Josh Nesbitt scored on a 3-yard run in overtime after No. 10 Georgia Tech pulled off a gutsy play on fourth down, leading the Yellow Jackets another step closer to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 30-27 victory Saturday over the visiting Demon Deacons.
Jonathan Dwyer rushed for a career-best 189 yards and went over 1,000 yards for the season, but it was Nesbitt and the guys on the defensive side who bailed out the Yellow Jackets (8-1, 6-1) at the end.
After the defense stifled Wake Forest (4-6, 2-4) on the first possession of overtime, forcing a field goal, Georgia Tech drove to the 5, where it faced fourth down and less than a yard. The Yellow Jackets (8-1, 6-1 ACC) initially tried to draw Wake offside but were forced to burn a timeout when that didn't work.
Instead of sending on Scott Blair for a chip-shot field goal to extend the game, coach Paul Johnson decided to go for the win. Even though his team had gone 0-for-4 on fourth down in regulation, the Yellow Jackets offense trotted back onto the field.
Nesbitt powered up the middle for a 2-yard gain and scored on the next play, going in standing and then flipping the ball high into the air to celebrate. The entire team poured onto the field to celebrate underneath the goal posts.
Georgia Tech would clinch a spot in the ACC title game with a win at Duke on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets haven't won an outright conference championship since 1990, the year they shared the national championship with Colorado.
It was another excruciating loss for the Demon Deacons, who must win their final two games to become eligible for its fourth straight bowl trip. Five of their defeats have come by a total of 13 points, two of them going to overtime.
Clemson 40, Florida State 24:: C.J. Spiller had a career-high 165 rushing yards and his 20th touchdown of at least 50 yards and the host Tigers took their biggest step yet toward an ACC title with a victory over the Seminoles.
Spiller, a senior, caught a 58-yard TD pass from Kyle Parker and, with 312 all-purpose yards, surpassed the school record of 310 he set in Clemson's 40-37 overtime win at Miami two weeks ago.
He also closed Clemson's fifth victory over the Seminoles (4-5, 2-4) in the past seven meetings with a high-stepping, 5-yard scoring run as the orange-clad fans shook Death Valley.
Spiller and the Tigers (6-3, 4-2) are now in control of the ACC's Atlantic Division with games against North Carolina State and Virginia left.
