No. 15 Georgia Tech and Pitt to meet in prime-time game with College Football Playoff implications

ATLANTA — A shot at the College Football Playoff is on the line for No. 15 Georgia Tech and Pitt ahead of a prime-time matchup Saturday night.

The Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1) will clinch a spot in the ACC title game on Dec. 6 if they beat Pitt (7-3, 5-1), and a Panthers victory would keep them alive for the same goal heading into their regular-season finale against No. 14 Miami.

“This is a championship game in its own right,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said Tuesday. “That’s the way we’re viewing it. That’s the way we’re approaching it. It’s on everybody to get the job done.”

Regardless of the outcome, the ACC standings remain in flux. No. 19 Virginia, SMU, Miami and Duke are in the mix for the title game, but Georgia Tech is the only team completely in control of its destiny.

Key said, simply put, games this time of year are “different,” and he doesn’t “shy away from that.”

Georgia Tech trailed Boston College (1-10, 0-7) 28-17 late in its game last week but rallied to escape with a 36-34 victory. Still, the scare against the conference cellar dweller coupled with a Nov. 1 loss at N.C. State has created an uneasy feeling around the Yellow Jackets, particularly with their struggling defense.

Georgia Tech leads the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense but resides near the bottom of 136 teams in total defense.

“I got after them pretty good,” Key said of his defense. “But it’s telling them, ‘You’re good. Let’s fix it and go play that way.’ ”