Duke Blue Devils vs. Louisville Cardinals Preview
Where: Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium – Louisville, Kentucky
When: Friday, October 14, 2016 7:00 PM ET
Line: Duke Blue Devils (+34.5) at Louisville Cardinals (-34.5); total; 71.5 – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Writer’s Pick: Louisville Cardinals (-34.5)
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Betting on the Duke Blue Devils (+34.5)
Duke endured a defensive slugfest against Army last week. They had to battle the Black Knights’ feisty run game, the bad weather, and the conditions caused by Hurricane Matthew before winning 13-6. It wasn’t an eye-pleasing game offensively, as the two teams combined for 17 punts and only 93 passing yards.
At 3-3, the Blue Devils’ are still in search of bowl eligibility. They will require one or two upsets in the coming weeks, which is a tall task to say the least, considering they will be facing four Top 25 teams. Against football powerhouse Louisville Cardinals, who’ll be playing at home, Duke can be in for a long day. Duke and its fans will have to prepare for the worst.
Thinking positively, though, they may keep it close if QB Daniel Jones plays superbly and show that he truly is a dual-threat. The sophomore is netting a moderate 242 yards per game, along with passing for seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Their defense, which has shown progress from last year, will also have to step up. Seniors AJ Wolf, Devon Edwards, Corbin McCarthy, and Breon Borders are expected to lead the unit – they have produced 10.5 sacks, two INTs, and 13 pass deflections (nine from Borders) this season.
Duke is 6-4 SU (7-3 ATS) in its last 10 road games.
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals (-34.5)
There’s this guy at their QB position, name’s Lamar Jackson, you might’ve heard of him. He has a good arm, speed, and athleticism. We could be seeing him in highlight reels soon.
All kidding aside, Jackson is gifted with a crazy amount of talent. The kid is arguably the most electric college QB we’ve seen since Michael Vick. He’s that created player on Madden where you put 99 on every attribute. In five games this season, he’s been able to blaze through defenses for 325 passing yards (14 TDs, four INTs) and 137 rushing yards (14 TDs) per game.
Assisting him on offense are his four leading receivers – James Quick, Jamari Staples, Jaylen Smith, and Cole Hikutini. Collectively, that group is accumulating 252 receiving yards per game on 18 yards per catch.
Louisville will be returning from a bye week after their 42-36 loss to Clemson, a game where they almost pulled off a great comeback. That’s behind them now and they’ll be looking ahead for a dominating game against Duke.
The defense should have no problem squashing the Blue Devils. Their game averages of three sacks and five deflected passes are sure to be maintained, if not exceeded. Those are the key reasons why the Cardinals are outscoring their opponents by 32 points and are only giving up 324 total yards per game (4.6 yards per play).
The Cardinals have won seven straight games at home (5-2 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
If this was these schools’ basketball teams, it can be competitive – too bad it’s not. Louisville (-34.5) will crush Duke, 52-10.
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