Georgia Tech stunned Florida State on Saturday with a last-second 24-21 win to kick off the season. The Yellow Jackets stole the show with their grueling rushing attack, racking up close to 200 yards on the ground, while their defense suffocated the Seminoles for much of the afternoon.
The win moves Brent Key to an incredible 5-0 against ranked ACC opponents and gets Georgia Tech its first top-10 win in almost a decade.
For all the flowers this program is receiving right now, it was certainly an inauspicious start to the day. The Seminoles traipsed 75 yards down the field with relative ease on their first possession of the game, striking worry into several fans looking on.
"I cannot understate how important it was for Georgia Tech to respond," Abe Gordon said about the Yellow Jackets after giving up an easy score on its opening drive. "Because they immediately got back up and, honestly, they made their rushing attack and their drive look even easier than Florida State's."
Then came the Georgia Tech response on defense.
Led by Kyle Efford and several returning contributors, the Yellow Jackets proceeded to hold DJ Uiagalelei in check and suffocate the rushing attack for the remainder of the contest to the tune of just 40 rushing yards in total.
This was a tremendous moment for the Georgia Tech football program, but Abe wants to see more of this before he buys in completely.
"[Fans] should be proud, they should be happy, and they should celebrate this win," he said. "But don't become that fanbase either. Like, this win on Saturday is a really nice victory to start the season for the program, but slow down a little bit on the 'We're now ACC contenders' for a little bit."
Georgia Tech secured several marquee victories last season, including two top-25 wins, but would routinely follow up those strong performances with lackluster ones (e.g. Bowling Green and Boston College).
"We understand you can reach that level," Abe finished. "Here's the key to the Yellow Jackets' season -- and I'm not saying that you're not ACC contenders -- I just need to see the effort that you put out on the field Saturday at Aviva stadium consistently. Week in, week out."
They'll have another opportunity to prove it this Saturday with an in-city matchup against Georgia State.