College Football Picks December 22

This is it – our last solo game college football slate until the national championships in January. Bowl season starts in earnest on Saturday – but let’s not pass over the Gasparilla Bowl! Here’s a college football pick for December 22. It is the last solo-game slate until the National Championship game, and we can all be thankful for that.

College Football Bowl Picks and Bets for December 22

Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Georgia Tech

6:30 PM on ESPN

Georgia Tech to COVER +5 points UCF

This Georgia Tech team has been playing lights out for the past month and a half. They ended the season in a close matchup with Georgia – easily covering the spread and only losing by a touchdown. Before that, they won outright and against the spread over UNC, Syracuse, and UVA.

UCF has had a harder runout to end the season – losing against the spread to mid-tier teams like Houston, Cincinnati, and West Virginia. Both teams rank a lot higher on offense than they do on defense – which should result in a battle in which no team is out of it early. Take the points here.

Despite what you may have heard, the ACC is still a Power 5 conference. UCF may have joined the Big 12, but Tech gave cross-state rival UGA a scare in late November. UCF sandwiched an abysmal five-game losing streak in between three wins to open the season and three wins in their last four to squeak into bowl eligibility. Tech may be an underdog, but they’re more battle-tested right now. Sure this is the only bowl game on the docket for December 22, but we can still make some nice picks and best bets with Tech to cover a five-point spread.