Georgia Tech showed a formula to win against Florida State

DUBLIN — For a school that churns out astronauts and engineers with numbing efficiency, spontaneous moments of joy are easily traced to careful preparation.

And that’s why the bruising hugs, violent fist pumps and relentless excitement that Georgia Tech unleashed at Aviva Stadium after upsetting No. 10 Florida State 24-21 on Saturday night in Ireland represented both a celebration and an ending.

Defeating a top 10 team for the first time since 2015, Georgia Tech capped the 2024 season with a rollicking upset — capped by Aidan Beer’s 44-yard walk-off field goal. It also provided the empirical tipping point for Tech’s growing ambitions.

Yellow Jackets coach Brent Key, a proud alum and believer in Tech’s bruised identity, said all the moments of spontaneity were the byproduct of a rigorous plan, both for a game and a program, executed to the hilt.

“More than anything, to see or know that a lot of people now see Georgia Tech and the brand of football that we play and it’s not a gimmicky brand of football,” Key told ESPN in a quiet moment after the game. “It’s real. It’s hard-nosed. We’re going to build at the line of scrimmage. That’s where games are won.”

Key’s signature win in his second year as Tech’s full-time coach came out of a former offensive lineman’s fever dream. It was built with a grit that would have made George O’Leary smile, featured enough quarterback runs to make Paul Johnson wince, and carried the familiar big-game trappings of Bobby Ross’ glory days.

A foggy Saturday win at the Aer Lingus Classic was thanks to masterful execution of a game plan that produced 190 rushing yards, a game clock that ran like a podcast at 1.5x speed and a pressure cooker that demanded every possession be treated like one. Faberge eggs.

The star quarterback was Haynes King, ducking over his shoulder to gain yardage so often that he ran the ball (15 times) almost as often as he threw it (16).

There was Spitfire tailback Jamaal Haynes, plunging for a pair of touchdowns, running for 75 yards and finishing as the contest’s leader in grass stains and end zone paint on his uniform — fitting badges for a game of this tenor.

And there was leading tackler Kyle Afford (10 tackles and half a tackle for loss), filling gaps and pushing back piles.

“It means a lot,” Key said of the moment. “I love this place, and I give everything I have to this program to try to make sure these kids have everything they need to be successful on and off the field. To see the success they had tonight, it’s awesome. “

Tech went into the matchup with a classic underdog plan: run the ball, drain the clock and shorten the game. The quarterback run game has long been the great equalizer of sports, and the more things change in sports, the more it will resonate as an eternal truth.

Tech essentially made the second quarter disappear with a 14-play masterpiece that grinded out in just eight minutes. It will be framed and hung on a wall at the Georgia Tech facility if Key can figure out a way to turn it into a fresco.

Yellow Jackets offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner put on a masterful playmaking performance with a delightful array of pre-snap and post-snap shifts and motions. Florida State’s talented defense was flat-footed and confused most of the night. But that inventive window dressing shouldn’t take away the collective snarl of the Tech offensive line, which completely handed off a Seminoles defensive line that stood with its hands on its hips for long stretches of the game.

Tech’s determination and strength neutralized FSU’s outstanding defensive talent, which included two All-ACC linemen from 2023. FSU’s starting D-line didn’t register a sack or TFL and only had one rush.

On defense, Tech brings in seven new starters and a new playcaller in coordinator Tyler Santucci. It required FSU quarterback DJ Viagalelli to change snaps frequently before snapping to fluster, consistently forcing him to make long throws and limiting big plays. The Seminoles finished with seven possessions, 291 total yards and just 3.2 yards per carry.

“It’s very intentional about how we’re building this program,” Key said. “We’re building it with a strong foundation to last a long time.”

That’s a stark difference from a Tech team that ranked 128th in rushing defense last season. Those who watched Tech closely last year saw King’s potential, Haynes’ tenacity and how Faulkner could bend a defense. But with no defense to play complimentary football, it led a team that was somewhat sensational, beating North Carolina, beating top-rated Georgia in a one-score game and capitalizing on Mario Cristobal’s epic clock management mistake to top Miami. .

But it also lost to Bowling Green and gave up 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points in a loss to Boston College, as the defense couldn’t find consistency without answers.

“First, we learned how not to lose. Then we talked about learning how to win,” Key said. “The next step in this journey is learning to win consistently.”

Saturday’s long postgame embrace between Key and Santucci indicated what’s possible when Faulkner’s innovative offense and Key’s tenacious ethos are paired with stout defense. (Key has 16 former linemen on his staff, a reminder of the program’s commitment to the line of scrimmage.)

“That hug was just confirmation of what I already knew about Tyler,” Key said. “He said, ‘Thanks for bringing me here.’ And I said, ‘Thank you for saying yes.’ It’s going to be a really good match.”

As for FSU, limited assets and a flurry of new faces make it difficult to draw any grand conclusions after its loss.

“The importance of every snap in that game was memorable,” Seminoles coach Mike Norvell said.

The scary part in the long run was FSU’s lack of explosion at the skill position, which has to change. Perhaps adjusting to the slicker grass, Tech’s superior scheme and a new identity has taken a toll on the Seminoles and the struggles they must overcome.

But as Georgia Tech took off the chains and kept a clear eye on its identity, it was clear which team had the superior quarterback. He was King, who wanted to play the game with his feet but also executed with his arms when he had to. On Tech’s other sensational drive of the night — an 11-play, 89-yard march to take a 21-14 lead early in the fourth — King completed all five of his passes. (That included a 15-yard toss to lead receiver Malik Rutherford on third-and-12 to swing Tech from a potential punt to a touchdown drive.)

“Haynes got the best quarterback in the league, and I think he has a chance to be the best quarterback in the country this year,” Key told ESPN. “The great thing about him is he doesn’t have to throw the ball. It doesn’t have to be his run. He can do both and he’s such an unselfish kid — and an unselfish player that he puts the team first and whatever it takes to win.”

King did just that, giving Tech a disastrous fumbled snap on a motion play that went awry with a minute left. The 10-yard loss put Tech out of field goal range and appeared to be the type of self-destructive play that could have thwarted a nearly perfect game plan from the first 59 minutes. But King stayed calm and found star wideout Eric Singleton for 12 yards on third-and-17 on the next play.

“You can’t just say you have confidence in (your players) every week and then be afraid they’re not going to do their job when the game is on the line,” Key said.

And that’s what Tech did, providing a memorable reminder of just how exciting college football can be in 2024. It also gives a glimpse of what Tech Key is planning to be under.

“It’s a great step for our program,” Tech athletic director Jay Batt said postgame, “but it’s really where we’re at.”