College football odds, picks for Northwestern vs. Duke

Northwestern vs Duke Odds

While Northwestern and Duke are two schools of similar academic type, the football programs couldn’t be going in more opposite directions.

Duke is a certified ACC contender after dethroning Clemson in a primetime matchup to start the season. Meanwhile, Northwestern just picked up its first win on U.S. soil since before Halloween 2021.

But with success comes higher expectations for Duke and Mike Elko, who are now three-point favorites over the Wildcats. Can the Blue Devils avoid taking their foot off the gas or will they win their third straight game by at least three points?

Let’s dive into the Northwestern vs. odds. Duke and let’s make a pick and a prediction in the college football betting preview for Saturday, September 16.

The Wildcats are to be congratulated after ending a 12-game losing streak last week. The 38-7 victory over UTEP was just Northwestern’s second victory in its last 20 games.

Despite the 31-point victory, it was as unconvincing as a landslide victory could be. The Wildcats and Miners were tied, 7-7, at the half, and 85 of Northwestern’s 201 passing yards came on a single screen thrown behind the line of scrimmage.

Passing continues to be an issue for this team and Cincinnati transfers Ben Bryant, who has completed less than 60% of his passes with just one touchdown and two interceptions against Rutgers and UTEP. Bryant suffered an injury against the Miners that sidelined him in the second half, but he is expected to start against Duke.

This is still a team that prefers to run the ball despite losing its leading rusher and four starting offensive linemen from 2022. While the Wildcats rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns against the Miners, Northwestern accumulated just 12 yards in 22 carries against the Rutgers Big. Ten defenses in Week 1.

Defensively, Northwestern has done well in terms of yardage against two mediocre offenses, but the Wildcats haven’t been very good when it comes to generating pressure (four sacks and a 104th ranking in Defensive Havoc), which is something that will be essential against an experienced Duke offensive line and quarterback Riley Leonard.

With a 21-point win over Clemson in Week 1, the Blue Devils officially ended the narrative that their record would be worse this season than last despite an improved roster.

Duke avoided the disappointment game last week with a convincing five-point victory over Lafayette in which Leonard completed all 12 of his passing attempts.

There’s no doubt Leonard has cemented his status as one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. While he is an impressive passer, Leonard is equally effective on the field, where he totaled 699 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

Duke’s offensive line is arguably the offense’s MVP, returning much of the group that led the ACC in fewest sacks allowed in 2022 and blocking three running backs still on the roster who ran more than 4.5 yards per carry with at least 75 attempts. .

Duke’s defense remains as effective as last year, allowing just two touchdowns this season and still creating turnovers. The Blue Devils ranked second in the country last year with a plus-16 turnover margin and currently remain in the top 25 this season after forcing three against Clemson.

While Duke recorded just four sacks on the season, the entire 2022 defensive line that ranked 23rd in sacks has returned. They will now face a Northwest offensive that has already been captured seven times (the 115th in the country).

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Toggle the dropdown menus below to hide or show how Northwestern and Duke match up statistically:

Northwest Offense vs. Duke Defense

Hasty success	sixteen	111
Yards of line	85	110
Past events	90	22
Havoc	105	19
Finishing units	twenty-one	13
Quality units	103	7

Duke Offense vs. Northwest Defense

Hasty success	47	39
Yards of line	37	37
Past events	27	100
Havoc	22	104
Finishing units	51	79
Quality units	14	37

Pace of play/Other

Approach to PFF	26	67
FFP coverage	109	14
SP+ Special Equipment	82	62
Medium 8	74	14
Seconds per play	24.9 (35)	27.3 (72)
Rush rate	50.0% (106)	57.7% (26)

A win over UTEP gave interim coach David Braun all the feels, but we all saw how bad the Wildcats looked to start the season against the Scarlet Knights.

If Duke has a major flaw, it is a secondary one. But that won’t be tested against a Northwestern offense that doesn’t even average 200 yards per game.

Duke’s run defense hasn’t been very good so far this season, but it should be good enough to at least keep the Wildcats in check.

Northwestern and the points have gotten some love since the Wildcats’ Week 2 win, but they’re still a bad Power 5 team.

This should be another efficient day passing and running the ball for Leonard as the Blue Devils pick up another easy win against the worst team in the Big Ten.

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