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College Football Picks: Georgia Tech vs. UCF Best Bets
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Georgia Tech vs. UCF Betting Odds for the Gasparilla Bowl
Spread: Georgia Tech +5.5 (-110, Caesars Sportsbook); UCF -5.5 (-110, DraftKings Sportsbook)
Total: 66.5 (Over, -110 FanDuel Sportsbook); 68 (Under, -110, DraftKings Sportsbook)
Moneyline: Georgia Tech +175 (ESPN BET); UCF -205 (DraftKings Sportsbook)
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-6) take on the UCF Knights (6-6) in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Friday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPN/ESPN+.
The Yellow Jackets wrapped up the season playing good football down the stretch, winning three of the past five games overall while covering four of those outings. That includes a 31-23 setback against Georgia at home as a 24-point underdog as the Under (60) cashed. Despite the total going low against the Dawgs, the Over has hit in five of the past six outings overall.
The Knights picked up a 27-13 win against Houston at the Bounce House in the regular-season finale, pushing against the total while securing bowl eligibility. The Under (61.5) cashed against the Cougars, and the total went low in the final four regular-season outings.
Georgia Tech wasn't crushed too badly by the transfer portal, although it certainly wasn't untouched. EDGE rusher Kyle Kennard and CB Kenan Johnson are each headed out of town. Kennard's loss is especially important to the Ramblin' Wreck defense, as he had a team-best six sacks with 32 total tackles and two forced fumbles with an interception. Johnson had 20 tackles with an interception, a forced fumble and three passes defensed.
UCF lost CB Corey Thornton to the portal, and he was the biggest loss for the team on the defensive side of the ball. He tied a team-best with three interceptions.
This will be the 6th all-time meeting between these teams, with Georgia Tech winning the first three from 1996 to 2000 and UCF winning the most recent clashes in 2020 in Atlanta and 2022 in Orlando.
UCF closed with three wins in the final four games, including an impressive 45-3 win over Oklahoma State as a 1.5-point underdog as the Under (64) cashed. The Knights have scored 22 or more points in 10 consecutive games dating back to Sept. 9.
Georgia Tech has scored 21 or more points in all 12 games this season while averaging 429.1 total yards per game to rank 31st in the nation. The run game has been the key to the success of the Yellow Jackets, going for 197.1 rushing yards per game. That ranks 16th in the nation, and the team has averaged 31.2 PPG while yielding 30.5 PPG. While the Jackets run the ball well, they cannot stop the opposition. Georgia Tech has allowed 225.7 yards per game on the ground, the worst among all bowl teams.
UCF ranks 4th in the nation with 233.2 yards per game on the ground, and it allows 187.0 rushing yards per game. We should see plenty of big rushing totals, with the Golden Knights getting the job done just Interstate 4 from campus.
Georgia Tech vs. UCF Betting Picks for the Gasparilla Bowl
The Yellow Jackets will be without Kennard, hurting the team. He was a major source of pressure on the quarterback, and his lost will also affect a run defense which was already not very good.
The Knights lost a couple of players on the back end to the portal, and QB Haynes King has to like that. He completed 61.9% of his passes for 2,755 yards, 26 TDs, and 15 INTs while running for 648 yards and a team-high 9 TDs. He and RB Jamal Haynes will be a handful for the UCF rush defense.
Georgia Tech hit the Over in five of the final six games, and the defense allowed 31 or more points in four of those contests. UCF saw the total go low, but that's because the defense overproduced. Overall, the D really struggled against the run, and that should continue Friday night.
Georgia Tech vs. UCF Expert Pick: UCF -5.5 (-110 DraftKings Sportsbook)
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Georgia Tech vs. UCF Predictions for the Gasparilla Bowl
For single-game parlay players, in addition to backing UCF, go high on the total. Again, we will see Georgia Tech and UCF each gobbling up huge chunks of real estate on the ground. While run-oriented offenses on both sides do not generally help Over bettors, as the clock is continually on the move, both of these run defenses are terrible. We could see several long scoring runs with a lot of fireworks.
UCF went for 223 rushing yards in the finale against Houston while going for 238 yards against Texas Tech and 293 yards on the ground against Oklahoma State.
For Georgia Tech, they managed to pile up 205 rushing yards against Georgia, one of the best defenses in the nation. I think we will see over 400 total rushing yards combined in this battle in Tampa.
