Georgia Tech's season began with talk of a Bowl Championship Series berth -- perhaps even an Atlantic Coast Conference title -- and a Heisman Trophy campaign for senior quarterback Joe Hamilton.

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It will end, for the second consecutive year, in the Gator Bowl, where the Yellow Jackets will meet the University of Miami on New Year's Day.

In one of the great ironies of a college football season wrought with them, the Yellow Jackets' sieve-like defense destroyed any hopes of a spot in one of the four BCS bowls, but helped the school mount its Heisman case for Hamilton.

With Hamilton under center, no deficit was insurmountable for the Yellow Jackets, who led the nation by averaging better than 509 yards per game and finished second in scoring at 40.7 points an outing.

But Georgia Tech's defense put Hamilton to the test every night out.

Of the 114 Division I-A programs, Tech's defense closed the century with the most fitting statistical finish -- No. 100, allowing 413.8 yards per game. It also surrendered better than 30 points an outing.

That suggests a shootout in the Gator Bowl, since Miami is a high-scoring offense, too.

Georgia Tech coach George O'Leary discovered early on that his defense, playing for its third coordinator in as many years, was not the stuff of champions. If O'Leary didn't realize this after his team's game, a losing 41-35 effort at Florida State in Week 2, he certainly did after the Jackets escaped with a 49-31 win over Maryland and were forced to rally for 31-24 and 38-31 wins over awful North Carolina and Duke teams in consecutive weeks.

While disappointing in many respects, Tech's 8-3 regular season finish was a testimony to Hamilton's brilliance. Four times the diminutive ACC Player of the Year guided the Jackets back to victories in the fourth quarter or overtime. Ultimately, the season of hope hinged on the two times he didn't -- a 45-38 loss at Virginia and a 26-23 setback at Wake Forest.

But it's difficult to characterize what Tech accomplished -- or failed to -- as a total disappointment. Along the way, the Yellow Jackets overcame the loss of their top two rushers to injury. What they couldn't overcome was a defense that at times started as many as four freshmen.

Still, on the heels of their loss at Wake Forest, Tech responded with one of the season's most memorable games, rallying to a 51-48 overtime triumph over rival Georgia.

While there will be no BCS bowl for the Jackets, and it seems unlikely Hamilton will upstage Ron Dayne for the Heisman, the mere notion that both options were still alive heading into November shows the kind of excitement that the Yellow Jackets generated in 1999.

The Personnel File

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Joe Hamilton, Sr., QB. In a league that boasted three of the nation's top offensive players, Hamilton was head-and-shoulders above the class. A native of Alvin, S.C., he lived up to his preseason billing by passing for 3,060 yards, 29 TDs and a QB rating of 174.15 (second nationally). He also finished with 734 rushing yards, which gave him an ACC-record 3,794 total yards.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Chris Young, Soph., SS. Young emerged from a cast of athletic youngsters as a star of the future. Though he will be best-remembered for his controversial fumble recovery at the goal line against Georgia, Young finished second on the team with 89 tackles and forged a reputation as ferocious hitter as he repeatedly bailed out Tech's penetrable defensive front.

COACH UPDATE: George O'Leary (36-24 in 5-plus years at Georgia Tech and overall). Four games under .500 after his first 26 games as the Yellow Jackets' head man (11-15), O'Leary has put together a 25-9 mark since then, taking the team to three bowls in a row -- Tech's first three-year postseason streak since 1970-72. Attendance is up, and expectations are high.

STRENGTHS: There isn't an offense in the country capable of putting up more points in a short period of time than the Yellow Jackets. Blessed with a veteran offensive line and a bevy of receivers (Dez White, Kelly Campbell, Kerry Watkins), Hamilton can move the ball with the very best. Not only are the Jackets skilled, offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen could be one of the nation's best at putting together a game plan.

CONCERNS: Anytime the Jackets don't have the football. Not only can't the Tech defense stop the run or the pass by conventional means, they can't seem to make the big plays either, despite repeated gambling attempts. The Jackets were last in the ACC in quarterback sacks (16) and forced just 12 turnovers, which ranked dead last nationally. What a difference a year makes. Tech set an NCAA record with seven defensive scores last season.

Noteworthy

TOUGH AT HOME: If only the Yellow Jackets could figure a way to play more games at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Tech finished 6-0 at home for the first time since its 1990 national championship season.

RECORD-SETTING RECEIVERS: Junior wide receiver Dez White collected his 14th career touchdown reception against Georgia, tying the school mark held by Buck Martin and Gary Lee. That might not stand long, considering sophomore Kelly Campbell turned a 47-yard Hamilton bomb into his 10th TD reception of the season, which is a single-season best.

SHATTERED: How impressive is Tech's 508.4-yard total offense average? Well the Yellow Jackets became just the fifth team in ACC history to eclipse the 500-yard average. The Jackets shattered the school single-season record of 414.3 yards per game, set in 1984.