The 6-6 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take on the 6-6 UCF Knight as 4.5-point underdogs in a game with a 67.0-point total. Let’s dive into our Georgia Tech-UCF odds, pick and prediction for this year’s Gasparilla Bowl. If you’re looking for more college football bets, check out our college football betting tools and our guide to betting on football.
Gasparilla Bowl Pick: Georgia Tech-UCF Bet
Gasparilla Bowl Odds
Odds via bet365
Georgia Tech: +165 | UCF: -200
Georgia Tech +4.5: -110 | UCF -4.5: -110
Over 67.0: -110 | Under 67.0: -110
Expert: Matt Gajewski
Time: Friday, Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Georgia Tech-UCF News & Notes
Georiga Tech Absences: Edge Sylvain Yondouen, CB Kenan Johnson, Edge Kyle Kennard
Georgia Tech Coaching Changes: N/A
UCF Absences: CB Ja’Cari Henderson, CB Corey Thornton, OL Drake Metcalf, S DeJordan Mask, S Jireh Wilson
UCF Coaching Changes: N/A
Georgia Tech-UCF Comparison
| Metric | Georgia Tech | UCF |
|---|---|---|
| Pace | 36th | 42nd |
| Overall Offense | 57th | 18th |
| Run Blocking | 79th | 50th |
| Pass Blocking | 83rd | 7th |
| Pass Rate | 84th | 113th |
| Overall Defense | 89th | 73rd |
| Run Defense | 104th | 80th |
| Pass Rush | 79th | 75th |
| Coverage | 47th | 75th |
Gasparilla Bowl Pick & Prediction
In what projects to be a top bowl game from a viewing perspective, UCF takes on Georgia Tech as a 4.5 point favorite in a game with a 67 total. Most major injuries/transfer portal departures come on defense. With both offenses fully healthy, point should come in bunches in this game.
UCF’s John Rhys Plumlee quarterbacks one of the most efficient offenses in college football. Plumlee averages 5.2 yards per carry, while completing 63.9% of his passes for 9.1 yards per attempt. He also retains the services of Javon Baker and Kobe Hudson, who combined for 1,819 yards at receiver. R.J. Harvey should also play behind UCF’s elite offensive line after accounting for 1,527 all purpose yards.
More importantly, UCF will face a weakened Georgia Tech defense that ranked 89th in overall efficiency before opt outs. This unit particularly struggled against the run, where it ranked 104th in country. Making matters worse, Georgia Tech lost two of its top four defenders in Kenan Johnson (CB) and Kyle Kennard (Edge) to the transfer portal.
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King also has elite dual-threat ability. King averaged 6.0 yards per carry, while completing 61.1% of his passes for 7.7 yards per attempt. Georgia Tech certainly comes in with the weaker offensive line, which could present problems against a mostly healthy UCF defensive line. With that said, Georgia Tech’s top four receivers combined for 1,814 yards and all four project to play.
Like Georgia Tech, UCF has a few key opt outs/injuries on defense. The team’s best defender Corey Thornton hit the transfer portal and three other starters in the secondary could miss this game due to injury. Both teams play fast, which makes an over intriguing in this spot. With that said, UCF should still have enough firepower to cover this spread.
Gasparilla Bowl Pick & Prediction and our Georgia Tech-UCF Bet: UCF -4.5 (-110) at bet365
