Perhaps Georgia Tech was overdue to appear in the Top 25 polls, having spent the first half of the season watching less-deserving teams like Ball State and Tulsa gain spots in the rankings.

But after a 21-17 road win over the Clemson Tigers — a preseason favorite to win the ACC championship — the Yellow Jackets have finally made their debut in both polls as the No. 21 team in the country, the highest ranking of any ACC school. Florida State is close behind at No. 23.

If Tech can breeze through the remaining conference cupcakes on its schedule — Florida State, North Carolina and Miami — not only will the Jackets be 9-1, inside the Top 15 (at least) and in their conference championship game (if Virginia Tech loses), but the stage will be set for a real showdown with bitter rival Georgia. The Bulldogs should have another loss or two — think LSU and Florida — and could very well lose to Kentucky and Auburn.

And it’s not at all far-fetched to say Georgia Tech could beat the Dawgs. It’s actually a lot more probable than most people think.

The Bulldogs entered the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the country. But since then, they’ve proven to be overrated, steadily moving backwards in the polls until last week, when they jumped from 10 all the way up to nine after BYU lost.

The Dawgs didn’t impress in their season opener when Georgia Southern put up 21 points on them. In fact, it was already clear they weren’t the top team in the nation, and they were instantly demoted to No. 2.

It took a desperation goal-line stand for Georgia to avoid losing to the Steve Spurrier-led South Carolina Gamecocks for the second consecutive year, escaping Williams-Brice Stadium with a 14-7 victory.

And the Dawgs were underwhelming in victories over lowly Tennessee and Vanderbilt, winning by a mere average of 25-14.

Aside from Georgia’s opening games against the obscure Eagles and Central Michigan, the only time the Dawgs posted more than 30 points in a game is when they were “blacked out” by Alabama, 41-30. And anyone who watched that game would agree that it looked like a much more convincing Crimson Tide win.

Simply put, the Dawgs are not who we thought they were heading into the season. And neither is Georgia Tech, but for different reasons. Restarting the program with first-year coach Paul Johnson’s option spread offense, it was assumed 2008 would be a rebuilding season for the Jackets.

That hasn’t been the case.

With quarterback Josh Nesbitt, running back Jonathan Dwyer — both sophomores — and a smothering defense that has allowed just 31 points in the past four games, Georgia Tech is off to a 6-1 start for the first time since 1999.

Their only loss was a 20-17 nail-biter to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg that the Yellow Jackets would have won had they not turned the ball over three times. Also, it didn’t help when Nesbitt, with two minutes remaining and a chance to put his team ahead, overthrew a receiver on third-and-seven and was sacked on the next play.

The Yellow Jackets have also proven they can hang with the SEC by beating Mississippi State in convincing fashion, 37-8.

It’s safe to say that Georgia Tech, regardless of strength of schedule, has played a more impressive brand of football than its cross-state rival up to this point.