The waiting is done. Florida State football is finally back.
After months of anticipation, the No. 10 Seminoles kick off their 2024 season -- and the 2024 college football season as a whole -- Saturday in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland vs. Georgia Tech. The game is set for 5 p.m. IST (Noon EST) and will be broadcast on ESPN with Joe Tessitore, Jesse Palmer and Katie George on the call.
It's the first time in program history that the varsity FSU football team has played an international game. Aug. 24 is also tied for the earliest on the calendar that FSU has ever played a football game in a season.
The Seminoles finished the 2023 season 13-1 and won their first ACC Championship since 2014. They were picked to repeat as conference champs in 2024 by ACC media members, receiving 81 of the 169 first-place votes. GT, meanwhile, is coming off a 7-6 debut season for head coach Brent Key and was picked to finish ninth in the ACC, receiving one first-place vote.
FSU leads the all-time series vs. GT 15-11 and won the last matchup between the two teams 41-16 in 2022. FSU is favored by 10.5 points over the Yellow Jackets for Saturday's game.
This game marks the debut of quite a few new faces on the FSU roster. This includes quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, a former five-star recruit who spent time previously at Clemson and Oregon State. Additionally, new running back Roydell Williams, new wide receivers Malik Benson and Jalen Brown, new defensive end Marvin Jones Jr. and a number of other Seminoles will make their debuts in the garnet and gold Saturday afternoon in Dublin.
College GameDay will be broadcasting from 9 to noon EST from Dublin for the first international broadcast in its history. Safe to say there could be a few FSU fans there with interesting signs considering the fanbase's perception of how ESPN affected the narratives around last year's FSU snub from the College Football Playoff.
I'm live on scene in Dublin and will have live updates during warmups about who is inactive and who it looks like will be the starting lineup and then during the game as things start to unfold.
