College football bowl season continues on Friday as the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take on the UCF Knights in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. This game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida and it is an interesting matchup.
Georgia Tech finished the year by going 3-2 in their final five games and that allowed them to become bowl eligible this season. The Yellow Jackets were not very competitive in the ACC this season as they went just 6-6 this season.
The UCF Knights finished the year by going 3-1 over their last four games, and that allowed them to get back to 6-6 on the year. UCF stepped up their competition this season as they joined the Big 12 Conference for the first time.
UCF is coming into this game as a five-point betting favorite over Georgia Tech on Friday evening.
Yellow Jackets Balanced on Offense
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are scoring over 31 points per game this season, and they have been extremely balanced on offense. Georgia Tech has thrown for more than 230 yards per game this season, and they have also rushed for nearly 190 yards per game.
Quarterback Haynes King is a huge key to this team as he has thrown for 2,755 yards and 26 touchdowns. King has also tossed 15 interceptions this season, and that’s a big reason that the team has gone just 6-6 this season.
The Yellow Jackets have been able to get some stops on defense at times, but they struggle against the best teams on their schedule. If Georgia Tech can slow the game down then they can have success in this matchup.
UCF Can Get Some Stops
The UCF Knights are a football program that wants to win games by scoring points, but this defense has also played well. UCF has given up 26 or less points in four straight games, and that’s typically going to allow them to win some games.
Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee is back under center for this team and he has thrown for 2,073 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. UCF is also a team that can run the football, and they always seem to keep pressure on the defense.
Look for running back RJ Harvey to have a big game in this one as well as he has 1,296 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns this season. Harvey has ripped off some big runs this season, and that will be a key in this matchup.
Knights Get Past Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were able to get back to 6-6 after a slow start to the year, but they are going to run into some issues in this game. Georgia Tech has been able to attack teams with offense, but they are now facing a solid defensive team.
UCF will be playing pretty close to home in this game, and that should give them an extra little boost. The Knights aren’t going to need that boost though as they are going to have a big night on offense.
Bet on the UCF Knights at -5.0 as they are going to win the Gasparilla Bowl by a touchdown at least on Friday night.
