The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are riding high into the Tax Slayer Bowl, winners of five of their last six games including a last-second win over rival Georgia. They will aim to keep it rolling in a matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats.
Georgia Tech is a slight favorite and hopes to end the season with four straight victories. Kentucky is playing well, too, pulling a big upset of Louisville last time out and hoping to get a smaller one this time out.
This matchup in the bowl season will take place on Saturday, December 31, 2016, at 11 a.m. ET at EverBank Field.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kentucky +3
Georgia Tech -3
Over/Under 61
Odds Analysis
The Yellow Jackets are small favorites and the money is pretty evenly split as the betting public does not have a consensus on which team will fare better on the spread. Georgia Tech is currently pulling in 55 percent of the money to cover.
Kentucky is getting the better action on the moneyline, as the Wildcats are at +145 and would pay off nicely with a win. The scoring total is too low as a heavy chunk of the action is pounding the “over” in this matchup.
Player to Watch
Stephen Johnson – Last week, in the rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville, the sophomore quarterback faced the Heisman Trophy winner in Lamar Jackson and came out as the better quarterback. He threw for a career-high 338 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
Johnson’s only other game where he threw for 300 yards or more was against New Mexico State back in September. He will be looking to build upon that performance this week in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Johnson has not been as consistent as the truly elite college quarterbacks but last time out was an incredible showing and he would love to build upon it.
Key Stat
Six. That’s the number of rushers who have surpassed 240 rushing yards on the season this year for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets love to run the ball in the option and use a bunch of different players to move the ball effectively.
Marcus Marshall leads the team in rushing with 96 carries for 624 yards and four touchdowns, while Dedrick Mills has 121 carries for 602 yards and 11 scores. Quarterback Justin Thomas has thrown for 1,454 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions this season while also adding 562 rushing yards and five more scores.
The other players for Georgia Tech with more than 240 yards rushing are Clinton Lynch, Qua Searcy and Matthew Jordan. Kentucky’s defense is not great and can be susceptible to the run.
This will play a huge role in the outcome. If Georgia Tech can get rolling with the rushing game, it should have enough to pull out this victory. Keep an eye on it early to see which side establishes itself better.
Free ATS Pick
Both of these teams are in the middle tier of the college football landscape and each played well down the stretch. Georgia Tech went through a three-game stretch earlier this season where it struggled mightily and lost each one, but bounced back from that nicely.
The Yellow Jackets have some nice wins and hope an offense that has played pretty well lately will keep it up.
Kentucky is usually at the bottom of the SEC and seemed like it could miss a bowl game once again this year, but defeated Austin Peay and Louisville to close out the season and qualify. The Wildcats would love to pick up another win, but the win over the Cardinals will have to remain as the last feel-good performance of the season.
Georgia Tech should win another one to end the year in style.
College Football Odds: Georgia Tech 31, Kentucky 24
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