Quick Lane Bowl – Georgia Tech vs Minnesota
The Game
Welcome to Detroit, the City of Magic!
The Gophers have ROWED THE BOAT into a bowl game thanks to a win over rival Wisconsin in their regular season finale. Minnesota has won their last two postseason contests (2015, 2016) and this will be HC PJ Fleck’s first bowl appearance with the Golden Gophers (2nd year with the program). Georgia Tech got really hot around the mid-point of the campaign and went on a 6-1 run before losing to Georgia at the end of the year. Legendary HC Paul Johnson will be coaching his final game and it will be interesting to see if they Jackets can send him off with a big win.
The Details
Georgia Tech -5.5 Minnesota (57.5)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Georgia Tech -6
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Georgia Tech 31.5 Minnesota 26
The Match-Up:
Georgia Tech offense vs Minnesota defense
Here we go, baby!
As a huge college football fan we are gonna miss watching the Georgia Tech triple option rushing attack. The Jackets lead the FBS in rushing yards per game (335) (!) and average 5.7 yards per carry. There are TWO QBs very capable of running the offense and BOTH have rushed for over 800 yards so far this year (23 combined TDs). As a team the Yellow Jackets have 45 rushing TDs and have a BEVY of weapons that can run the football. They don’t MATRICULATE down the field very often, but when they do, they prefer to hit BIG PLAYS as they are averaging almost 20 (!!) yards per completed pass. Minnesota is going to have a tough time slowing down this run game as they are ranked #12 (!) in the Big Ten in YPC allowed (5.22) and #12 in yards per play D. They were improved later in the season BUT will be without leading tackler LB Blake Cashman (104 tackles, 2.5 sacks) who is bailing on the game to “prepare for the NFL draft”. We expect Georgia Tech to exceed their implied team total.
Minnesota offense vs Georgia Tech defense
The Gophers are going to have to STEP THEIR GAME UP if they want to hang with Georgia Tech. The passing game has been improved with Tanner Morgan under center (59%, 7-6 TD to INT) but overall the Morgan/Annexstad combo has thrown 13 INTs vs 16 TDs. The WR group has some good talent including one of the best WRs in the Big Ten in Tyler Johnson (1,112, 15.0, 10 TD) but there are only three players on the roster with more than 100 TOTAL yards receiving. The Gophers excellent LT Donnell Greene will also be missing for this game and that can’t help the pass protection. Thankfully, the Yellow Jackets don’t have a nasty pass rush. RB Mohamed Ibrahim has been a pleasant surprise (936, 5.5, 7 TDs) and will need to have a big game if the Gophers plan on scoring enough to win. The Jackets are decent on defense (#45 FBS) but nothing special. Their secret sauce? They are #3 in the ACC in turnovers forced (25).
Trends, Intangibles and More!
These two teams have never met before despite both being around for a lonnnnngggg time…..Minnesota may have some suspensions coming later this month due to some internal team rules being broken.
Summary
Minnesota vs an option team? Hmmm. Not the match-up you see more than once or twice every 400 years. The Gophers are a young squad and will have trouble stopping the Jackets’ run game on a fast and dry track. Motivation? It doesn’t get bigger then sending off a legendary and well-liked head coach. This is also the last triple-option game for Georgia Tech as new HC Geoff Collins will be moving them to a traditional offense next season. It’s the end of an era. Guys should be jacked to end it on a high note.
Conclusion
Official play: Georgia Tech -5.5 -106
Total: Lean to the over.
As always:
‘Lean’ implies we are comfortable suggesting ‘small potatoes’ on the game. Nothing more. < but always stay tuned for updates >
‘Slight lean’ implies we are almost certain to avoid the game and/or total from a betting standpoint even for ‘small potatoes’. We give an opinion for those who need to get down and want advice.