In the Quick Lane Bowl, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are underdogs to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. ESPN will broadcast the action and kickoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. ET.
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Betting Preview
In this mid-week game, Georgia Tech is tabbed as the favorite and the team’s currently giving up 4 points. The Golden Gophers are also receiving +155 moneyline odds while the Yellow Jackets are -175. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 61 points. It appears that there will probably be some good in-game betting scenarios for this matchup.
The line opened at -4 while the O/U has not changed after it was initially set at 61.
The Golden Gophers have gained 1.6 units so far and are 7-5 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U record of 6-6. The Yellow Jackets have lost 1.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 5-7 ATS and the over has hit in eight of their games.
The Golden Gophers are 6-6 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Yellow Jackets are 7-5 SU.
The Gophers are coming off a resounding 37-15 victory over Wisconsin on November 24Their defense allowed the Badgers to run for 170 yards on 31 rush attempts. Jonathan Taylor had a good day for the Badgers in that one with 120 rushing yards on 19 attempts. On the offense, Tanner Morgan completed just nine passes on 16 attempts for 124 yards. Mohamed Ibrahim (121 yards on 26 rushes, one TD) and Bryce Williams (50 yards on eight carries, two TDs) provided the ground attack in the win while Tyler Johnson (four receptions, 76 yards) and Chris Autman-Bell (three catches, 26 yards) handled the receiving duties.
Back on November 24, Georgia knocked off this Georgia Tech crew by a score of 45-21. The Yellow Jackets defense let the Bulldogs kill the clock by rushing for 285 yards on 42 attempts, including two rush TDs. D’Andre Swift had a solid showing in the win, recording 105 rushing yards and a score on 14 attempts for Georgia. For Georgia Tech, TaQuon Marshall completed four-of-12 passes for 69 yards and one touchdown. Marshall (39 yards on 20 rush attempts) and Jerry Howard (39 yards on 12 carries) handled the ground game in the defeat while Brad Stewart (two receptions, 54 yards, one TD) and Marshall (one catch, 22 yards) led all Georgia Tech pass-catchers.
Minnesota has run the ball on 59.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Georgia Tech has an overall rush percentage of 86.0 percent. The Golden Gophers have run for 163 yards/game and have 21 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Yellow Jackets are totaling 335 rush yards per game and have 45 total rushing TDs.
It seems like the Yellow Jackets may have the advantage in terms of efficiency in the ground game, as their backfield has generated 5.7 yards per carry while their defense has allowed a YPC of 4.5 to opponents. The Golden Gophers have rushed for 4.1 yards per carry while allowing 5.2 yards per rush attempt to opponents.
The Gophers offensive scheme has tallied 215 yards/contest through the air overall and has 18 passing TDs so far. The Yellow Jackets have put up 84 pass yards per contest and have seven total pass scores.
Defensively, Minnesota has allowed 171 rush yards and 224 pass yards per game. The Georgia Tech defense has allowed 218.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 149.4 yards per game to opposing runners. The Gophers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 5.92 to opposing QBs, while the Yellow Jackets have given up a 6.60 ANY/A.
Offensively, Morgan has put up 1,072 passing yards on the year. He’s connected on 63-of-107 attempts with six passing scores and four interceptions. He has an 8.73 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 4.37 over the last two outings.
TaQuon Marshall has completed 43-of-92 passes for 787 yards, five TDs and four INTs for Georgia Tech. His ANY/A stands at 6.44 for the year and 4.70 across his past two games.
Betting Pick: Minnesota Golden Gophers at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
SU Winner – Georgia Tech, ATS Winner – Georgia Tech, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Georgia Tech offense has lost 12 fumbles this season while Minnesota has let 11 get away.
The Minnesota defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 22 times this season. Georgia Tech has recorded just 16 sacks.
Minnesota has averaged 4.7 yards per carry across its past three games and 3.8 over its last two.
Georgia Tech has averaged 4.1 yards per carry over its last three contests and 4.0 over its past two.
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