If the casual ACC fan would have been told after Virginia Tech's home loss to Alabama State two months ago that the Hokies would be in 2nd place in the ACC 5 games in, he or she would have laughed.

After VT's furious comeback against Georgia Tech today, it's clear that the Hokies are no laughing matter. Following the frenetic final minute, the Hokies came out of Atlanta with a win, 78-77.

Virginia Tech fought through a 15-point deficit to take the lead with 58 seconds left in the game after a jumper by Zach LeDay. After Georgia Tech backcourt leader Marcus Georges-Hunt cut through for a layup with half a minute remaining, the game was tied at 77.

With 3 seconds left, GT big man Charles Mitchell committed a foul on Seth Allen. Allen had experienced a rough game, turning the ball over 5 times and only making 1 out of 4 field goal attempts. However, he had visited the charity stripe often over the course of the game, racking up 10 points from the line. He made it 11 after drilling the first free throw. Although Allen did miss the second, Georgia Tech was not able to produce any offense in the waning seconds.

Freshman phenom Zach LeDay once again led the way for the Hokies, scoring 21 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots. After an inept start, rising youngster Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored 10 points in the 2nd half, 6 from the FT line. Backcourt duo Justin Robinson and Jalen Hudson combined for 16 points, mostly from short jumpers and layups.

VT's Justin Bibbs, one of the nation's best 3-point shooters, struggled in this game with only 8 points off of 2-8 shooting. It took a truckload of grit for the Hokies to overcome Bibbs's cold afternoon. The Hokies never quit coming, pushing themselves into the lane and scoring tough layups.

Georgia Tech was led by senior stud Marcus Georges-Hunt, who scored 27 points off of 11-17 shooting. Georges-Hunt shouldered his way into the lanes, scoring with finesse. Veteran forward Nick Jacobs was a consistent force down low, scoring 15 and garnering 7 rebounds.

Adam Smith, who was the leader of the Virginia Tech Hokies last year before transferring to GT, tried to be Superman against his former team. However, Smith had a horrendous afternoon, going 2-13 from the field, 1-7 from deep. Although Tadric Jackson tried to help out, Georgia Tech could not find a strong offensive threat from the backcourt other than Georges-Hunt. Also, the Yellow Jackets found themselves in foul trouble, sending the Hokies to the charity stripe often. VT was 28-36 in the game from the free throw line, a killer for Georgia Tech.

Virginia Tech's victory today proves that their program is in fantastic hands with Buzz Williams at the helm. The mental fortitude it took to battle their way through this game in Atlanta was impressive. This was Virginia Tech's first win on the road in the ACC since December of 2013. Despite the inconsistencies of the Fighting Gobblers's backcourt, Virginia Tech has the pieces to be a contender the rest of the way in the ACC.

This loss for Georgia Tech was a heartbreaker, and it puts their NCAA Tournament hopes in jeopardy. No one can take GT's win over #4 Virginia away from them, but the team's resume-building win column is thin away from that. Brian Gregory's head coaching seat only gets hotter.

Virginia Tech will now prepare for a trip to Notre Dame, a team coming off of a thrilling victory at Duke. Georgia Tech stays home and hopes for an extremely important win over Louisville next Saturday.