Florida State, Georgia Tech start college football season in Ireland with connections to Arizona State

Florida State and Georgia Tech are set to play the ninth-ever NCAA football game in Ireland on Saturday in a spectacle return for the sport during what has become known as Week 0.

Both teams have direct ties to this iteration of the Arizona State Sun Devils, most deeply involving Florida State.

ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham got his first job in the college ranks thanks to now-FSU head coach Mike Norvell, when the then-ASU offensive coordinator offered Dillingham a job on his staff.

Dillingham would follow Norvell to Memphis and eventually Florida State where he coached quarterback Jordan Travis, who along with Bo Nix make up Dillingham’s most successful quarterbacks he has coached in his young career.

Former Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei will make his Seminole debut and try to fill Travis’ cleats, after his departure from Oregon State coincided with the mass exodus of 10 schools leaving the Pac-12.

Kenny Dillingham on the inspiration he takes from Florida State HC Mike Norvell, whom he worked under at ASU, Memphis and FSU:

“The consistency he had and the process.” pic.twitter.com/JdpaIENiek

— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) August 24, 2024

Roughly 4,000 miles of travel for both teams

Uiagelelei has already come through in a big way for his new team, working with NIL partner Beats by Dre to hook up every teammate with new headphones for the long journey across the pond.

Traveling in style 😎🎧 @DJUiagalelei + @beatsbydre#NoleFamily | #KeepCLIMBing |#BeatsElite | #BeatsPartner pic.twitter.com/ppTcZWxBjG

— FSU Football (@FSUFootball) August 22, 2024

Once they arrived, FSU quarterback Trever Jackson and his teammates jigged their way into the Irish spirit in a video shared on his TikTok.

LMAOOO pic.twitter.com/BfdTQbD7if

— Jeremy Ireland (@JIreland80) August 23, 2024

For Georgia Tech ties, Arizona State’s new backup quarterback, Jeff Sims, began his career with the Yellow Jackets. Sims threw 30 touchdowns in 25 games across three seasons while at Georgia Tech.

Sims in his collegiate debut faced off against the Seminoles with Dillingham on the sideline, throwing for 277 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions along with 64 rushing yards.

When the Yellow Jackets arrived, they quickly became familiar with Aviva Stadium, which is hosting college football for the fifth time.

Atlanta, GA ➡️ Dublin, Ireland #StingEm 🐝 pic.twitter.com/jZbxkFTZ5n

— Georgia Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) August 22, 2024

Georgia Tech punter David Shanahan was entering a homecoming game of sorts, as he grew up playing Gaelic football and rugby in County Kerry, which is about 300 kilometers away from Dublin on the opposite Irish coast.

Two more games in Dublin are scheduled down the line: Iowa State and Kansas State will face off in 2025 before Pitt and Wisconsin do so in 2027.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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