Georgia Tech: It's Lonely at The Top, and That's Fine For Jackets

(Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets are looking down at the rest of the ACC tonight.)

Georgia Tech fans: Dabo Swinney's address is 104 Sycamore Dr., Clemson, SC. You may direct your candygrams and thank-you cards accordingly.

Swinney's Clemson team pulled off what is right now probably the ACC's biggest upset win of the season, beating Miami on the road, 40-37 in overtime. The win means that, should Georgia Tech win their remaining conference games against Wake Forest and Duke, the Jackets will play in the ACC Championship game in December.

In all honesty, I was going to write after the Miami game, assuming the Hurricanes won, that Georgia Tech would still be a likely candidate (I stress candidate, not recipient, for those who still do not trust the option) for an at-large BCS berth, again assuming they win out.

Now, their road is simpler.

Beat Wake Forest at home and Duke on the road, and the Jackets win the ACC Coastal and book a trip to Tampa, where I'm assuming right now they'll be facing Boston College—though it should be noted Clemson's win moved the Tigers into a tie for first place in the Atlantic.

The Jackets head to Nashville for a date with Vanderbilt next weekend, a brief reprieve from the conference schedule but nevertheless an important game, should the Jackets wish to keep turning national opinion (and keep their paper-thin national title chances alive).

We've learned a lot about these Jackets in the eight games they've played so far. They've proven themselves adaptable, resilient, talented, and worthy of the place they now occupy in the ACC.

Now it's time for one final test: Georgia Tech must prove it has the focus of a contender. The Jackets clearly struggled to play with the weight of early-season expectations, but this is not the same Georgia Tech team that barely scraped by Clemson and lost to Miami.

With four games remaining, this team has more control over its own destiny than any other in the ACC.

Win every conference game from here on, and Georgia Tech goes to Tampa Bay. Win every game left on their schedule, and Georgia Tech will finish the most successful season in school history and perhaps (perhaps ) be a player in the national title conversation.

For a school that likes the heavy math, an equation this simple has to be a welcome sight.