Miami at Georgia Tech Betting Lines & Expert Pick

Posted by Jordan Walterss on Wednesday,September 28, 2016 9:33, EDT in

College Football News, Online Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

The seat of embattled Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson will get a bit warmer on Saturday afternoon if his Yellow Jackets lose to No. 14 Miami in the Hurricanes’ ACC opener this year. They come off their bye week and are favored in online NCAA football betting.

Here’s a Sneak Peek at the Miami at Georgia Tech Betting Lines, Expert Pick & TV Info

For the first and only time this season, the Canes will be rockin’ their green jerseys on Saturday vs. GT. #ItsAllAboutTheU pic.twitter.com/1DPIgRFhTT

— Canes Football (@CanesFootball) September 26, 2016

When: Saturday, Oct. 1, noon ET
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta
TV: ESPN2
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Miami / Georgia Tech
Opening NCAA Football Lines: Miami -7 (52)

Why Bet on Miami?

That bye week is a nice advantage and allowed the Hurricanes to heal and rest. Miami (3-0) routed Appalachian State 45-10 last time it took the field. Running back Mark Walton took the visitors’ first offensive play from scrimmage 80 yards for a touchdown, and Miami used a 21-point first quarter to take early control. Miami outgained the Mountaineers 211-51 in the first quarter, including 114 passing yards on mostly successful bubble screens thrown by junior quarterback Brad Kaaya.

Walton closed the first half with 90 rushing yards and finished the game with 130 yards on just 16 carries. He has rushed for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games. Walton currently has 17 career touchdowns and is only a sophomore. The Hurricanes outgained Appalachian State 549-241 for the game.

Kaaya finished the afternoon 21-for- 27 for 368 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, moving past Miami legends Gino Torretta, Steve Walsh and Vinny Testaverde into a tie for third-most touchdowns in Miami history (49). The performance marked the eighth 300-yard game of his career. Miami had seven plays of 50 yards or more last season. Against Appalachian State, Miami had five plays of 50 yards-or- more

Coach Mark Richt reiterated this week that Kaaya – who stayed in the game after hurting his knee during the third quarter vs. App State – is doing well and will play vs. Tech. Richt also said that cornerback Adrian Colbert, who underwent minor knee surgery earlier this month and missed both the Florida Atlantic and Appalachian State games, is expected back against the Yellow Jackets.

The Hurricanes lead the nation in three major defensive categories: team tackles for loss (13.3), scoring defense (7.7) and sacks (4.40). The Hurricanes own a 6-6 record in ACC openers.

Why Bet on Georgia Tech?

The Jackets (3-1) come off a loss last Thursday to No. 5 Clemson 26-7. Clemson finished with a 442-124 lead in total yards. Just a terrible offensive effort for Tech.

“Very disappointed with our performance, it comes back to me; I’ll take credit for some of it,” Johnson said. “Offensively the first half was embarrassing, that’s ridiculous. They’ve got a good defensive football team, they’ve got some good players but it didn’t seem like we could get in their way. You couldn’t run back, we’re trying to run the option outside, release the tackles, they couldn’t touch the linebackers, they’re just dodging them. We kept getting behind and we couldn’t pass protect enough to throw the ball. We were pretty decent, at least in the first half, with the special teams. We were able to keep them way down in that end some so they ended up with a lot of yards. The touchdown right before half was disappointing because we backed them up a little bit and we just made a mistake.”

Georgia Tech’s quest for a fifth ACC Coastal Division championship in 12 years begins in earnest with its first division matchup of the season. The Yellow Jackets have finished first or second in the Coastal Division six times in eight seasons under Johnson and seven times in 11 seasons since the ACC went to its two-division format in 2005.

Georgia Tech is looking to bounce back from recording those 124 yards of total offense, which was its lowest offensive output of the Johnson era. However, the last time that the Yellow Jackets managed less than 200 yards in a game (157 in a 41-17 loss to BYU on Oct. 27, 2012), they rebounded to average 466 yards per contest over their next four outings, including 401 in a 33-13 win at Maryland the next week. Georgia Tech is 9-4 against Miami at home all time. Last year in Miami, the Hurricanes won 38-21.