Three things Florida Football fans will be watching for in FSU vs Georgia Tech opener

College football is officially back as Week 0 action gets underway this Saturday. While the overall slate of games isn't robust, Florida Football fans will probably have their eyes taking a peek at the FSU vs Georgia Tech opener.

While Florida has its own set of problems to address ahead of its opener against Miami, the following are three things fans will be watching to see if the Neighbors to the West are contenders or pretenders in 2024.

Will The Real DJ Uiagalelei Please Stand Up?

FSU made a splash in the transfer portal when it landed DJ Uiagalelei to replace Jordan Travis at QB. Uiagalelei is a big name who has yet to fully achieve his five-star ceiling.

And there are some very real question marks Uiagalelei will need to answer if FSU expects to remain a power in 2024. His completion rate of 57% in 2023 was the 11th worst in the country among the 95 QB who took at least 300 dropbacks.

If we are being fair, he also had the 8th furthest yards per attempt and the 11th best completion percentage on throws over 20 yards. He also only took 11 sacks in 2023.

But what has held Uiagalelei back is his inability to hit the medium throws with enough consistency. Against a Georgia Tech defense who were solid enough last season, fans will see if Uiagalelei has taken a step forward or if he is still the same inconsistent Uiagalelei.

Defense Wins Championships

One of the counterpoints FSU fans offered up last season as to why their team could still compete in the playoffs even without Travis was their defense. As we all know, the vast majority of their defense opted out of the Orange Bowl, and the Seminoles were embarrassed by Georiga.

FSU fans have tried all offseason to write off their beat down from Georgia since they didn't have their starters, but here is a fun fact:

Based on the depth chart FSU put out ahead of this game, six of their eleven starters for Georgia Tech took at least 20 snaps in the Orange Bowl.

Of the other five starters on Saturday, four of the five had PFF grades under 70 in 2023, with three having grades under 60.

Can they handle Georgia Tech? Probably.

Can they handle elite teams? Remains to be seen.

Win Or Lose, It's Kirk Herbstreit's Fault

Ever since being left out of the playoffs last year, FSU fans haven't been able to stop foaming at the mouth anytime Kirk Herbstreit's name gets mentioned. They convinced themselves that he and he alone is what kept FSU out of the playoffs and not the fact that their strength of schedule wasn't good enough.

Lo and behold, guess who will be in Dublin for College GameDay?

And guess which fanbases have made shirts, hats, and koozies that say Kirk Sucks?

It's a borderline unhealthy obsession, but to each their own. Just know Kirk Herbstreit isn't actually playing on Saturday