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For more on this game, see the Postgame Stats

Florida State's rise to the top of the ACC standings certainly hasn't been an easy one, but it's hoping holding onto first place will be a little less stressful in the coming weeks.

Bobby Bowden tries to remain undefeated against Georgia Tech as his 16th-ranked Seminoles look for their 13th consecutive win over the Yellow Jackets on Saturday.

Florida State (6-1, 3-1) will be trying to put Georgia Tech (6-2, 3-2) away early after a series of close contests. In a 30-20 win over Virginia Tech last Saturday, the Seminoles trailed 10-0 after one quarter before rallying for their fourth straight win. This came after overcoming a four-point fourth quarter deficit in the previous game against North Carolina State and squeaking out a 41-39 win over Miami on Oct. 4.

"This year we've won the close games," coach Bobby Bowden said. "Now can we keep it up? I don't know, but that's your key. We're just good enough to get ahead of you it looks like."

Bowden's team is tied with Maryland atop the Atlantic Division standings, and the Seminoles face the Terrapins at home on Nov. 22.

"If we could win out, we could win our division," Bowden said. "But every game gets tougher."

The Seminoles won last Saturday despite a rare off-performance by their running game. Florida State rushed for a season-low 89 yards after coming in averaging 216 yards. Christian Ponder compensated for the lack of running game, going 11-of-19 for 159 yards and one touchdown. His pass to Taiwan Easterling in the third quarter gave Florida State the lead for good.

"We've been blessed with the plays we've been able to make," Ponder said. "When it comes down to crunch time we've been able to pull it out. But we need to fix some things ... We've been coming out a little slow and not executing as well and we need to fix that."

Florida State won't have wide receiver Corey Surrency available Saturday. Surrency, a 24-year-old junior college transfer who had three touchdown catches in the first two games, was suspended one game Thursday for disciplinary reasons.

The Seminoles are facing Georgia Tech for the first time since a 14-13 win in Tallahassee in 2003. Bowden is 12-0 all-time versus the Yellow Jackets, winning every game since Florida State joined the ACC in 1992.

Georgia Tech, meanwhile, is one-half game behind first-place Virginia in the ACC Coastal Division. It had its four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday in a 24-17 loss to the Cavaliers, which also dropped the Yellow Jackets out of the Top 25.

Josh Nesbitt went 7-of-15 for 103 yards and one interception. He and Jonathan Dwyer both rushed for a touchdown in the first quarter, but Georgia Tech was stifled after that.

Nesbitt really struggled in the second half, losing two fumbles in the third quarter, getting sacked four times overall and his fourth-quarter interception ended a potential game-tying final drive.

Despite Nesbitt's struggles, first-year coach Paul Johnson is still confident in the sophomore running his team's spread option offense, which leads the ACC in rushing offense and is ninth nationally.

"I've coached for 29 years and the most popular guy on every football team is the backup quarterback," he said. "This is no different. Even if you are winning, that guy's the most popular quarterback."

Johnson is most focused on getting his defense back on track after it gave up a season-high 24 points and allowed 396 yards - only the second time they've allowed more than 262 yards this season.

"Virginia showed us that we have some things to work on and that we have to work in order to get better for the rest of the season," defensive back Morgan Burnett said. "We have to stop teams on third down and get our offense on the field."

Georgia Tech's last win over Florida State was a 30-0 victory in 1975 in Atlanta.