The Louisville Cardinals and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are both hoping a week off will help them get back on track. Both programs have dropped two straight games after opening the 2020 college football season with victories.
The Cardinals are the betting favorites in this matchup due to their high-octane offense, while the Yellow Jackets’ win over Florida State is looking less impressive with each passing week.
Let's check out our best NCAA football picks and predictions for Louisville vs. Georgia Tech, with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, October 9.
Louisville Cardinals vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets betting preview
Weather
Players could be dealing with a slick ball in this one, as the forecast is calling for some rain Friday night in Atlanta. There could also be an 11-12 mile per hour cross-field wind, gusting from east to west. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key Injuries
Louisville: Malik Cunninham QB (Probable), Jawon Pass QB (Questionable).
Georgia Tech: Tre Swilling DB (Questionable), Jordan Mason RB (Questionable), Dylan Leonard TE (Questionable), Dylan Deveney TE (Questionable), Sylvain Yondjouen DL (Questionable).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Louisville’s high-octane offense has been mostly shut down in its last two games. The Cardinals put up 34 points against Miami, but 14 of those points came in garbage time and followed that by scoring just 20 against Pitt. That said, this was against two of the ACC’s top defensive units and the Cards’ three-headed monster of QB Malik Cunningham, RB Javian Hawkins and WR Tutu Atwell will get a chance to get back on track against the Yellow Jackets.
Cunningham will need to make some better decisions against Georgia Tech. The Cards’ signal-caller has 757 yards and seven touchdowns, but has thrown five picks and been sacked 11 times. Luckily, Cunningham has some help. Hawkins is rushing over five yards per carry, while Atwell has 229 receiving yards and three scores.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has struggled since its win over Florida State (who almost lost to Jacksonville State this past weekend), punctuated by allowing a Syracuse team that had scored just 16 points in its first two games to put up 37 on them. Georgia Tech's offense won’t be able to keep up with Louisville in this one. Grab this number before it bounces back to -6.
PREDICTION: Louisville -5.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
Speaking of not being able to keep up, Jeff Sims and the Georgia Tech offense has had issues with consistency over their first three games of the season. The freshman quarterback has really struggled since the second half against the Seminoles, completing just over 48 percent of his passes, with two touchdown passes and six picks.
While Georgia Tech is still transitioning away from the triple-option offense it ran for years, running the football has been a big part of their game this season, averaging over 45 rushes per game. But if the Yellow Jackets fall behind against the Cardinals they’ll have to look to the air.
On the other side, the Louisville defense responded well after getting torched by Miami, holding Pitt to just 23 points and limiting the Panthers' run game to 3.9 yards per carry. If the Cards can force Sims into more passing situations it’s hard to see the Yellow Jackets doing their part to send this one Over.
PREDICTION: Under 65.5 (-110)
Team Total Pick
It’s the Cardinals balance which will present the biggest issue for the Yellow Jackets. While Cunningham has struggled at times this season, the Georgia Tech defensive line won’t present anywhere near the number of problems that Miami and Pitt gave him. So Cunningham will have the opportunity to bounce back here, but Hawkins should alleviate a lot of the pressure in this one.
Hawkins is a true home-run threat and is able to break one off at any point in the game. Georgia Tech just allowed Syracuse to run for 160 yards, and while UCF lit the Yellow Jackets up through the air, the Knights still totaled nearly 250 yards on the ground as well. The Cardinals might be as potent as UCF, but will take this balanced approach to light up the scoreboard Friday.
PREDICTION: Louisville Over 28.5 Team Total (-108)
Louisville vs Georgia Tech betting card
- Louisville -5.5 (-110)
- Under 65.5 (-110)
- Louisville Over 28.5 Team Total (-108)
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