Georgia Tech wins the ACC

"When we took the job at Georgia Tech this is the reason we took it, to have a chance to compete and go to BCS bowl games," Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "It's like I told our guys in the locker room, I'm proud to be their coach. They deserve it. Now we've got to get ready and go and represent the ACC."

The victory clinches a spot in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 5. It's the first time Tech will play in the Orange Bowl since it was beaten by Florida in the 1967 Orange Bowl. Tech (11-2) will find out who it plays when bowl pairings are announced Sunday.

And it took every yard the Jackets could muster to secure the win in a game that might one day go down as one of the most exciting in ACC history. Neither team punted. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller amassed 233 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns to take MVP honors. But in the end, Jonathan Dwyer carried the Jackets on the final drive to the victory.

Trailing 34-33 and starting on their own 14-yard line with 6 minutes, 5 seconds remaining, Tech plowed 86 yards with Dwyer hitched up. He carried the ball the final four times, the last for a 15-yard touchdown into the left corner to give Tech a 39-34 lead with 1 minute, 25 seconds remaining. Josh Nesbitt was stopped inches short of the goal line on the 2-point conversion. Dwyer was responsible for 54 yards on the drive, which took 11 plays and ate 4:45 off the clock.

"There was no way we were going to lay down and give up," Dwyer said. "Everybody was juicing everybody up, saying we're going to score, we're going to make a play. And we went out there and did it."

They did it with an offensive line that Johnson said was "slap out" of healthy bodies. Clyde Yandell, a fourth-string tackle, manned the left side for most of the second half after Phil Smith and backup Nick Claytor left with injuries.

"I knew it was going to be a good game, I didn't know it was going to be a nail-biter like this," said guard Cord Howard, one of the six scholarship seniors on the team and one of the few who were on the team for the loss to Wake Forest in the 2006 ACC championship. "We were hurting, but everybody knows that someone goes down it's up to the whole line to help the next person get through it."

Tech's game-winning drive, which included converting a fourth-and-1 on its own 23-yard line, happened because it couldn't convert a fourth-and-short on its previous drive.

Holding a 33-27 lead and trying to cut the clock, Tech went for it on fourth-and-1 on Clemson's 37-yard line. Josh Nesbitt took the snap and pushed into the left side of the line, but defensive end Da'Quan Bowers penetrated and stopped him for no gain with 7:52 remaining.

On the next play, Spiller ran left and appeared to be stopped for a short gain. But he kept churning, emerged from the wash and sprinted 54 yards to Tech's 9-yard line. Three plays later, Andre Ellington dove in for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 34-33 lead with 6:11 remaining. At no time did Clemson coach Dabo Swinney see his team give up when they were down by 13 points in the fourth quarter.

"There were 10 teams at home today watching, and there were two champions playing for one ring, and again, unfortunately they made one more play than we did," Swinney said. "We just kind of ran out of time."

Clemson had cut Tech's lead to 33-27 on a 9-yard touchdown run by Spiller, his fourth of the game. Twice the Tigers had to convert on fourth down to get the touchdown it needed and keep Tech's offense on the sideline. On the first conversion, Clemson lined up to attempt a 46-yard field goal, but called time out and then lined up in a shotgun formation on fourth-and-3. Kyle Parker found Jacoby Ford for a 7-yard gain on the play.

The second conversion occurred when Morgan Burnett was called for pass interference on a fourth-and-3 on Tech's 15-yard line. Parker's pass was incomplete, but the back judge ruled that Burnett had committed the penalty. Spiller scored on the next play.

"We didn't do a good job of stopping  him," Tech defensive end Derrick Morgan said. "He's obviously up for the Heisman. Like I said, all you can do is really try to contain a guy like that."

Because of injuries to its defensive tackles, Tech tried to run a 3-4 formation instead of usual 4-3. Johnson said they hoped by doing so it would help stop the run. Instead, the Tigers rushed for 323 yards and averaged 9.5 yards per carry.

But, Tech outlasted Clemson and Spiller by winning the turnover battle, 2-0, the time of possession, 37:17-22:43, and by converting 11 of 18 third downs.

"We found a way to get them stopped, went back to a lot of our base stuff there at the end, and some guys made plays," Johnson said.

Toward the end of the game, after Morgan brought down Parker on fourth down, Tech fans started throwing oranges on the field.

Tech is the champion of the ACC.