Florida State holds off Georgia Tech to win ACC championship

• Karlos Williams intercepted Tevin Washington with Georgia Tech driving to win in the final minute
• Georgia Tech shut out Florida State the second half, but was couldn't dig out of an early hole
• Florida State's James Wilder ran for two touchdowns in the second quarter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It wasn't over until sophomore Karlos Williams stepped in front of a Georgia Tech receiver for the first interception of his career with exactly one minute left. And when the Florida State safety was finally pushed out of bounds at the Georgia Tech 4-yard line, the drought was over as well.

The Florida State Seminoles were the ACC champions for the first time in seven years, beating the Yellow Jackets 21-15 here at the Bank of America Stadium.

"You've got to get over that hump," FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher said. "And once you get over that hump you know what it takes."

BOX SCORE: Florida State 21, Georgia Tech 15

It was the 13th conference championship for FSU, which is now 11-2 on the season and will play in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. Georgia Tech finishes 6-7 on the season.

Williams, of course, helped save the day for the Seminoles in dramatic fashion.

"I was in coverage and the quarterback threw a pretty bad ball," Williams said. "I am just glad I got to the ball and we won the ACC championship."

The way the game started it was hard to believe there would be any dramatics on Saturday night in Charlotte as the first half was completely controlled by the Seminoles. They stopped Georgia Tech in three plays on the first possession of the game and then cashed in with a 43-yard touchdown drive that was capped off on a three run by Devonta Freeman – off a great option pitch by quarterback EJ Manuel.

Two drives later FSU was back in the end zone. This time Manuel led a 64-yard drive in seven plays, with sophomore running back James Wilder, Jr. scoring from 16 yards out to give the Seminoles a 14-0 lead with 13:54 left in the half.

Georgia Tech responded with a field goal to cut into the lead but the FSU offense marched right back down the field on the ensuing possession, driving 75 yards in nine plays to go up 21-3 on Wilder's one-yard TD run.

The Jackets managed to put together a 36-yard drive before the half, converting a 47-yard field goal to make the score 21-6 at the half, but it was obvious as the teams headed into the locker room who was in control.

Florida State rushed for 147 yards on 20 carries in the first half (7.4 per attempt), while Georgia Tech's vaunted triple-option attack gained just 99 yards on 26 carries (3.8 per attempt). The Seminoles were also 2 of 3 on third-down conversions while Georgia Tech was 1 of 7. FSU got the ball just five times in the first 30 minutes. It scored touchdowns on three. Had to punt after a failed third-and-short conversion and then ran out the clock to end the half.

"Our offense played a great first half," Fisher said. "Our defense played a great football game overall."

The second half wasn't nearly as easy, though. The Seminoles did basically nothing on offense in the first half. They had a three-and-out, a turnover, a punt and another turnover on the first four drives of the second half. Kelvin Benjamin fumbled a tunnel screen pass and Manuel fumbled on a sack when the Seminoles were already in field-goal range to keep FSU from tacking on any extra points.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Tech offense finally found some life.

The Jackets converted one turnover into a field goal to make the score 21-9 and then after Manuel's fumble they fumbled 70 yards in almost six minutes to cut the lead to 21-15. The biggest play on the drive was a 32-yard pass to B.J. Bostic on third-and-13. When Tevin Washington bulled into the end zone five plays later a game that looked like a rout was very much in doubt. The Seminoles were able to mount a mini-drive to midfield before Manuel was intercepted at the Georgia Tech 15 on third down – which actually worked out as well as a punt.

The Jackets picked up two first downs as they tried to drive for the game-winning score, but on second down at the Tech 36, Williams cut in front of the intended receiver, tipped the pass to himself and then corralled it to wrap up the 2012 ACC title. And even though his offense was shut out in the second half and managed just 120 yards of total offense, the head coach was all smiles afterwards.

"We still won 11 games," Fisher said. "And we won the ACC."

The Jackets picked up two first downs as they tried to drive for the game-winning score, but on second down at the Tech 36, Williams cut in front of the intended receiver, tipped the pass to himself and then corralled it to wrap up the 2012 ACC title.

"What a play," Fisher said. "Karlos saw it. Burst. He's so athletic."

And even though his offense was shut out in the second half and managed just 120 yards of total offense, the head coach was all smiles afterwards.

"We still won 11 games," Fisher said. "And we won the ACC."

Corey Clark also writes for the Tallahassee Democrat