The Duke Blue Devils travel to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to face-off with the #7 ranked Louisville Cardinals on Friday, October 14th at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Friday night match-up will be broadcast on the ESPN Network. As of Now, the Cardinals are -35 point favorites and the over/under is at 70.5 points.
Last week, Duke notched a 13-6 win over Army and will be searching for their first conference win of the year over the Cardinals. The Blue Devils have already been ousted by Wake Forest and Virginia, so stealing a game over a favored opponent might be necessary for them to play in the post-season.
Coach Bobby Petrino and his Louisville Cardinals enjoyed a week off after their close loss in Death Valley. The Cardinals started slow against Clemson, but came back in the second half to make it a thrilling contest. Unfortunately, they fell a little short and suffered their first loss of the season.
Duke (3-3):
Dual-threat quarterback Daniel Jones gives the team a chance to win every week. The talented freshmen has racked up yardage threw the air and over the ground. Jones has completed 132 balls for over 1,400 yards with seven touchdowns. The down-side to the youngsters numbers is the eight interceptions he has forced through the first six contests.
At running back, two athletes handle the share of carries from Daniel Jones. Together, Jela Duncan and Shaun Wilson have amassed over 120 carries resulting in 581 yards and five trips to the end zone. Jones has pitched in another 65 carries for 180 yards and three scores.
Through the air, the Blue devils turn to four different faces that catch balls and convert third downs. The foursome is led by senior wide receiver Anthony Nash. In 2016, Nash has nabbed 27 balls out of the air for almost 400 yards and two touchdowns.
The Blue Devil’s defensive front has improved from last season. Last week, Duke generated three key turn-overs on their rain-soaked field against Army. The Blue Devils now sit 30th in the nation against the run (126.8) and 55th against the pass (218.3). This will be the Blue Devil’s defense biggest test of the year.
#7 Louisville (4-1):
Unfortunately, the loss to the Tigers and Houston’s loss to Navy on Saturday made the road to the College Football Playoffs that more difficult. Although, the committee will certainly look at the effort Louisville put forth against a 49-6 Dabo Swinney squad in Death Valley. Either way, Lamar Jackson showed in the second half why he is the leading candidate for the Heisman.
Through the first five ball games, Lamar Jackson has accumulated some mind-blowing statistics. When the electrifying talent is throwing the rock, he has completed just over 100 balls. The passes have gone for over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns with only four picks. When Jackson decides to use his feet to make plays, he has almost 700 yards rushing on a team high 92 carries and another whopping 14 scores.
If Lamar Jackson isn’t tucking the ball and running, he is handing it off to Brandon Radcliff. So far this year, Radcliff has almost 60 carries for 496 yards and three trips to pay-dirt.
Three wide receivers handle the duties for the Louisville Cardinals. They are led by opposing senior James quick. The Kentucky native has reeled in 23 catches for 443 yards and four touchdowns.
The Louisville offense may get all the attention, but the Cardinals defense is 19th in the country in total defense at 324.0 yards per game. They have faced some high-powered offenses in 2016, and have held their own. Louisville ranks 26th against the pass and 43rd against the run.
Trends and Notes:
The Blue Devils are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 conference games.
The Cardinals are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
The Over is 5-1 in Blue Devils last 6 road games.
The Over is 6-0 in the Cardinals last 6 conference games.
Game Prediction:
Duke will come out with nothing to lose on Friday night at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. They are 3-3 and need to find an upset on their remaining schedule to boost their chance of reaching a bowl.
Louisville will return to the grid-iron looking to make an impressive statement after a hard fought loss to the Tigers. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, it’s at home and after a week off to rest.
Obviously, the Cardinals are the better team on both sides of the ball. Las Vegas has also made that clear, posting a 32 point spread to open the week. Now, the spread has moved to 35 and we here in the GMS sports laboratory say that’s just too much against a conference foe that can score. The Blue Devils create a little offense and Louisville cannot be stopped. Those combos have the over written all over it.
Take your pick, were thinking dog and taking the Blue Devils now that it’s up to 35. The over 70 doesn’t scare us either because we think they might be over 40 by half.
Go to getmoresports.com to follow-up on all the other college football contests that are going off this weekend.
