Three Big 12 Prop Bets to Watch in the Gasparilla Bowl, UCF vs. Georgia Tech
There are two things in life that everyone loves, watching college football and making money. In today’s story, I’m going to try to help you accomplish both.
As the UCF Knights get set to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the 2023 Gasparilla Bowl, we here at Heartland College Sports want to provide you with three prop bets to keep your eyes on as well as a superstar staff parlay.
I’ll keep this plain and simple, I believe that UCF is a better team than Georgia Tech and they are going to start fast in Friday’s matchup. The Knights are currently favored in the contest by six points and I fully expect that they will enter the halftime break with at least a touchdown lead over the Yellow Jackets.
While Georgia Tech has an impressive offensive attack at their disposal, their defense has been downright awful this season. Brent Key’s group has given up the second-most points per game of anyone in the ACC with 30.5 points per game allowed which ranks 13th in a 14-team league.
UCF on the other hand is averaging the second-most yards per game this season in the Big 12 Conference with 492.5 YPG as well as the fifth-most points scored per game. The Knights average 32.5 PPG which could make for a recipe for disaster for Georgia Tech. Give me UCF to cover the first-half spread with ease.
Now I know that 122.5 yards is a massive number for any running back to record in a single game, but RJ Harvey is the truth. The senior running back announced on Thursday that he would return to Orlando for his final year of eligibility and forgo the NFL Draft despite being one of the nation’s top prospects in 2024.
Harvey will be looking to put on a show in his final game as a senior, but that’s not the only reason why I can confidently say this prop will hit. The best way to win a football game is to find a weakness in your opponent and capitalize on it, and the matchup between UCF and Georgia Tech features a glaring issue for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech couldn’t stop the run if they had prime Patrick Willis and Ray Lewis starting at linebacker.
Georgia Tech has one of the nation’s worst run defenses, while UCF has one of the best rushing attacks in the country. GT is giving up 225.7 rushing yards per game which is dead last in the ACC by a whopping 32.3-yard margin, and third-worst in the nation. Unfortunately for Georgia Tech, the Knights average 233.2 YPG on the ground which is second in the Big 12 Conference, and fourth in the country.
The pick is simple, take the over for RJ Harvey.
This one is calculated, while also being a bold pick.
For both the reasons highlighted above, I like RJ Harvey to find the end zone twice against Georgia Tech. Harvey has had an incredible season in 2023 with 211 carries for 1,296 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground. His 16 scores rank sixth in the nation trailing Michigan’s Blake Corum (24), Oklahoma State‘s Ollie Gordon II (20), Notre Dame’s Audric Estime (18), San Diego State’s Kairee Robinson (18), and New Mexico’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt (17).
Sometimes adding too much logic can be a bad thing in sports betting. Let’s all agree to not overthink this one. This bet comes down to three stats.
- RJ Harvey has found the end zone 16 times in 12 games this season.
- Georgia Tech is horrendous against the run.
- Georgia Tech is also bad at keeping teams out of the endzone.
For those three reasons, I like RJ Harvey to have a career day and help lead UCF to a win in the Gasparilla Bowl.
- RJ Harvey Anytime TD
- Johnny Richardson Anytime TD
- RJ Harvey Rushing Yards 122.5+
- John Rhys Plumlee Alternate Rushing Yards 60+
- Georgia Tech Under 35.5
The bets outlined in the HCS Superstar Staff Parlay all coincide with Gus Malzahn’s squad taking care of business against Georgia Tech in the 2023 Gasparilla Bowl. While nothing is ever set in stone in the world of sports betting, I feel pretty good about each bet outlined in this article. Have fun, bet smart, enjoy the game, and let’s go make some money!
