The 2023 Gasparilla Bowl will take place on Friday evening when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets face the UCF Knights in Tampa, Florida at Raymond James Stadium with the game scheduled to start at 6:30 PM ET and will air on ESPN.

 

Georgia Tech finished in 4^th place in the ACC with a record of 6-6, however, they lost two of their last three games including a 23-31 loss at home against the Georgia Bulldogs in the season finale. The Yellow Jackets were one of the higher-scoring teams in college football this season as they entered this game averaging 31.17 points per game and featured one of the best rushing offenses as they enter this game averaging 197.08 rushing yards per game which ranks 16^th in college football.

 

Haynes King was one of the main catalysts in the success that the Yellow Jackets had this season as he led the team in passing and was 2^nd on the team in rushing as he enters this game having completed 219 of 354 attempts for 2,755 yards with 26 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while rushing for 648 yards and nine touchdowns. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will look to finish with a winning record for the first time since the 2018 college football season when they face the UCF Knights on Friday evening.

 

The UCF Knights enter this game with a record of 6-6 which led to a 9^th place in the Big 12 and finished the regular season winning three of their final four games including a 27-13 win in the season finale at home against the Houston Cougars. The Knights had an above-average scoring offense that averaged 32.5 points per game and the success the offense had can be attributed to their rushing offense as they averaged the 4^th most rushing yards per game with an average of 233.17 rushing yards per game.

 

RJ Harvey played a pivotal role in the success the offense had this season as he enters this game with 1,296 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 17 receptions for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Central Florida also had an above-average scoring defense as they are allowing an average of 25.42 points per game which is below the national average of 25.76 points per game.

 

The UCF Knights will look to end the season with a winning record for the 7^th consecutive season when they face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Gasparilla Bowl.

 

BookMaker has the UCF Knights listed as 4.5-point favorites against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday evening. Georgia Tech has won three of the five games all-time while UCF has won two of the last three matchups. The teams are 2-2 ATS in the last four while the Knights are 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are 7-5 ATS overall and 6-2 ATS as an underdog this season while the UCF Knights are 5-7 ATS overall and 2-6 ATS as a favorite on the year.

 

Both teams enter this matchup with identical records of 6-6, however, Georgia Tech has been the better team in the series, winning three of the five games all-time. The Yellow Jackets have also been the better team at covering the spread this season as they are 7-5 ATS overall and 6-2 ATS as an underdog while the Knights are 5-7 ATS overall and 2-6 ATS as a favorite. 

 

Georgia Tech will be without 2 of their defensive standouts and their defense surrendered a ton of points in four of their final six games. They also finished at the bottom of points per drive allowed while Central Florida finished in the top 30 in the nation in points per drive.