Matchup Analysis: No. 10 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech in Dublin

The No. 10-ranked Florida State Seminoles will look to start their season off right on Saturday with a Week Zero matchup against Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. The game is scheduled for noon ET and 5 p.m. local time in Dublin.

Florida State finished the 2023 season at 13-1, with its only loss coming to Georgia in the Orange Bowl after the vast majority of the team’s starters opted out following the College Football Playoff snub.

Georgia Tech, on the other hand, finished 7-6, with its two marquee victories over Miami and North Carolina.

Georgia Tech Passing vs. FSU Pass Defense

Quarterback Haynes King returns to Georgia Tech as a second-year starter in 2024 after transferring from Texas A&M prior to last season. The Longview, Texas, native passed for 2,842 yards and 27 touchdowns in 2023. However, he also had 16 interceptions, which led the ACC.

The main receiver to watch will be sophomore Eric Singleton . Singleton enjoyed a Freshman All-America year for the Yellow Jackets in 2023 with 714 yards on 48 receptions, which ranked ninth in the ACC. He also hauled in six touchdowns, which was 11th in the conference. The 5-foot-11 speedster also runs track for Georgia Tech, competing in the 100 and 200 meters.

Malik Rutherford , who hails from south Florida, also returns as the main slot receiver for Georgia Tech. In 2023, he finished with 46 receptions for 502 yards and four touchdowns. Chase Lane will be the second receiver on the outside. He transferred in from Texas A&M last year, following Haynes King, and had seven receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown in 2023.

The tight end spot is one where there is some uncertainty for Georgia Tech going into the 2024 season. Brett Seither was the main guy last year with four touchdowns on just seven receptions, two of which came in a big win over North Carolina. However, head coach Brent Key announced Tuesday that Seither would be out for the season due to a knee injury. Tallahassee native Avery Boyd will start in his place.

Boyd had two touchdowns on six receptions last year, totaling 81 yards. Jackson Hawes , a redshirt senior transfer from Yale, is another tight end to watch. He has nine receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Bulldogs in 2023.

As for the Florida State pass defense, the Seminoles did lose cornerback Renardo Green , nickel Jarrian Jones and safety Akeem Dent to the NFL, but they still are expected to have one of the best secondaries in the conference.

Former All-ACC transfer out of Virginia Fentrell Cypress will be back for his second season with the Seminoles. In 2023, Cypress had eight pass breakups, 40 total tackles, a forced fumble, and a recovery. Azareye’h Thomas will take over for Renardo Green as the Seminoles’ other starting corner in 2024. Thomas appeared in every game last season, starting one, and he recorded 10 pass breakups.

At nickel, the Seminoles have both Kevin Knowles and Alabama transfer Earl Little Jr. listed as co-starters. Knowles is entering his fourth year in the Florida State defense and played at a much higher level in preseason camp thanks to being fully healthy and also moving back from safety, where he primarily played in 2023. Little transferred to Florida State this offseason from Alabama and has been reunited with his former high school head coach, Patrick Surtain , who now serves as the Seminoles’ secondary coach.

At safety, Florida State returns redshirt junior Shyheim Brown , who started all 14 games in 2023, recording 53 tackles, two sacks, one interception, a fumble recovery, and four pass breakups. He was also named third-team All-ACC. At the other safety spot, Florida State has Miami transfer Davonte Brown and sophomore Conrad Hussey listed as co-starters.

Brown comes to Florida State from Miami, and UCF prior to that. He has played in 47 games, starting 31. His best season came in 2022 for UCF, when he had two interceptions and four pass breakups. Hussey enters his second year at Florida State; last season, he was named the Seminoles’ freshman defensive player of the year with one interception, two forced fumbles and two pass break-ups.

While Georgia Tech does return four of five starters on the offensive line, the Florida State pass rush will likely once again be a major factor. Defensive end Patrick Payton returns, along with defensive linemen Josh Farmer and Darrell Jackson . As for replacing Jared Verse on the other edge, the Seminoles have former five-star recruit and Georgia transfer Marvin Jones Jr. making his Seminole debut on Saturday.

ADVANTAGE: Florida State

Georgia Tech Rushing vs. FSU Rush Defense

The run game is where Georgia Tech made its money last season, boasting the top rushing offense in the ACC. Running back Jamal Haynes returns for the Yellow Jackets after rushing for 1,059 yards on 174 carries, which ranked fifth in the conference, and seven touchdowns. His backup and former Louisville Cardinal Trey Cooley also returns. Cooley had 274 yards and three touchdowns on 64 carries in 2023.

Quarterback Haynes King will also be one to watch in the run game in Dublin. King had 120 carries last season for 737 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was the third-highest rushing quarterback in the conference and the 16th-leading rushing QB overall.

One important thing to note is that Georgia Tech does have four of five starters returning on the offensive line. And the fifth starter will be Middle Tennessee transfer Keylan Rutledge . The 6-foot-4, 310-pound guard played 760 snaps and was first-team All Conference-USA in 2023.

Between Corey Robinson , Joe Fusile , Weston Franklin , Keylan Rutledge and Jordan Williams , Geogia Tech’s line played a combined 3,228 snaps in 2023.

Even with the experience on the offensive line, Georgia Tech still will have a lot to handle with Florida State’s defensive front. Honorable Mention All-ACC defensive end Patrick Payton had 44 total tackles last season, including 14.5 for loss. The Seminoles also return defensive lineman Josh Farmer , who was named second-team All-ACC in 2023, with 7 TFLs and 32 total tackles.

Darrell Jackson will play his first full season for the Seminoles in 2024 following a denied NCAA waiver that kept him from playing last fall after transferring from Miami. The 6-5, 330-pounder was a starter for the Hurricanes two years ago, and he has been dominant at times during FSU practices. The Seminoles will also look to replace Jared Verse with former five-star prospect and Georgia transfer Marvin Jones Jr . Jones had 12 total tackles and 4.5 for loss in 2023 for the Bulldogs.

As for the linebackers, senior DJ Lundy is back for another season and is expected to be a full-time starter for the first time in his career. Lundy had 54 tackles in 2023, including 6.0 for loss and an interception. Auburn transfer Cam Riley or sophomore Blake Nichelson will start beside Lundy. Riley’s best season came in 2022 for the Tigers when he had 65 total tackles and 3.5 for loss.

Because of the continuity for the Yellow Jackets and the meshing of new faces for Florida State, we’ll give the Jackets the edge here.

ADVANTAGE: Georgia Tech

FSU Passing vs. Georgia Tech Pass Defense

The passing game is probably the biggest question mark going into the 2024 season for the Seminoles.

Florida State will have a new signal-caller in former Clemson Tiger and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei . Throughout his career, Uiagalelei has played in 48 games, 40 of which were starts. At Oregon State in 2023, he passed for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Alabama transfer Malik Benson will lead the Florida State WR corps into 2024. Benson only caught 13 passes last season with the Crimson Tide, but he was the No. 1 JUCO prospect in the country two years ago and has looked like it in spring and preseason practices. Senior Ja’khi Douglas will also return for another year as the Seminoles’ starting slot receiver. Douglas missed part of last season due to injury, but his best game came against Pittsburgh last fall, when he had six receptions for 115 yards.

The third starter is expected to be redshirt freshman and LSU transfer Jalen Brown . The speedy South Florida product did not see the field much at LSU in 2023, but he is a former four-star recruit from the 2023 class. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, Brown was a top-100 recruit and a top-15 receiver in his class. Multiple veterans are also expected to contribute to the Seminoles’ air attack, including Kentron Poitier , Deuce Spann , and Darion Williamson .

Senior Kyle Morlock will be the starting tight end in his second season with Florida State. Morlock transferred to Tallahassee from Division-II Shorter University prior to the 2023 season, and he recorded 19 receptions for 255 yards. The 6-6, 240-pounder offers a huge target in the passing game, and he seems to have very good chemistry with Uiagalelei.

The Seminoles also have a tendency to use their running backs frequently in the passing game. Lawrance Toafili had 21 receptions for 185 yards last season, and he also was named MVP of the ACC Championship Game. Speedy Indiana transfer Jaylin Lucas will also make his FSU debut in Ireland. He had 34 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns for the Hoosiers last season.

Georgia Tech’s pass defense, which will be led by new defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci in 2024, ranked 53rd nationally last season, allowing 215.8 yards per game. The Jackets ranked third in the ACC with 14 interceptions.

Ahmari Harvey , a Tallahassee native from Florida High, will start at right corner for Tech. He had three interceptions, six pass breakups and one forced fumble in 2023. On the other side, Warren Burrell will make his Georgia Tech debut after transferring in from Tennessee this offseason. The 2021 season was his best year in Knoxville with 41 total tackles and seven pass breakups.

Former Kansas State transfer Omar Daniels and junior Rodney Shelley are listed as co-starters at nickel. Daniels had four PBUs last season, along with just four total tackles. He only played 37 snaps in coverage on the year. Shelley saw 117 snaps in coverage and recorded one PBU with no interceptions.

The safeties are likely the cornerstone of the Tech secondary, with LaMiles Brooks and Clayton Powell-Lee returning for another year. Brooks had one interception, which came against Miami, and seven PBUs, while Powell-Lee had one interception versus Louisville and three breakups.

When it comes to the pass rush, the defensive line was Georgia Tech’s weakest link last season. However, the Jackets did bring in defensive end Romello Height from USC this offseason. Height had four sacks last fall. Thomas Gore , a defensive lineman from Miami, also adds to the depth in the trenches. He had two sacks for the Hurricanes last season. The rest of the defensive linemen expected to play in Ireland only had 3.5 sacks combined last season.

ADVANTAGE: Florida State

FSU Rushing vs. Georgia Tech Rush Defense

Florida State is expected to be a run-first offense early this season, and the running back room may just be the deepest position on the depth chart.

Toafili and Caziah Holmes are both back for their senior seasons, and Roydell Williams comes to FSU for his final year from Alabama. The Seminoles also have Lucas, the small-but-electric transfer from Indiana, redshirt freshman Samuel Singleton Jr. and true freshmen Kam Davis and Micahi Danzy.

Toafili and Williams are expected to be the two main backs, although Holmes could work into that mix as well. Toafili rushed for 463 yards and four touchdowns on 69 carries last season. Williams had 560 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries at Alabama in 2023. Holmes, a former Penn State transfer, had 185 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries last fall, and now he looks to take on a bigger role.

That group will be helped by an offensive line that looks to be the deepest and most experienced group Florida State has fielded in years. All-ACC left tackle Darius Washington is back, veteran Richie Leonard transfers in from Florida and will start at left guard, senior Maurice Smith will once again be the Seminoles’ center, senior Keiondre Jones and Alabama transfer TJ Ferguson likely will share time at right guard, and Jeremiah Beyers will rotate with longtime FSU lineman Robert Scott at right tackle.

Georgia Tech had the worst rushing defense in the ACC and one of the worst in all of college football last season, giving up 221.3 yards per game in 2023. Along with bringing in new defensive coaches, the Jackets did get multiple players out of the transfer portal to try and fix the problem. Those transfers include defensive linemen Jordan van den Berg from Penn State, Gore from Miami, and edge rusher Height from USC. Height is the only one expected to start on Saturday.

Defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen will return for Tech this season following a season-ending injury in the opener against Louisville. In 2022, the Belgium product had 23 total tackles and five for loss. Nose tackle Zeek Biggers also returns to Atlanta for another season; he had 40 tackles and four for loss in 2023. Lastly, Trenilyas Tatum is the main run-stopping linebacker. He had four TFLs last season, and out of the 398 snaps he played in 2023, 214 of them came against the run.

ADVANTAGE: Florida State

Special Teams

Jaylin Lucas and Roydell Williams will be back deep on kickoffs for the Seminoles this season, and Lucas transferred to FSU with loads of returning experience under his belt. In two years at Indiana, Lucas had 45 returns for 1,195 yards and three touchdowns. At Alabama, Williams only had two kickoff returns, totaling 51 yards.

The Seminoles have yet to name a top punt returner for the 2024 campaign. Benson, Lucas, and true freshmen Lawayne McCoy are all listed as co-starters. Benson and McCoy have yet to field a punt at the college level, while Lucas did it nine times for only 14 yards at Indiana.

At kicker, Ryan Fitzgerald will return for his final season at Florida State. He is coming off his best season, in which he went 19-for-21 with a long of 48 yards. Punter Alex Mastromano also returns for his final campaign and is one of the best in the country; he was named preseason first-team All-American by Sporting News earlier this week.

Aidan Birr is back to kick for Georgia Tech this season; he went 17-for-19 in 2023 with a long of 48. David Shanahan , an Ireland native, will also return to punt for the Jackets after averaging 42.8 yards in 2023.

Georgia Tech did not list any of its kick or punt returners on their depth chart prior to the game Saturday. However, Christian Leary , who led the team wit 463 kick return yards on 21 attempts last season, is back. Their main punter returner likely will either be Dominick Baylock , who had 89 yards on eight returns last season, or Rodney Shelley , who had four returns for 32 yards.

ADVANTAGE: Florida State

Warchant Staff Predictions: FSU (0-0) vs. Georgia Tech (0-0)

Here are our Warchant staff predictions, which you can also watch on this week’s Warchant TV Report: Gene Williams (FSU 27-20), Ira Schoffel (FSU 38-21), Corey Clark (FSU 31-21), Jeff Cameron (FSU 34-20), Tom Lang (FSU 27-17), Aslan Hajivandi (FSU 24-17), Matt LaSerre (FSU 35-21) and Ben Spicer (31-17).

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

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