DJU’s Final Numbers from his FSU Debut
By: Robert MacRae August 24, 2024

Former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei’s first game as a Florida State Seminole did not turn out the way he had hoped for his new team.

In Uiagalelei’s FSU debut on Saturday, the 10th-ranked Seminoles suffered an upset, 24-21 loss in their season opener vs. Georgia Tech in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

Uiagalelei led FSU down the field on an impressive 15-play touchdown drive to tie the score at 21 with around 6:30 left in the fourth quarter. The drive featured a couple of fourth-down completions from Uiagalelei, including a 19-yard pass to Malik Benson that put FSU at the Georgia Tech 1-yard line and set up a Roydell Williams rushing score on the next play.

But Georgia Tech got the ball back and put together a 12-play drive to stun the Seminoles with a game-winning, 44-yard field goal from Aidan Birr as time expired.

Uiagalelei wasn’t able to find the end zone in his FSU debut. He went 19-of-27 passing for 193 yards without a touchdown or interception, while he finished with 7 rushing yards on six carries. He primarily threw shorter passes in the first half, when he completed 12 of 14 passes for 96 yards ( minus-0.1 air yards per attempt).

A former five-star prospect from California, Uiagalelei is in his fifth collegiate season with his third different team following three years at Clemson (2020-22) and one year at Oregon State (2023).

Uiagalelei will face his former Clemson team this fall when the Tigers travel to take on the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium on Oct. 5.

Uiagalelei is coming off a season at Oregon State last year in which he completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 2,638 yards and 21 touchdowns with seven interceptions. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder also had 219 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground.

–Photo courtesy of Tom Maher/INPHO via USA TODAY Sports

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