Florida State vs Georgia Tech, Week Zero Preview and Betting Odds

The number ten pre-season rated Florida State Seminoles travel to Dublin this upcoming Saturday to take on ACC rival Georgia Tech in both teams’ first game ever internationally. Florida State opens as an 11.5-point favorite for this game on most sportsbooks. Georgia Tech is coming off a much improved 2023 season, where the team had their first winning record since the 2018 season. Florida State is coming off a 13-1 season, where they finished first in the ACC and were the first undefeated Power Five team to be left out of the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles look to kick off this season by asserting their dominance against a Georgia Tech team who is looking to establish themselves again in the ACC as a competitor. 

By the Numbers: Offense

Georgia Tech surprisingly finished the year last season with more total yards per game than FSU did this past season. Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King passed for nearly 3000 yards and 27 touchdowns last season while adding another 737 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. He did have turnover issues, with 16 interceptions, and the Seminoles’ defense could expose that in this game. Jamal Haynes carried the Yellow Jackets run game this past season, with over 1000 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Sophomore wideout Eric Singleton Jr. could cause issues for the Seminoles’ defense, as he accounted for 714 receiving yards and six touchdowns in his true freshman campaign. Redshirt junior Malik Rutherford is another big name to watch this game, as he had a very solid year last year with over 500 receiving yards. 

On the contrary, Florida State has a lot of question marks with how this new-looking offense will be able to mesh together. D.J. Uiagalelei is starting his journey off at FSU in Ireland and is looking to make a huge impact on this team's offense. Last season, he passed for over 2600 yards and 21 touchdowns while contributing another 216 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. While he is not Jordan Travis, DJU is looking to keep this Seminoles offense on the same run they were on last year. Lawrance Toafili is in his senior season for FSU as the lead back where he amounted for 650 scrimmage yards last season. Roydell Williams was brought in from Alabama to help give the Seminoles a power option after losing standout Trey Benson to the NFL. Williams had over 500 rushing yards for the Crimson Tide last season and could be a big threat this year. The Seminoles’ offensive line is a position I also think will help them win games. With experience across the board, every starter on the line is a senior. The only returning Seminole with a good amount of production in the receiving game is senior Ja'khi Douglas, who has tallied 737 receiving yards in his four years in Tallahassee. 

By the Numbers: Defense

Georgia Tech’s rushing defense was atrocious last season, giving up 5.8 yards per carry. There is not too much returning in terms of the run defense but did pick up some big transfers this offseason to bolster their line a little bit. Romello Height is a transfer from USC who had 20 tackles and four sacks last season. Thomas Gore is transferring in from Miami and had a two-sack season last year for the Hurricanes. There aren’t a whole lot of positives on the defensive side of the ball for Georgia Tech besides the backend of this defense. Safety LaMiles Brooks is a veteran presence in this secondary that they will heavily be relying on to make big plays this season. Safety Jaylon King was a big loss for this Yellow Jacket defense in the secondary, as well as Kyle Kennard who was their best defensive lineman. If this team wants to be able to slow down Florida State, they’re going to have to have some players start to step up and prove they’re ready for this competitive conference during Week Zero.

The Seminoles are coming off a year where they finished top 15 in yards per game given up, third in sacks, and sixth in points allowed per game. While this team did lose a lot of key defensive pieces to the NFL, they were able to retain talent as well as pick up more through the portal. The number one defensive piece they kept was defensive lineman Patrick Payton, who tallied up seven sacks for the Noles last season. Azareye'h Thomas is an elite corner who is just now getting more comfortable and standing out as a starter for this defense. Last season he totaled up 10 pass deflections and forced one fumble. Shyheim Brown is what I would consider to be this unit’s leader for this upcoming season, after coming off a very stellar year. Brown had 53 tackles and an interception last year, but was a key part in the Seminoles secondary. Fentrell Cypress II is also back for his senior season, coming off a big year as well, where he’ll be entrusted with shutting down every team’s best wide receiver. The Seminoles also picked up A LOT of talent through the portal on the defensive side of the ball, with players such as Marvin Jones Jr., Sione Lolohea, Tomiwa Durojaiye, and Cam Riley. This defense should be a real test for Georgia Tech’s versatile offense this opening weekend.

PREDICTION

As 11.5-point favorites, I think that is very fair considering Florida State’s questionable offense. However, the Seminoles rushing attack should yet again be very lethal this year and I don’t see how they can be stopped by a very below-average Georgia Tech defensive front. I also see Georgia Tech’s offensive attack getting put on hold by Florida State for most of the game. I think if everything goes according to plan, FSU should win this game by at least two touchdowns solely based on their defense being able to stop Georgia Tech. My final score prediction for this is 38-21, FSU. 

BETTING ODDS

FSU -11.5

GT +11.5

Over: 55.5 (-115)

Under: 55.5 (-105)

ML: Georgia Tech (+325)

ML: FSU (-450)