• Where: Quick Lane Bowl – Detroit, MI
• Payout: $1.2 million
• Date: December 26, 2018
• Time: 5:15 PM EST
• Channel: ESPN
• Bowl Gifts: 
  • $175 Best Buy gift card
  • JBL E55BT over-ear wireless headphones
  • Life-sized Fathead decal for each participant of his likeness
  • Backpack, shirts, mini helmet, football
• Gift Grade: B+:  Fathead really seals the deal for me

The Yellow Jackets are set to take on Minnesota in the fifth ever Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit isn’t exactly in ACC country, but Paul Johnson is getting ready for his last game as head coach at Georgia Tech before retiring. I wouldn’t expect too many attendees at this game, given it’s the day after Christmas and Georgia Tech fans would have to travel from the southeast to Detroit in December.

Georgia Tech is a 6.5-point favorite in this game, with the over/under sitting at 59.5.

Quick Look: Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets average 335 yards rushing and are not afraid to keep the ball out of the air entirely. Georgia Tech won in back-to-back weeks against Virginia Tech and North Carolina completing two out of three passes in those two games combined. They didn’t even complete a pass against Virginia Tech and won by three touchdowns.

This is the 9th bowl game in 11 years under coach Paul Johnson, and the Yellow Jackets have a 3-5 record in that span, including an Orange Bowl victory. This is an extremely tough offense to prepare for if you’re a school that does not consistently face a team that runs a triple-option style offense.

Quick Look: Minnesota

P.J. Fleck is in his second season as head coach at Minnesota, and this will be the first bowl game under the coach at the school. If you do recall, Fleck led Western Michigan to three straight bowl games, including a Cotton Bowl appearance coming off an undefeated regular season, before heading to Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers will be led by freshman quarterback Tanner Morgan, who is 3-3 as a starter this year, throwing for just under 1,300 yards, 7 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. They also rely heavily on freshman running back Mohamed Ibrahim who has 936 yards on the ground and 7 touchdowns.

This team has had an up and down season, but they did close out the year strong winning two out of the last three weeks with wins over Purdue and Wisconsin to become bowl eligible.

Prediction

This game is going to come down to how well Minnesota prepared for this Georgia Tech offense. If they struggle to stop the run, this game will get out of hand quick. I wish this game was being played out doors in the snow in below freezing conditions, because it’s going to be a ground and pound effort on both sides. Georgia Tech is averaging 35 points per game, and Minnesota is allowing over 170 yards on the ground. I think Georgia Tech is going to come out hot in this one and will do everything in their power to get their coach one final win to close out a very successful career.

I like Georgia Tech to cover, winning 38-17, but I’m taking the under.