Duke Meets Miami with Chance to Prove It Belongs
By Charles Jay
We would not say that the Duke Blue Devils are an unproven team, although because they are Duke, people may be slow to come around to believing in them. On Saturday night they get to cement their status as a nationally-ranked team and pull off a win as an underdog in the college football odds when they pay a visit to the Miami Hurricanes in ACC conference action that is set to begin at 7:30 PM ET at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens.
Duke, which got to the ACC title game last year (where they were blasted by Florida State), has reeled off four consecutive wins, with three covers against the football pointspread. BetAnySports customers know that they have faced anyone particularly threatening, but the WAY they have blown away the opposition. After the opening 52-13 victory over Elon, which was practically an exhibition, they have beaten Troy, Kansas and Tulane by a combined 122-33 margin. In the process they have assumed the position of #23 in the coaches’ poll.
Miami has had it a little tougher in the early going. The Hurricanes fell into a rough situation at quarterback, and wound up having to go with a true freshman in Brad Kaaya. They’ve endured his growing pains, as he has thrown seven interceptions, but they have also played a couple of strong teams on the road (Louisville and Nebraska).
In the college football betting lines posted on this game at BetAnySports, the Hurricanes are favored by a touchdown:
Miami Hurricanes -7 (+100)
Duke Blue Devils +7 (-120)
Over 61 Points -110
Under 61 Points -110
Kaaya will make those freshman mistakes, but he can make some plays too. He has thrown for 701 yards over his last two games, has a strong arm and is rather poised in the pocket. But Duke’s defense took advantage of a freshman in the game against Tulane, as they took back two interceptions by Tanner Lee for touchdowns.
It is clear that Kaaya needs Duke Johnson, the supremely talented running back, to keep some of the pressure off. Last week Johnson lost his dual with Nebraska’s Ameer Abdullah, so he will likely have some motivation to prove he’s the best back on the field.
But those BetAnySports patrons who have seen the Blue Devils know that they have an explosive weapon of their own out of the backfield. Shaun Wilson has averaged 14.4 yards per carry, and big plays like he produces help to ease the burden on quarterback Anthony Boone, who is easily the more seasoned signal-caller in this matchup. Boone has not yet lost as a starting quarterback for Duke in the regular season (the ACC championship didn’t turn out as well), and he is much more under control, with just one interception thus far.
Duke beat Miami 48-30 last season in Durham, and in the process they dominated things at the line of scrimmage, rolling up 358 rushing yards. Will that change?
Those people analyzing their selections against the college football odds certainly want to consider a few things: Miami has hosted Duke four times in conference play, and have beaten the Blue Devils by an average margin of 27 points. That, of course, was before the team started to turn the corner under the industrious David Cutcliffe. Duke has covered twelve of its last 14 games, and that is one of the factors that makes them a dangerous underdog getting points at BetAnySports, where you can wager on this game, along with many others, by using Live Betting Extra!
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