College football Week 0 kicked off with just enough fanfare to whet bettors’ appetites for the season ahead. Top-ranked Notre Dame easily covered its double-digit spread over Navy, while USC and San Jose State helped Over bettors cash in. Vanderbilt — with its win over Hawaii — is already one victory closer to eclipsing its 3.5 game season win total.
But now that we’re in Week 1, we can fill our plates — er, betslips — with enough wagers to properly satisfy our bellies. A perfect place to start is with Friday night’s ACC showdown between the Louisville Cardinals and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
The Cardinals enter this matchup as 7-point favorites over the “home” team Tech. Do the Jackets have enough sting to cover or even pull off an upset?
Let’s take a glance at Louisville vs. Georgia Tech odds and predictions for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech Spread, Moneyline, Total
In this Friday night battle, Tech will play Louisville at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta — a neutral field that’s essentially a home away from home for the Jackets. Bobby Dodd Stadium, Tech’s actual home field, is about a two-mile drive away from the Benz. But based on their 5-7 straight-up (SU) record in 2022, which included four home losses, playing in Atlanta doesn’t give the Ramblin’ Wreck any real advantage.
On the other side is a Louisville squad that likely comes into the 2023 season with more confidence than its conference foe. The Cardinals notched an 8-5 SU record last season, and that included a 24-7 win over Cincinnati in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.
So if you wagered on the Cardinals’ moneyline all last year, you got a positive return on your investment.
But how do these two teams measure up against the spread (ATS)? Let’s take a look.
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech Betting Trends
- In 2022, the Yellow Jackets were an even 6-6 ATS.
- When appearing in games as underdogs of 7.5 points or more last season, Tech went 4-3 against the spread.
- The Cardinals went 8-5 ATS last season.
- There was only one instance in the 2022 season when Louisville covered the spread when favored by 7.5 points or more.
- Head coach Brent Key was interim coach for Tech in 2022 after taking over for the fired Geoff Collins. His SU record as Tech’s interim is 4-4.
- As a head coach, Jeff Brohm is 66-44 straight-up.
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech Betting News
If you’re looking for longshot College Football Playoff (CFP) odds to wager, look no further than these two squads. Louisville’s odds to win the CFP currently sit at +20000 on FanDuel while Georgia Tech sits at an even more insurmountable +50000.
Tech also has the longest odds to win the ACC at +20000, but Louisville boasts the fifth-best odds to take the conference crown at +1400.
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech Analysis, Prediction
Quarterback Jack Plummer’s version of college football program musical chairs lands him in Louisville as the Cardinals starting QB for the 2023 season. Before Louisville, Plummer started at both Purdue and California.
As a matter of fact, while at Purdue, Plummer played under Brohm during his head coaching tenure with the Boilermakers. Last season at Cal, the 6-foot-5 senior threw for 3,095 yards, 21 touchdowns, and nine interceptions in 12 starts.
But Plummer’s arrival in Louisville isn’t the team’s only new addition. The Cardinals new-look team features more than a couple handfuls of transfers and more than a dozen true freshmen. All that upheaval and their projected season win total is still set at 8.5, and in this matchup, they’re 7.5-point favorites over the Yellow Jackets in Tech’s backyard.
What gives?
Well, for starters, Tech — to put it delicately — has cemented its position as an ACC bottom feeder. In 2021, the Jackets’ overall record was 3-9 and in 2022, they managed two more wins, eking out a 5-7 record. But the belly of the ACC is not the only lowly market Tech has cornered. The Ramblin’ Wreck is colossally bad on a national level, too.
The Jackets ranked 109th in passing offense last season and 125th in scoring offense. To add insult to injury, they’ll have to go this year without standout wide receiver Nate McCollum. The wideout who racked up 655 yards and three TDs in 2022 jumped into the transfer portal and took his talents to the Tar Heels.
But Tech still has players like Dontae Smith on the roster. The 5-foot-11 running back rushed for 420 yards and five TDs last season and could be at least a partial answer to improving some of the squad’s offensive woes. Tech also hopes that Key, in his first full year as the head coach after dropping the interim tag, will start the process of bringing the program back to some semblance of relevance.
But Key’s comeback campaign won’t start against Louisville. Expect the Cardinals to come out flying as Plummer and Brohm rekindle their relationship from the Boilermaker days. Louisville’s moneyline at -295 is juiced, so the better bet is Cards to cover the 7. And though Tech will be on the losing end of this affair, Dontae Smith (+170) as an anytime scorer is also worth a sprinkle.
Our pick: Louisville
Louisville vs. Georgia Tech Props
Here is a sampling of props bettors might also consider:
Anytime touchdown scorer (FanDuel)
Jawhar Jordan: -210
Jamari Thrash: -185
Trey Cooley: +125
Dontae Smith: +170
Isaac Guerendo: +195
Malik Rutherford: +210
Dominick Blaylock: +210
Total Points 1st Half (FanDuel)
Over 24.5: +102
Under 24.5: -124
1st Half Spread (FanDuel)
Louisville -4.5: +104
Georgia Tech +4.5: -128
How to Watch Louisville vs. Georgia Tech
Date: Friday, Sept. 1
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, Ga
Network: ESPN
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