close
close

Yiamastaverna

Trusted News & Timely Insights

    • Georgia Tech dampens Florida State’s playoff hopes
    Alabama

    Georgia Tech dampens Florida State’s playoff hopes

    Idris Bevan Posted on

    play

    The loss to Georgia Tech strongly suggests that Florida State will not win the national championship and will not even come close to the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row.

    The Yellow Jackets are pretty good. Or are they? Who knows? With only one game lost in the 2024 season, all we can say for sure is that the Jackets are one field goal better than the Seminoles.

    But that’s not a good sign: Tech beat No. 10 Florida State in Ireland 24-21 with a 44-yard kick as time expired.

    A year ago, the Seminoles went undefeated in the regular season and still failed to finish in the top four. In various postseason formats – regular bowl games, the Bowl Championship Series and the four-team playoffs – Saturday’s loss would have put Florida State on the brink of the championship race or even resulted in immediate elimination.

    The 12-team College Football Playoff will change the nature of the regular season. Aside from taking the pressure off of November games, the new format will give teams like Florida State much more room for error, allowing them to lose one or even two games before they’re out of the race for the conference title. But they’re also running a schedule that still included Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame, and have little room for error.

    When all you need to make the playoffs is ten or more wins in a Power Four conference or simply win the league title (regardless of the final result), losses to teams like Georgia Tech are much less significant.

    Senior quarterback DJ Uiagalelei made most of his attempts at or near the line of scrimmage, completing just two passes over 20 yards, resembling the quarterback we saw at Clemson. Uiagalelei completed 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards and did his best work on an 84-yard touchdown drive that included two fourth-down conversions and tied the game 21-21 in the fourth quarter.

    But from then on, the Seminoles’ newly rebuilt defense never left the field. Georgia Tech let the final 6:33 minutes pass when its drive allowed Aiden Birr to score the winning goal.

    The Yellow Jackets rushed for 190 yards on 36 carries and scored three touchdowns. Florida State rushed for 98 yards on 31 carries and only 291 total yards. The defense allowed Georgia Tech to score touchdowns on all three attempts into the red zone.

    Sloppy offensive line play, inability to stop the run, and no deep passing game. The Seminoles are considered one of the best teams in the ACC and good enough to take the next step after narrowly missing the playoffs last season. But they are clearly not as good as they say they are. That’s a cause for concern for a team that will play Memphis, Clemson, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Florida.

    These games offer a chance to climb back into the top 25. Ultimately, the only games that matter are the ACC games; winning a Power Four league practically earns an automatic invitation to the playoffs.

    So the Seminoles are not out of the race. It just doesn’t look good.

    Tagged:

    LEAVE A RESPONSE

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Idris Bevan
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like

    ads