Georgia Tech vs Vanderbilt Prediction 12/27/2024
| What: | Birmingham Bowl |
| When: | Friday, December 27, 2024 at 3:30 EST/12:30 PST |
| Where: | Protective Stadium (Artificial Turf), Birmingham, Alabama |
| Georgia Tech vs Vanderbilt Line: | Georgia Tech -3 |
| Total: | 51.5 |
| TV: | ESPN |
Georgia Tech vs Vanderbilt Prediction
Georgia Tech (7-5, 5-3 in ACC) plays Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5 in SEC) in the Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday afternoon. In their last 5 games, the Yellow Jackets went 2-3, losing to CFP Quarterfinalist Notre Dame by 18 (31-13), falling at Virginia Tech by 15 (21-6), upsetting Miami Florida by 5 (28-23), edging NC State by 1 (30-29), and then losing to rivals and CFP Quarterfinalists Georgia by 2 in a classic game that took 8 OTs (44-42). This team was right in the thick of everything and won the first CFP game of the year in Ireland (FSU). In the Commodores last 5, they went 1-4, losing to CFP Quarterfinalists Texas by 3 (27-24), knocking off Auburn by 10 on the Road to become Bowl eligible (17-7), and then losing their last 3 games, to South Carolina by 21 (28-7), LSU by 7 (24-17), and CFP participants (and losers to Ohio State) Tennessee by 13 (36-23).
Georgia Tech Looks to Continue Vandy Domination
Georgia Tech (6-5-1 ATS, 4-8-0 O/U) has been a strong Under team this season, and the Yellowjackets (-145 Moneyline) are 26-20 in 46 previous Bowl appearances, beating UCF by 13 in the Gasparilla Bowl last year (30-17). The Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech are led by dual-threat QB Haynes King (1,916 Passing yards, 11 TD, 1 Interception; 578 Rushing yards, 11 TD, 5.1 ypc), RB Jamal Haynes (808 Rushing yards, 9 TD, 5.3 ypc), and WRs Eric Singleton Jr. (754 Receiving yards, 3 TD. 13.5 ypc), and Malik Rutherford (670 Receiving yards, 3 TD, 11.4 ypc). King will play here but Singleton entered the Transfer Portal and signed with Auburn and there are 7 other players in the Transfer Portal now not on the GT Depth Chart. Three of the Yellow Jackets CBs are banged up (Tobe, Shelley, Burrell) but all are on the Depth Chart. This team averages 28.4 ppg (#66) and allows 24.8 ppg (#67).
Georgia Tech Betting Trends
- Georgia Tech is 12-0-1 in its last 13 meetings vs Vanderbilt
- The Under is 5-3-0 in the last 8 Georgia Tech games
- Georgia Tech has been an Underdog in 4 of its last 5 games
- The Over is 2-0-0 in the last 2 Yellow Jackets games
- Georgia Tech went 8-5-0 ATS last 2023 NCAAF season (61.5%)
Vanderbilt is Back in a Bowl Game After 6 Years
Vanderbilt (8-4-0 ATS, 6-5-1 O/U) hasn’t been good enough to appear in any Bowl games since 2018, but wins against Alabama and Auburn helped the Commodores (+122 Moneyline) get to the threshold of 6 wins and this game against Georgia Tech. Vanderbilt is 4-4-1 in its previous 9 Bowls, and lost its last 2, falling to Baylor by 7 in the 2018 Texas Bowl (45-38) and to NC State by 24 in the 2016 Independence Bowl (41-17), Vandy is led by QB Diego Pavia (2,13 Passing yards, 17 TD, 4 Interceptions; 716 Rushing yards, 5 TD), RB Sedrick Alexander (554 Rushing yards, 6 TD, 3.7 ypc) and TE Eli Stowers (583 Receiving yards, 4 TD, 13.0 ypc). Stowers is a potential Opt-out and the Commodores have 3 players in the transfer portal including starting OT Gunnar Henderson (signed with FSU), backup QB Nate Johnson, and OLB BJ Diakite.
Vanderbilt Betting Trends
- Vanderbilt has 4 outright Wins and an Underdog this season
- The Commodores upset VT, ALA, KENTUCKY, and AUB
- Vanderbilt is 7-2-0 ATS as an Underdog this season
- The Under is 5-1-1 in Vanderbilt’s last 7 games
- Vanderbilt went 2-10-0 ATS in the 2023 NCAAF season (16.7%)
- The Commodores had the worst ATS Record in the FBS last year
Georgia Tech vs Vanderbilt Prediction
These two teams have played a lot, with Georgia Tech going 20-15-3 lifetime vs Vanderbilt. In their last meeting, the Yellow Jackets won 38-7 in Atlanta in 2016, covering the 6.5-point Spread easily in a game that Pushed the Total to. In 2009 at Nashville, Georgia Tech won 56-31 and covered as 13-Point Road Favorites in a game that went way Over the 47.5 closing Total by 39.5 points with GT going Over the Total themselves. This Georgia Tech vs Vanderbilt NCAAF pick will back the Yellow Jackets who have King and Haynes and have had a brilliant season, almost knocking off Georgia in their last game and who haven’t lost to Vandy in the last 13 meetings. They will want to end this year on a positive note and have been good since Day One. Shop around as there are still (Georgia Tech minus) 2.5s in the market on Christmas Eve (FanDuel, BetMGM)
Kevin’s Pick: Georgia Tech -2.5 (BetMGM)