A two-game slate on Thursday brings with it a full Virginia vs. Georgia Tech prediction and comprehensive college football betting preview. In a clash that flips last year’s script, Georgia Tech is hoping to stay within a game’s reach of North Carolina while Virginia attempts to get off the absolute bottom of the ACC standings.
Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Betting Preview
- Spread
Georgia Tech (-3.5) - Moneyline
Georgia Tech (-155); Virginia (+135) - Over/Under
47 points - Game time
7:30 p.m. ET - Location
Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, GA - Predicted weather at kickoff
55 degrees, clear, 6-8 mph winds - How to watch
FuboTV, ESPN
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
Ahead of this game, it’s a great reminder that FanDuel gives you $60,000 to construct your best lineup in college football DFS. Grab your top picks from this game while keeping in mind Troy vs. South Alabama is also going on, and there are players to choose from there that could buoy your roster in multi-game formats.
Also, remember that FanDuel will match your $1 entry with $10 to play if you make your picks here.
- QB Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech ($10,000)
- QB Brennan Armstrong, Virginia ($9,400)
- QB Zach Gibson, Georgia Tech ($4,500)
- RB Hassan Hall, Georgia Tech ($7,800)
- RB Perris Jones, Virginia ($6,800)
- RB Xavier Brown, Virginia ($6,000)
- RB Dontae Smith, Georgia Tech ($5,500)
- RB Mike Hollins, Virginia ($5,300)
- RB Dylan McDuffie, Georgia Tech ($4,500)
- WR Keytaon Thompson, Virginia ($8,500)
- WR Dontayvion Wicks, Virginia ($7,100)
- WR Nate McCollum, Georgia Tech ($7,000)
- WR Lavel Davis Jr., Virginia ($5,900)
- WR Malachi Carter, Georgia Tech ($5,600)
- WR Leo Blackburn, Georgia Tech ($5,500)
- WR Malik Rutherford, Georgia Tech ($5,400)
- TE E.J. Jenkins, Georgia Tech ($5,300)
- TE Grant Misch, Virginia ($5,100)
This game — both in the prediction below and your DFS lineups — largely comes down to Jeff Sims’ availability. Sims is officially listed as “day-to-day” with an injury sustained in overtime last week. However, that injury didn’t look good if you watched it, as Sims couldn’t put any weight on his right leg and was replaced by Zach Gibson in overtime.
With that in mind, until anything is made clear around his status, your best advice in college football DFS is never to trust the injury reports and go with your own knowledge on the situation. That knowledge states Sims couldn’t walk as of 10 days ago, and his legs are the quintessential aspect of his game. That’s rather deflating for an incredibly electric player.
Sims has taken all but three pass attempts for Georgia Tech this year, two of which came from Gibson in relief and another from Nate McCollum on a WR-reverse pass. Sims is second on the team in carries but first in yards on the ground as well.
The whole dynamic changes for Georgia Tech if Sims can’t go, and you’d be wise to rely on the tried and true veteran Hassan Hall to get you points. Both Hall and Dontae Smith represent good value if Sims doesn’t play.
MORE: Early College Football Picks and Predictions for Week 8
But we also can’t forget about Gibson, the Akron transfer, who threw for 10 touchdowns and no interceptions last year for the Zips. He’s accurate with the football and sharp with his decisions.
On the Virginia side of things, it’s been a bleak affair since Bronco Mendenhall retired and Tony Elliott took over. The success Elliott had on the offensive side of the ball while at Clemson has not followed him to Charlottesville.
In fact, the offense has taken such a steep decline in 2022 that Brennan Armstrong and his trio of receivers have become an afterthought. Somehow, they rank 11th in the ACC and are a bottom-half unit in the country in passing yards per game. Armstrong is averaging a career-low in yards per attempt and has seven interceptions compared to just five touchdowns.
The offensive scheme doesn’t play to Armstrong’s strengths and against Georgia Tech’s top-five ACC defense, UVA’s passing attack is to stay away from in DFS.
Prediction for Virginia vs. Georgia Tech
Like your DFS slate, the Virginia vs. Georgia Tech prediction is incredibly hard to offer up a firm, conclusive pick due to Sims’ availability questions. If Sims goes, he gives the Jackets a chance to win with both his accuracy this season and his legs. But if he cannot go, Gibson will make his first start since Week 12 last season for Akron.
Gibson changes the offense drastically for Georgia Tech. That offers up challenges for both the Georgia Tech offense and Virginia’s defense. Receivers will have to rely on their separation to get open and continue working back to the football. They’ll no longer have the baked-in scrambling ability of Sims to bail them out if they cannot get open.
This also falls right into Virginia’s biggest defensive strength: their pass defense.
The secondary at UVA has been sound this year, allowing just 212 yards through the air per game. If Gibson starts, they’ll be relied upon to blanket Georgia Tech receivers in coverage and force errant, off-platform throws from a new starter.
So it sounds like a slam dunk for Virginia to win if Gibson starts, right? As Lee Corso would say, “not so fast, my friend.”
Reason being: Just look at how bad this Virginia offense has been in the national and conference team rankings in each major category:
Passing offense:
Virginia — 227.2 yards per game (81st nationally, 11th ACC)
Georgia Tech — 178.8 (114th, 14th)
Passing defense:
Georgia Tech — 208.5 yards allowed per game (37th, 4th)
Virginia — 212.0 (42nd, 6th)
Rushing offense:
Georgia Tech — 150.8 yards per game (68th, 8th)
Virginia — 129.7 (96th, 12th)
Rushing defense:
Virginia — 163.0 yards allowed per game (89th, 12th)
Georgia Tech — 181.0 (108th, 13th)
Virginia is a bottom-third team in both passing and rushing and is firmly a bottom-of-the-barrel offense among ACC teams. Tech’s defense features a sound secondary as well, including the likes of Zamari Walton, who has been a lockdown corner on the outside this year.
Georgia Tech’s defense features a ton of middle-of-the-field defenders that make it difficult to find open passing lanes. Their 4-2-5 defense features three safeties at most times as well as two incredibly talented linebackers in coverage: Charlie Thomas and Ayinde Eley.
Armstrong has thrown five interceptions over the middle of the field this season already. Georgia Tech makes it a few more.
Points are at a premium in this one. Grab the under and back the Jackets.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 24, Virginia 18