No. 4 Florida State defeats No. 11 Georgia Tech, 37-35, for ACC title

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jameis Winston threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 4 Florida State held off No. 11 Georgia Tech, 37-35, Saturday night to win its third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference football championship.

The Seminoles (13-0) will learn Sunday whether their get a berth in the first College Football Playoff. All four of the top-ranked teams in the playoff rankings were victorious over the weekend.

Rashad Greene had seven catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns, and freshman Dalvin Cook ran for 220 yards and a touchdown in his first college start to help extend the Seminoles’ winning streak to 29 games.

Nick O’Leary had three catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Synjyn Days ran for 67 yards and three touchdowns and Justin Thomas ran for 104 yards and threw for a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets (10-3), who rushed for 331 yards.

Winston completed 21 of 30 passes, didn’t turn the ball over and was in command throughout the game as Florida State scored on its last seven possessions.

The turning point came with 7 minutes 47 seconds to play when Georgia Tech went for it on fourth and five near midfield.

The gamble failed when Thomas’ pass to Darren Waller was underthrown. Until then, the Yellow Jackets had run the ball 58 times and thrown it only five times.

Florida State quickly took advantage, moving into field-goal range for Roberto Aguayo, who converted his third field goal in the second half from 28 yards to make it a two-possession game at 37-28 with 4:28 left.

The Seminoles sealed the victory when LaMarcus Brutus intercepted a pass by Thomas on a fourth down with 3:22 remaining.

Georgia Tech scored on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Thomas to Darren Waller to cut the lead to 37-35 with 1:47 left. Florida State recovered Georgia Tech’s onside kick and ran out the clock.

Florida State scored on four consecutive possessions to take a 28-21 lead at halftime. Winston threw for 222 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.