Durham, NC (Sports Network) - With the ACC's Coastal Division title firmly in their sights, the seventh-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head to Durham this week for a conference showdown with the Duke Blue Devils.

Paul Johnson's Yellow Jackets enter this game with a seven-game win streak in tow and are sporting their highest ranking since 1999. At 6-1 in-conference, Georgia Tech needs a win in Durham to guarantee a spot in the ACC Championship Game. A loss could put them into a tie-breaker scenario. Last week, Tech needed an overtime session before topping a game Wake Forest team, 30-27.

David Cutcliffe's Blue Devils have exceeded expectations this season and are on the cusp of becoming bowl eligible. The team is having its best campaign since 1994 and currently sits at 5-4 overall and 3-2 in league play. Duke had a three-game win streak snapped last week in a 19-6 loss at North Carolina.

Georgia Tech leads the all-time series by a count of 45-30-1 and has won the last five meetings, including a 27-0 shutout last year in Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets do one thing exceptionally well and that is run the football. Not many teams do it better nationally, with Tech ranking second at 314.9 ypg.

What really has to have foes scared is the play of All-ACC tailback Jonathan Dwyer over the last two games. After rushing for 186 yards and three TDs in the win over Vanderbilt, Dwyer came back with 189 yards and one score against Wake Forest. On the season, he has now rushed for 1,093 yards and nine TDs. There is plenty of carries to go around in Atlanta and QB Josh Nesbitt (817 yards, 15 TDs) and tailback Anthony Allen (513 yards, five TDs) are key contributors as well.

When Nesbitt does settle into the pocket and pass the ball (it isn't that often, with just 115 pass attempts), he usually looks the way of talented WR Demaryius Thomas, who paces the team in receptions (37), receiving yards (861) and TDs (5).

The Tech offense is extremely productive, but the defense has been a little more erratic, allowing 24.9 ppg this year on 353.1 yards of total offense. What the team has done well is make big plays, with 20 forced turnovers in the first 10 games, including 12 fumble recoveries.

The crown jewel of this defense is All-American candidate Derrick Morgan at defensive end. Morgan has simply been unstoppable in his pursuit of opposing QBs. Of his 43 tackles, 16 have come behind the line of scrimmage, including 11.5 sacks.

Johnson knows how special Morgan is.

"He's a great player. He has great physical tools. He's about as quick and explosive coming off the ball as anyone I've ever been around. He's got a lot of god given ability and he works at it. He's a good football player. He was a year ago. Last year, he didn't get all the notoriety, but he was one of our best players."

The linebacking corps is anchored by Brad Jefferson (team-high 67 tackles, 6.0 TFLs) and Sedric Griffin (55 tackles, 3.0 TFLs). The play in the secondary is highlighted by All-American candidate Morgan Burnett (53 tackles, four INTs) at safety.

While Georgia Tech likes to move the ball on the ground, Duke's mode of transportation is through the air. The Blue Devils are averaging 369.8 yards of total offense per game, with 301.6 coming via the pass.

It all starts with talented QB Thaddeus Lewis. The senior signal-caller is rewriting the record books at Duke and is now just 14 completions shy of the school-record held by Ben Bennett (820). That mark would also be good for third place in ACC history. On the season, Lewis has completed 62 percent of his throws, for 2,428 yards and 15 TDs. He has spread the ball around, with three different receivers already amassing 40+ receptions in Austin Kelly (45, for 478 yards, three TDs), Donovan Varner (44, for 674 yards, five TDs) and Conner Vernon (41, for 583 yards, three TDs).

A huge reason for Duke's success this season is the improved play on the defensive side of the football. The Blue Devils are limiting the opposition to just 323.2 yards of total offense and have been extremely stingy against the pass (184.0 ypg).

Tech's Johnson has seen the improvement on defense for Duke.

"I think the difference has been, honestly, defense. They've given up 30 points twice this year, once to Florida State and once to Kansas on the road. If you look at their last three conference games, they've given up 13, 19, and 19. Their throwing the ball for a lot of yards, but the bottom line is against North Carolina they only had 125 total yards of offense and that game was tied at six late in the third quarter. They've been better on offense, but I think on defense is where they're much improved."

All-ACC linebacker Vincent Rey headlines the defense with a team-high 76 tackles. The secondary features safeties Catron Gainey (63 tackles) and Matt Daniels (55 tackles) and ball-hawking cover corner Leon Wright (43 tackles, five INTs, one fumble recovery). Up front, teams must account for All-ACC tackle Vince Oghobaase (33 tackles, 6.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks) and rush end Ayanga Okpokowuruk (29 tackles, 6.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks).