Well college football is officially back! And the 2024 season got off to an extremely interesting, and entertaining start on Saturday. The opening game featured the Florida State Seminoles battling against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets , a game that was played in Dublin, Ireland.
Going into that contest, Florida State was the heavy betting favorite, with Vegas favoring them over Georgia Tech by ten points on most sport books. That’s a testament to head coach Mike Norvell and what he has rebuilt down in Tallahassee, coming off of an undefeated regular season and ACC championship last season.
After a long list of departures, the Seminoles still came into the season with a lot of hype, including a No. 10 overall ranking in the AP poll. After seeing Florida State reload their roster using the transfer portal the last couple of years, the expectation is that they would do so once again.
One potential area of strength that most national pundits pointed to for the Seminoles was the defensive line. With names like Patrick Payton , Marvin Jones Jr., Darrell Jackson Jr. and Joshua Farmer, that group appeared loaded on paper. Many thought that would be the key difference in their matchup with Georgia Tech, having the ability to live in the backfield all day defensively.
That didn’t happen. Not only was Florida State upset 24-21 on a walk-off field goal by the Yellow Jackets, but they seemed to make a statement upfront via the broadcast. Between those four starters, they combined for just six total tackles, and zero sacks and tackles for losses. They had largely no impactful plays on the day.
The narrative coming out of that contest was that the Georgia Tech offensive line dominated, en route to producing 190 rushing yards on the ground and failing to allow a single sack on quarterback Haynes King. After reviewing the film, that criticism is certainly warranted but it isn’t the only story. Perhaps the biggest headline, and one people aren’t talking about enough, is the emergence of an unheralded coordinator on the national stage.
Just how bad was the Seminole defensive line?
Make no mistake about it, the Florida State defense played quite poorly. They seemed a step slow all day, and really struggled to match physicality and finish plays. It was a common theme throughout the night.
The two biggest headliners of the group heading into the game were star pass rusher Patrick Payton and former Miami Hurricane transfer defensive tackle Darrell Jackson Jr., who was forced to sit out the 2023 season due to the transfer rule. With so many expectations for both heading in, calling this performance underwhelming would be a massive understatement.
Both players were noticeable, but for all the wrong reasons. Payton, who has been projected by many as a potential first round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, was a complete non-factor as a pass rusher throughout the game. That’s the area you expect the biggest impact, and there was none throughout.
The biggest improvements you wanted to see from Payton coming into this season was as a run defender. Listed at 6-5 and 250 pounds, Payton was underwhelming as a lighter built stand up rusher a year ago. Even with added weight, he seemed to get easily displaced out of gaps and unable to hold the point of attack. When he did have opportunities, Payton left a lot on the table. It was a day to forget for the talented defender.
For as bad as Payton was, Jackson might have been worse. Considered a potential top 50 overall prospect by some prominent NFL Draft analysts, many thought Jackson would be dominant on Saturday. He wasn’t.
At a listed 6-5 and 330 pounds, the amount of push that Georgia Tech was able to create was very, very surprising. There were moments where not only was Jackson displaced, but he would finish on the ground. Whether it was working to the perimeter, or at the point of attack, Jackson seemed rusty after missing last season. Let’s hope that this was just a rough start after missing so much time, and that Jackson is able to find his footing next week against Boston College.
Both Farmer and Jones also had their struggles, although both were solid in spurts. Farmer was probably the best overall defensive line starter, which isn’t saying a ton. He did have a couple of pressures, showing that he can make plays when given 1-on-1 opportunities.
The same was said for Jones, who definitely needs a lot of work. There is talent there without question but he looked like a player who was making his first career start, which… he was. Odds are that he takes a nice step moving forward, with the flashes being there, especially as a pass rusher.
As a whole, the defensive line struggled mightily. The belief coming out of the game was that Georgia Tech dominated them up front. While they won the matchup, I’m not completely buying into that narrative. This was a collective victory from an execution, physicality and play calling perspective. The defensive line just never looked confident, or comfortable.
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Georgia Tech’s offense has some juice
While most people want to give the offensive line the game ball (you can if you want!), I came away most impressed by the skill positions for the Yellow Jackets. Many believed that Florida State had the clear advantage in terms of skill, but that was far from true on Saturday.
Georgia Tech has some juice offensively.
The player who most showcased his big play ability was running back Jamal Haynes. The 5-9, 190-pound ball carrier looked a lot thicker than last season, but was able to keep his burst. He showcased that explosiveness immediately.
That was the first play out of the gate, an outside zone play that popped out of the back door for a big gain. Notice the play call. It wasn’t a run directly into the teeth of the defense, instead choosing to widen the front and utilize Haynes’ ability to find space. The Yellow Jackets clearly trusted their ability to create chunk plays athletically.
It was a game to remember for Haynes, who rushed for 75 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, averaging an impressive 6.8 yards per carry. It was his feel for space, and ability to make defenders miss that really stood out. That included against Payton, making him miss in tight quarters for a big gain.
Haynes wasn’t used much in the passing game, but was able to haul in two receptions for 18 yards. Even with limited opportunities, he once again showed how dangerous he was in the open. The kid really showcased his full talent on the national stage. I can’t imagine his DMs right now with prospective agents wanting to represent him in the future.
Wide receivers Malik Rutherford, Eric Singleton Jr, and Chase Lane all made flash plays during the contest. As did backup running back Chad Alexander. Throw in quarterback Haynes King, who is one of the more gifted athletes under center in America, and you have a really impressive level of skill for offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to work with.
Who the heck is Buster Faulkner?
Some will argue that 24 points is not an incredible performance, but for those who watched the game, you know how well that side of the ball played on Saturday. That’s especially true when you consider that Florida State was the much more talented squad going in, which nobody can argue against with a straight face.
That leads to the main takeaway from the contest… Who the heck is Buster Faulkner? Most people knew that Georgia Tech showed a lot of big signs of improvements offensively, but just don’t know just how much. From 2022 to 2023, the offense improved from 17.2 to 31.1 points per game. A nearly 14 point increase is staggering.
The man you can credit most with that improvement is Faulkner, whose first year as offensive coordinator was during that 2023 season. He was charged with helping to overhaul one of the worst offensive units in major college football, and he did that in a very short amount of time.
This game was littered with constant pre snap movement, and a variety of looks. Faulkner kept his playmakers on the move consistently, and it outleveraged the defense all game. The screen game was a heavy influence in the offense, as was the read game and RPO. Faulkner had a deep trust in his players winning the space game.
Although Faulkner wouldn’t ever admit it, along with all 13 of the Georgia Tech fans out there, King brings obvious limitations as a passer. The good thing is that his athleticism makes up for those deficiencies. In the biggest moments yesterday, you saw Faulkner lean on that athleticism. King was able to make enough plays to pull off the upset.
The most creative part about what Faulkner put together offensively was that everything looked different. He effectively utilized inside zone, outside zone, power, counter, zone read, power read, RPO, screens, sprint out, varying dropbacks, and it all meshed well. Like a good pitcher in baseball, everything looked similar. The approach is consistent, until the result changes.
It has been an interesting ascension for Faulkner, who has been an offensive coordinator at Valdosta State, Murray State, Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas State and Southern Miss prior. Faulkner also spent a year on the Georgia staff before coming to Georgia Tech as the main play caller.
At just 42 years of age, Faulkner was able to just announce his presence on the national stage. This has allowed many people who weren’t familiar with Coach Faulkner, including myself, to appreciate that ascension. While we can all agree that the Florida State defensive line didn’t play well, and the Yellow Jacket offensive line did, it was Faulkner who was the biggest story for me on Saturday.
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