Wake Forest vs Missouri Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Gasparilla Bowl 2022 (Demon Deacons' Collapse Continues)

Wake Forest vs Missouri Game Info

2022 NCAA College Football Game — Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-5) vs. Missouri Tigers (6-6)
Date: Friday, Dec. 23, 2022
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Raymond James Stadium — Tampa, FL
Coverage: ESPN

The 2022 NCAA college football bowl game matchups have been revealed, including the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Missouri Tigers.

The losses have been piling up for Wake Forest, losing for the fifth time in its last five outings with a 34-31 loss to Duke on Nov. 26. Missouri, on the other hand, scored its second of back-to-back wins in its last outing, walking away with a 29-27 win over Arkansas.

Can Wake Forest pick up its fifth bowl victory since 2016? Or will Missouri experience a Festivus miracle by halting its bowl losing streak at three games?

Wake Forest vs Missouri Odds & Spread

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline: WAKE: (-134 ) | MIZ: (+112)
Spread: WAKE: -2.5 (-110) | MIZ: +2.5 (-110)
Total: 58.5 — Over: (-112) | Under: (-108)

Wake Forest enters this contest as a slight favorite on the spread and moneyline. This Gasparilla Bowl clash also features a total of 61.5, which is slightly above average compared to this year's bowl games.

Wake Forest vs Missouri Prediction & Pick

Wake Forest might have the better record here, but don't let that distract you from its awful defense. The Demon Deacons haven't been able to keep the ball out of their end zone lately, allowing 30-plus points in each of their last five games, averaging out to a 36.6 PPG rate.

Missouri's offense isn't elite, but it should be able to generate some numbers against Wake Forest's defense. After all, the Tigers are averaging 40 more passing yards over their last three games (240.0) compared to their season average (204.7).

Those numbers are encouraging as they're set to take on a Demon Deacons' secondary that surrenders the fifth-most passing yards (285.0), which has only increased to a 398.7-yard rate over their last three games.

Though Wake Forest is decent enough to win, I smell a Missouri upset win in the cards.

Final Score Prediction: Missouri: 38 | Wake Forest: 35

Wake Forest vs Missouri Betting Trends

- Wake Forest is 1-4 straight up in its last five games.
- Missouri is 6-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last nine games.
- The total has hit the under in six of Wake Forest's last eight games.
- The total has hit the under in eight of Missouri's last 11 games.

Wake Forest vs Missouri Best Bet

All NCAAF betting lines, odds and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.

I can't imagine Wake Forest winning this game with how bad things have been going. Even though the Demon Deacons' most recent win was by 10 points, it's hard to ignore that they're just 1-4 ATS in their last five games. Meanwhile, the Tigers have covered the spread in each of its last two outings, as well as in six of their last nine.

Having said that, a 2.5-point spread is close enough to a pick 'em situation that I'm comfortable enough to go with Missouri on the moneyline for the better value.

Bet: Missouri ML (+112)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.