Florida State vs Georgia Tech Player Props & Best Bets: Good Ground Game

Prop bet #1: Haynes King Over 41.5 Rushing Yards

 -115 at bet365

You may not realize this, but the Georgia Tech offense was pretty good last season. They ranked 44th in offensive success rate and a big reason for that was because of the play of quarterback Haynes King.

The former Texas A&M signal caller threw for 2,842 yards while completing 61.6 percent of his passes with 27 touchdowns. He also rushed for a big 737 yards at 6.1 yards per attempt and found the end zone another 10 times on the ground.

The rushing is what I want to focus on here today. That is in part because of this matchup. Florida State has two very good defensive ends with Marvin Jones Jr. and Patrick Payton as well as an excellent secondary.

So, not only do I believe there will be some RPO and designed QB runs to try and negate the pressure from the ends, but King will also likely tuck it and run a few times if he feels the pocket collapsing.

That’s why I like King to go Over his rushing yards prop which is set at 41.5. Not only is he an effective runner, he’s going to have to be against this Seminoles defense. King also eclipsed this number in nine of his 13 games last season.

Prop bet #2: D.J. Uiagalelei Under 235.5 Passing Yards

-115 at bet365

The biggest reason the Florida State Seminoles did not make the College Football Playoff despite being undefeated, was because quarterback Jordan Travis got injured for the season. Travis was that important to the team’s offensive success.

And now, Travis is not walking out of that tunnel as he has moved on to the NFL. So, head coach Mike Norvell did what he does best and hit up the transfer portal, bringing in former Clemson and Oregon State QB D.J. Uiagalelei.

Uiagalelei is a hulking QB measuring 6-foot-4 and 250 lbs and after some tumultuous years at Clemson found some success at Oregon State. DJU threw for 2,638 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for another 219 yards and six scores.

Still, that equates to just under 220 yards per game and he completed just 57 percent of his passes. Now, he joins a Florida State team that is down its top three pass catchers from a year ago.

What the Seminoles do have is an offensive line. Probably the best in the ACC and one of the better units in the country. And they have a pair of strong running backs in Roydell Williams and Lawrance Toafili. 

All this to say, it’s the first game of the season and Uiagalelei’s first game in a new system, so I’m betting Norvell and Florida State lean on the running game in this one, particularly against a Georgia Tech team that had one of the worst rush defenses in the country last season, and taking the Under on Uiagalelei’s passing yards.

Prop bet #3: D.J. Uiagalelei Anytime Touchdown

+125 at bet365

Everyone loves an anytime touchdown scorer bet, and it’s the first college football game of the season so we’ve got to have one for this ACC showdown in Dublin.

For this one not only am I following up on the thoughts from the D.J. Uiagalelei passing prop but I’m also tailing my Cover 134 podcast cohost Doug Farmer by taking DJU to find the end zone at solid plus money.

Uiagalelei didn’t run the ball as much at Oregon State last season, rushing just 68 times after averaging 123.5 rushes per season in his two years starting at Clemson. Given the type of offense Mike Norvell runs and the players at his disposal, I think DJU falls somewhere in the middle this season.

And despite the fact he rushed less last year, he still found pay dirt on the ground six times and he’s scored 21 rushing touchdowns throughout his career.

I also mentioned that Uiagalelei is a big dude and a load to bring down. If the Seminoles have the ball inside the 10 on Saturday, I think Norvell is going to give him plenty of opportunities to slam that ball into the end zone. The plus money is the cherry on top.

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