Before the first ever ranked on ranked Old Big Eight foes between No. 22-ranked Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on Aug. 23, Sporting News goes back down memory lane and re-live the top five moments (for better or worse) in Football Bowl Subdivision games played in Ireland.
1. Yellow Jackets stung on the Seminoles’ playoff hopes
While the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets’ 24-21 upset over then- No. 10 Florida State on Aug. 24, 2024 made headlines, it would be more for the latter.
Florida State transfer quarterback DJ Uiagalelei played one of the more forgettable games in program completing 19 of 27 passes for 193 yards for the Seminoles, but the majority of those completions were short gains and their run game proved to irrelevant.
After FSU had five rushes for 58 yards on its drive, it could only muster 40 yards on 26 carries for the remainder of the game.
Georgia Tech came away with a monumental upset to kick off the season, but Florida State’s loss set the tone for its worst finish to a season since 1974 (1-10) as it finished 2-10 with its only wins against California and Charleston Southern.
2. Pound and ground on the Midshipmen
Despite a 5-1 start and a 47-18 rout of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the previous game, the Navy Midshipmen hoped maybe this would be the year, the dreaded losing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would come to an end, but proved to not be the case again.
Notre Dame’s 54-27 win over Navy at Croke Park on Nov. 2, 1996set the longest consecutive win streak over a single opponent at the time with 33 in a row – which increased to 43 when Navy ended the run in 2007.
The Fighting Irish delivered a run-heavy attack, highlighted by Autry Denson’s 123 yards, on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns, while Marc Edwards added three TD’s in the route.
3. The beginning of the end for Scott Frost
The 2022 installment on Aug. 27, 2022 which showcased the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Northwestern Wildcats from the Big Ten conference proved to be an early-season classic. The Wildcats rallied late in the fourth quarter behind the arm of quarterback Ryan Hilinski to win 31-28.
Hilinski threw for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but the game would be remembered by then-Nebraska head coach Scott Frost’s decision to go for a failed onside kick attempt in the third quarter, which changed the trajectory of the game.
Nebraska’s loss proved the be the one of the final blows for Frost as he would be relieved of his duties on Sept. 11, 2022 after a 45-42 home loss to the Georgia Southern Eagles.
4. Nittany Lion thriller
The Central Florida Knights and the Penn State Nittany Lions clashed on Aug. 30, 2014 as both teams took each other’s best shot in the late stages of the fourth quarter.
Second-half replacement quarterback Justin Holman appeared the secure a Knghts win as he scored a six-yard touchdown run to go ahead of the Nittany Lions, 24-23 with 1:13 left in regulation.
Penn State countered as quarterback Christian Hackenberg orchestrated a seven-play drive to put kicker Sam Ficken in prime position to win the game. Ficken drained the 36-yard field goal as time expired to provide an epic start to the first season of the College Football Playoff format.
5. Georgia Tech’s spread option for days
While up-tempo football proved to be the hot trend in 2016, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson proved to be a rare breed by using a run-first option, which played a pivotal part in their 17-14 win over the Boston College Eagles on Sept. 3, 2016, 17-14.
The Yellow Jackets produced an even blend in the running and receiving departments with 119 yards each, highlighted by a late fourth quarter four-yard TD run from Dedrick Mills with 35 seconds left put Georgia Tech ahead for good and kicked off Atlantic Coast Conference play with a bang.
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