Georgia Tech vs South Florida CFB Odds, Betting Preview 9/8/18

College football action on Saturday afternoon and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will square off with the South Florida Bulls. This contest has a start time of 12:00 PM ET and will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Yellow Jackets are off a 41-0 win over Alcorn State, while the Bulls are off a 34-14 win over Elon. This will be the first-ever meeting between these teams.

Lines:  Georgia Tech -3.5… Over/Under 61

A Look At Georgia Tech

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets went just 5-6 last year, but they have high hopes for a bowl berth this year. The Jackets have eight starters back on offense, including QB TaQuon Marshall, who led them in rushing with 1146 yards and 17 TDs, while also throwing for 927 yards and 10 TDs. He had a solid game in their opening 41-0 win over Alcorn State as he threw for 104 yards with a TD and an INT, while also rushing for 77 yards and a TD. Leading the team in rushing in the game was Jordan Mason, who ran for 85 yards and a TD, while KirVonte Benson ran for 75 yards and two TDs.

The Yellow Jacket always have a strong running game and this year it will be no different. If the Bulls are to take down the Yellow Jackets, then they have to figure out how to stop this triple option. The Yellow Jackets threw a shutout against Alcorn State but will face a much better offense in this one and they do have just five starters back on that side of the ball. The Jackets allowed 26.5 ppg last year, so the defense could be a bit weaker this year.   

A Look At South Florida

The South Florida Bulls have gone 11-2 and 10-2 the last two years, but they may take a step back this year. A big reason is the loss of QB Quinton Flowers, who threw for 2911 yards with 25 TDs, while also rushing for 1078 and 11 TDs. Blake Barnett was highly touted and he will be taking over at QB. The Bulls topped Elon by a score of 34-14 in their opener and Barnett threw for 305 yards and three TDs, while also rushing for 31 yards and a TD. WR Randall St. Felix had a strong game as he had 143 yards receiving and a TD. They will be taking on a tougher defense in this one so it will be interesting to see how Barnett plays.

The bulls allowed 23.5 ppg last year and Charlie Strong is a defensive minded coach, but they have some holes to fill as just five starters are back on that side of the ball. They allowed just 234 total yards to Alcorn State, but 192 of them were on the ground. That has to be concerning as they will be taking on a very good ground attack in this one. The Bulls are not as good as last year, but they are a well-coached team and they play very well at home. That should make this a great game, but they must figure out their run defense.

Trends

Georgia Tech is:

8-2 ATS in their last 10 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points

25-9-1 ATS in their last 35 games after allowing less than 170 yards passing in their previous game

4-10 ATS in their last 14 games following an ATS loss

The Under is 5-1-1 in their last 7 games after allowing less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.

South Florida is:

7-1 ATS in their last 8 games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game

10-4 ATS in their last 14 games in September

2-5 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games

The Over is 11-2 in their last 13 vs. a team with a winning record