UCF and Georgia Tech will do battle Friday, Dec. 22 in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium at the Gasparilla Bowl.

The two schools share some notable coaching ties. Former UCF and GT head coach George O'Leary is a member of both schools' Halls of Fame.

O'Leary coached the Yellow Jackets from 1994-2001, leading the program to five consecutive bowl games from 1997-2001 and winning the ACC Co-Championship in 1998.

GT head coach Brent Key was a longtime UCF assistant under O'Leary and at one point some thought he would succeed GOL as the Knights' head coach. Now Key is the head coach of his alma mater.

Both UCF and Georgia Tech finished the 2023 regular season with 6-6 records. Notable wins for the Jackets include triumphs over nationally-ranked foes Miami and North Carolina. Two of their losses came against teams playing in New Year's Six bowl games: Ole Miss and Georgia.

Overall, GT holds a 3-2 edge in the all-time series. While UCF has won the last two games, GT won a trio of games in 1996, 1999 and 2000, all played in Atlanta.

This will be UCF's eighth consecutive bowl game and their third Gasparilla Bowl appearance in the last five years. This will be Georgia Tech's first bowl game since 2018.

For our preview, we caught up with the preeminent media source covering Georgia Tech: Kelly Quinlan of JacketsOnline.com. Quinlan recaps Key's first season on the Flats and what he expects to see in this matchup.