Georgia Tech at Miami Florida

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson was criticized when he said he would make the option offense work in the ACC as many of his detractors said you can't run that offense in the ACC. The ACC was supposed to have the team speed to defeat it. But, his Yellow Jackets put up nine wins last year and opened the season by scoring 24 points on a tough Clemson defense in the first 20 minutes of their ACC opener. They gained over 300 yards on the ground in the process. Georgia Tech only beat Clemson by 3 points however on a late field goal you say? Don't let that fool you. That was a misleading final score. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 24-0 lead. After that, the young kids let up and let Clemson close the gap. The reality is, Tech should have won that one by double-digits and because they did not, we get some line value here. Miami pulled off a big underdog upset win at home in their opener vs Florida State. But, as good as that win initially looked for the Canes, it now doesn't look so hot after Florida State, as a 34 point favorite, was losing to Jacksonville State last week with 35 seconds to go! Maybe it was a letdown game for the Noles, but gaining 77 yards on 26 carries at home vs. a team like Jacksonville State says a bit more than that. Miami needed 21 fourth quarter points to win their game vs. the Seminoles, so there is cause for concern for Miami backers here. The Yellow Jackets have been a strong road team with a 6-1 ATS mark in their last seven away games. Miami has not embraced the role of a favorite as they are a pathetic 1-10 ATS in their last 11 as a favorite of 3.5-10 points and the home field advantage has not been present here for quite some time as the Hurricanes are just 10-31 ATS in their last 41 at home. Georgia Tech is 4-0 SU and 4-0 ATS vs. Miami in ACC meetings, including two outright upsets. And Paul Johnson coached teams are 15-5 ATS as a road underdog. I like Georgia Tech in this one.