Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs Central Florida Knights Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/22/2023

Game Time: 6:30 pm ET, Friday, December 22, 2023

Venue:  Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  GA Tech +5, UCF -5; Over/Under:  66.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  GA Tech +4.5, UCF -4.5; Over/Under:  67 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  GA Tech +4.5, UCF -4.5; Over/Under:  66.5 points

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  6-6 (5-3) (4th place, ACC)

Central Florida Knights:  6-6 (3-6) (9th place, Big 12)

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  lost their last game at home against the Georgia Bulldogs 31-23.

Central Florida Knights:  won their last game at home against the Houston Cougars 27-13.

Georgia Tech is entering this game with a 6-6 record overall and they have a 5-3 record in their conference games too. They are 3-3 in their home games, 3-2 in their road games, and they are also 0-1 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against Georgia 31-23. Haynes King was the starting QB and he completed 11/20 passes for 158 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Jamal Haynes led the team in rushing yards with 81. Eric Singleton Jr. led the receivers with 96 receiving yards on 4 catches. Kyle Efford led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while no one on the defense recorded a sack in that one. KJ Wallace came away with the only interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Central Florida is entering this game with a 6-6 record overall and they have a 3-6 record in their conference games too. They are 4-2 in their home games, 2-4 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Houston 27-13. John Rhys Plumlee was the starting QB and he completed 23/27 passes for 253 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. RJ Harvey led the team in rushing yards with 136 and 2 TDs. Kobe Hudson led the receivers with 98 receiving yards on 9 receptions. Walter Yates III led the defense in that game with 5 solo tackles and 7 assisted tackles while Jason Johnson Jr. led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have Georgia Tech listed as a 5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Georgia Tech hasn't looked great this season with their 6-6 record overall but they have looked a lot better in their games lately and even finished the season with a close loss to Georgia, losing by 1 score. Meanwhile, the UCF Knights haven't looked any better this season with their 6-6 record overall and they were actually a lot better in their non-conference games this year than their conference games against tougher Big 12 opponents. UCF has had a good offense all season but their defense has been giving up a ton of points in their games and GA Tech has looked a lot better on offense in their games lately. Georgia Tech is going to be motivated to finish the year strong here, especially after almost beating Georgia in their last game, and the bad UCF defense will keep them in this game since GA Tech is going to put up points with their offense. Georgia Tech has the potential to win this game outright but they will keep it within a field goal even if they lose. The best way to place a bet here is on Georgia Tech to cover the spread in this game. 

Georgia Tech Central Florida Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, December 22, 2023 (6:30 pm ET start time) is GT 31 UCF 28.

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: 1-8 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points. 5-10 ATS after 1 or more consecutive wins against the spread. 3-6 ATS after a game where they committed no turnovers. 8-1 OVER off 4 or more consecutive unders. 9-5 OVER after 2 consecutive games where they forced 1 or less turnovers. 

Central Florida Knights: 8-3 ATS as a neutral field underdog. 6-1 ATS as a neutral field underdog of 3.5 to 7 points. 4-1 ATS after 1 or more consecutive straight up losses. 9-3 OVER in all games. 9-5 OVER off 1 or more consecutive unders. 11-4 OVER after 1 or more consecutive wins against the spread.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:  J. Felix (RB) Late Dec - Undisclosed. S. Yondjouen (DL) out for season - Knee. L. Blackburn (WR) out for season - Knee.

Central Florida Knights:  C. Magwood (WR) out for season - Redshirt. D. Mask (DB) out for season - Undisclosed. J. Davis (TE) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed.

“There are no moral victories. We came up short today.” - Brent Key after his team’s loss against UGA in their last game of the college football regular season. 

“UCF has been playing championship-caliber football for a long time. We just wanted to continue that legacy. We obviously went through a rough patch and so it's been tough on us. To be able to grind it out and get to a bowl game is a pretty special thing for this team to do.” - John Rhys Plumlee after their win against Houston in their last game of the college football regular season. 

WR Blaylock, Dominick 

WR Singleton Jr., Eric 

WR Rutherford, Malik 

TE Leonard, Dylan 

QB King, Haynes 

RB Haynes, Jamal  

WR Baker, Javon 

WR Hudson, Kobe 

WR Townsend, Xavier 

TE Holler, Alec 

QB Plumlee, John Rhys 

RB Harvey, RJ

Passing: H. King (2755)

Rushing: J. Haynes (931)

Receiving: E. Singleton Jr. (706)

Touchdowns: H. King (9)

Passing: J. Plumlee (2073)

Rushing: R. Harvey (1291)

Receiving: J. Baker (854)

Touchdowns: R. Harvey (18)

Coaches:

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Brent Key (2nd season)

Central Florida Knights: Gus Malzahn (3rd season)