As always: The ACC is dead. Long live the ACC!

Georgia Tech 30, Clemson 27. I'm sure I'm not alone here, but as entertaining and draining as it was, any coherent narrative of this game eludes me. Georgia Tech's overall night looks pretty sensational on paper -- 30 points, 420 total yards on almost seven yards per snap -- but the reality is that the last three quarters were fairly grim: After racing out to a commanding 21-0 lead in the first frame, Tech scored nine points the rest of the night. Consider also that two of those early touchdowns were on smart/opportunistic yet fairly fluky plays (a "surprise" pooch punt returned for a touchdown and a fake field goal that caught the Tigers napping) that you only get a couple times in a season, and the offense almost seems disappointing. The Jacket O only put the ball in the end zone once, on a one-shot, 82-yard run on their first carry of the game.

Once they woke up, the Tigers seemed like the better team, and the Clemson defense in particular deserves a tremendous amount of credit for the stunning 27-0 run for the lead: After letting Anthony Allen race free down the sideline on that opening pitch, the Tigers effectively held Tech to a field goal attempt (the fake that went for a touchdown to Demaryius Thomas) followed by six straight punts and an interception. For the most part, Tech QB Josh Nesbitt was worse as a passer than Reggie Ball ever was; at one point early in the fourth quarter, Nesbitt had completed more passes to Clemson (two) than to his own receivers (one) and had a negative efficiency rating. While the Tigers scored on each of their first four drives of the second half -- which I defy you to imagine happening under similar circumstances under Tommy Bowden -- Tech struggled to sustain anything, even to keep its head above water.

So at the risk of sounding vague and weaselly, I really think the Jackets' most admirable quality was old-fashioned opportunism: They were aggressive in all phases early and earned their big plays by taking a couple smart risks on special teams that left the Tigers looking dazed and flat-footed; and after being trounced in all phases for a full quarter-and-a-half and often looking like they were too cramped or exhausted to move, they responded to losing the lead with back-to-back field goals to tie and then win -- their first sustained drives since early in the second quarter. On the heels of a nightmarish night passing, Nesbitt actually completed a long pass on each of those marches; in between, the defense forced Clemson to punt for the first time since the second quarter to set up the game-winning kick. Again, I don't know how to define a team that wins with a blitzkrieg out of the gate and a slog down the stretch, while nearly coming apart at the seams in-between, except to say that is has really great timing. We'll see how long that lasts.