The college football season began on Saturday with Florida State football facing off against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. In an unexpected turn of events, the Yellow Jackets bested the Florida State Seminoles 24-21 on a walk-off field goal by kicker Aidan Birr. Florida State entered as the tenth-ranked team in the AP Top 25 but will open the season with a loss, albeit being a ten-and-a-half-point favorite on Saturday.
After transferring from the Oregon State Beavers, Florida State football quarterback DJ Uiagalelei debuted with his new team on Saturday. However, Uiagalelei struggled mightily with throwing the ball downfield, finishing the contest with just 193 passing yards on 27 attempts. He did not record a touchdown or a turnover. With Florida State playing a standalone Week 0 game, college fans quickly jumped on Uiagalelei for his poor performance.
Florida State Football QB DJ Uiagalelei: Tough FSU Debut
In Saturday’s loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Florida State football quarterback DJ Uiagalelei went 19-of-27 for 193 yards and no touchdowns. More notably, Uiagalelei struggled immensely to make throws downfield, even when the Florida State football team moved the ball on offense. In their opening drive, Florida State went 75 yards on seven plays, concluding with a Lawrance Toafili 28-yard scamper for a score. However, Uiagalelei did not attempt a pass traveling three yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Uiagalelei finished the first half with an astonishing low -0.1 air yards per attempt, although he concluded the first half 12-of-14 for 96 yards. In the second half, Uiagalelei again failed to complete passes pushed down the field, eventually leading to a 21-14 Georgia Tech lead in the waning minutes of regulation. Uiagalelei eventually found his footing in the final drive, exhibiting his precision on the team’s final drive, highlighted by a 19-yard strike to Malik Benson on fourth-and-eight to set up the game-tying touchdown. However, Georgia Tech responded with a drive of their own, ending in a walk-off 44-yard field goal by Aidan Birr.
Uiagalelei Flounders: Fans React
With Florida State football and Georgia Tech kicking off the 2024 season, all eyes were on the cross Power Four matchup in Dublin, Ireland. Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei, now with the Florida State Seminoles, struggled in an eventual defeat, averaging a brutally low 7.2 yards per pass attempt. Uiagalelei finished the Week 0 matchup with just 193 passing yards and seven rushing yards on a combined 33 pass and rush attempts.
College football fans poked fun at Uiagalelei for his play, calling him out for his inability to make plays downfield. Uiagalelei became the object of ridicule on Twitter, with many fans taking aim at Uiagalelei for his performance.
DJ Uiagalelei if 2 yard check down passes were illegal pic.twitter.com/rtaFluRt8d
— General Will (@GamecockWill69) August 24, 2024
Billy, this is DJ Uiagalelei, he’s built like a linebacker with the speed and athleticism of a Running back. He is the ultimate weapon at QB.
His only defect, in 1904 the forward pass was invented pic.twitter.com/iyAnDUZqoz
— Nick Perkins (@NickyPerkss) August 24, 2024
DJ Uiagalelei's jersey after this game pic.twitter.com/z5UWyBNGTX
— thaack (@t_haack) August 24, 2024
Dabo swinney looking at dj uiagalelei parents right now pic.twitter.com/L8nVCVXYqZ
— John (@iam_johnw) August 24, 2024
every college football program starting DJ Uiagalelei pic.twitter.com/H2xTVfNXu8
— Mena Subaru (@andyateacrayon) August 24, 2024
Dj uiagalelei trying to get on the Florida state team plane from Ireland back to Tallahassee after losing to unranked Georgia tech pic.twitter.com/3FsdYiUJei
— John (@iam_johnw) August 24, 2024
WHAT A THROW FROM DJ UIAGALELEI! pic.twitter.com/Cco0sZYNDY
— Nick Perkins (@NickyPerkss) August 24, 2024
DJ Uiagalelei when it comes to throwing the ball 7 yards out of bounds and handing the ball off: pic.twitter.com/FaAf8SZJ64
— biev 🦫 (@shadybiev) August 24, 2024
Florida State Football: DJ Uiagalelei documented Struggles
Former five-star mega prospect and two-time transfer DJ Uiagalelei enters his fifth college football season in 2024. However, despite being one of the highest-rating high school football prospects of all time, Uiagalelei has continued to struggle against high-end competition. With Sunday’s loss to Georgia Tech, Uiagalelei is now 1-3 in his first game against Power Four/Five opponents. He was thrown for two touchdowns against two picks in those four games. He has also failed to surpass 200 passing yards in all but one of those contests.
Florida State football landed DJ Uiagalelei following his transfer from Oregon State this offseason. Uiagalelei threw for 2,638 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 12 games with OSU in 2023. From 2020 to 2022, Uiagalelei played for the Clemson Tigers, tossing 36 touchdowns against 17 picks.
For More Football News:
For More Football News and to dive into the excitement, follow me on Twitter at @alec_musa. Let’s get the conversation rolling! I’m all ears for your thoughts and insights. You can also reach out to me via email at musaalec@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest college and NFL news, click here!
