The North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils face off on Saturday in an ACC college football showdown at Wallace Wade Stadium. In 2021 it was North Carolina that secured the 38-7 victory.
Duke comes into this game with a 4-2 record overall but they are coming off a very disappointing loss in their last game. Duke outscored Georgia Tech 14-3 in the 4th quarter to force overtime, but they gave up a field goal and ended up with a 23-20 loss. Under center for Duke is Riley Leonard and in the last game, he completed 20 of his 42 passes for 136 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Duke is averaging 32.5 points while their defense is giving up 19.7 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is the North Carolina Tar Heels who sit with a 5-1 record overall and they have won two games in a row. In the last game against the Miami Hurricanes, North Carolina scored 27 points and they won by three points. Drake Maye completed 19 of his 28 passes for 309 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. North Carolina is averaging 42.3 points while their defense is giving up 32 points per game. The offense is ranked 8th in college football, but this defense has had some major issues at times.
North Carolina is 4-1 against the spread in their last five games overall. Duke is 3-9 against the spread in their last 12 games. The over is 17-8 in North Carolina’s last 25 road games. The under is 5-1-1 in Duke’s last seven games overall. The Tar Heels are 4-0 in their last four games against Duke. The Over is 11-5-2 in the Blue Devils last 18 games following an against-the-spread loss.
This has been a series dominated by North Carolina, but this is a different Duke Football team. Duke has a solid quarterback in Riley Leonard and the Tar Heels are a terrible defensive team. Look for North Carolina’s defense to have some issues here, and that will be the difference as Duke keeps this game close. Don’t be shocked if Duke wins this game outright. Back Duke against the spread.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
Mitch's Take...
