Wake Forest vs. Missouri picks, predictions: Gasparilla Bowl schedule, odds

The college football bowl schedule takes another step forward in the days before Christmas as the Gasparilla Bowl is set to kick off between Wake Forest out of the ACC and Missouri from the SEC on Friday.

Wake Forest comes into the game with a 7-5 record, below preseason expectations and slugging through some late-season struggles, losing four of its last five games.

Star quarterback Sam Hartman comes in with a shot at breaking the ACC record for passing touchdowns in what will be his final game for Wake Forest before entering the NFL Draft, or the college football transfer portal, an announcement he's yet to officially make.

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Missouri won four of its final six games that included a regular season finale victory over Florida to become bowl eligible, posting 25.5 points per game on average while allowing 25.0 to opponents.

What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Power Index computer prediction model projects the game.

Gasparilla Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Missouri picks, predictions

Wake Forest prediction: The computer projects that the Demon Deacons have the 60.0 percent chance to win the Gasparilla Bowl outright.

Missouri prediction: By contrast, the index gives the Tigers a 40.0 percent shot to pull off the upset and finish the season above .500.

Point spread: The books agree, as Wake Forest comes into the game as narrow 2 point favorites against Missouri, according to the lines at SI Sportsbook.

Total: The book set the over/under mark at 58.5 points for the game.

Moneyline: Wake Forest -133 | Missouri +105

Spread consensus pick: Wake Forest -2

Score prediction: Team Rankings projects that Wake Forest will defeat Missouri by an estimated score of 30.1 to 28.8 to win the Gasparilla Bowl.

How to watch, stream: The game is set for Fri., Dec. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on the main ESPN network and streams live on fuboTV (Try for free).

College Football Power Index

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.

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