ranked in the top 25 in rushing success rate and in the top 20 in average distance of first contact.
Georgia Tech will need to bring that experience to the table against a seasoned Florida State defense, which returns two of its leading tacklers in safety Shyheim Brown and linebacker DJ Lundy, as well as highly-touted edge Marvin Jones Jr. from Georgia.
The best part of the Seminoles defense has been their secondary, emerging as the best coverage unit nationally in terms of balls on targets allowed, with nickel Kevin Knowles II and cornerback Azaraye Thomas being contributors that coordinator Adam Fuller has ranked in the top five defenses for the Havocs.
Cornerback Fentrell Cypress II is in his sixth season and has only allowed opponents to catch half his passes while intercepting six.
King will return top targets in slot Malik Rutherford and wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr., but the offense fell to 75th in passing completion percentage on downs in 2023. Singleton, the team's top target, will have to improve on his 7.7% drop rate.
The question on that side of the ball is whether Florida State can contain the ground attack and tackles in space: The Seminoles were 31st in PFF's tackle rating last year but fell to 100th in tackles broken allowed.
Georgia Tech will have an explosive offense with King and Haynes, but it may have trouble generating quality drives. Florida State's defense ranked sixth last year in preventing quality drives, a statistic that measures possessions that end in a score, have 10 or more plays, last more than three minutes or cover more than 50 yards.
My Florida State vs Georgia Tech prediction: FSU covers the spread
Both offenses lean somewhat towards rushing attacks with an emphasis on zone reads using counter attacks.
The handicap will depend on which defenses can contain the quarterback-running back duo while limiting the explosive offense on passing downs.
Florida State shouldn't have any problem working the trenches against a defensive line that features edge rushers and linebackers under 230 pounds. Yellow Jackets defensive tackle Macius Scott weighs in at 290 pounds and is ranked 33rd out of 38 Georgia Tech defenders in defensive rushing rating.
The Seminoles are expected to be in scoring position frequently, and Atkins' absence could cause FSU's finishing drives ranking, which is 20th from 2023, to drop.
Georgia Tech will counter with a number of explosive options on offense, with Haynes and King returning 17 rushing touchdowns and Rutherford and Singleton each returning 10 receiving touchdowns.
The Seminoles defense is not expected to allow anything in the passing game, so tackling in space will be the biggest concern when facing the Yellow Jackets offense.
Ultimately, Georgia Tech simply doesn't have an answer for Uiagalelei and company in short-yardage situations.
The Action Network has Florida State projected at -19.5, with the Seminoles projected to dominate in the second half with a dominant offensive line and talented secondary.
Florida State vs Georgia Tech Prediction: Florida State -11 and up
How to watch Florida State vs Georgia Tech: start time, channel, location
Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland Date: Saturday, August 24, 2024 Kickoff: 12:00 PM ET TV/Streaming: ESPN
Florida State vs Georgia Tech betting trends
69% of the bets and 58% of the bankroll are on Florida State covering the spread. 58% of the bets and 56% of the bankroll are on the under.
Florida State vs Georgia Tech Weather
About the Author
Collin is a Senior Writer for Action Network, but also wears a variety of hats behind the scenes. Specializing in odds, power ratings, and matchup data visualization, Collin's work in the college football space has informed Action Network's PRO predictions throughout the college football season since the app's launch in 2017. Collin is equally committed to the college basketball space, and his passion for predictive analytics has made him a key force in finding betting advantages in niche markets such as professional wrestling and entertainment awards.
Follow Collin Wilson @_Collin1 on Twitter/X.
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