The Miami Hurricanes play the Duke Blue Devils. See our college football odds series for our forecast and pick for Duke Miami.
Under Mike Elko’s first season as coach of the Duke Blue Devils, the team is performing well. The Blue Devils need to win two more games to avoid having a harsh finish to their season, which has already exceeded expectations through seven games. Through seven games, Duke is 4-3, which is much better than anyone anticipated. A Duke club that excelled under former coach David Cutcliffe but had clearly run out of gas — and ideas — the previous three years, Elko appears to be giving fresh life to. But it will be an obvious letdown if Duke, which was 4-1 after five games, is unable to win six games and get to a bowl.
Duke recently let two highly winnable games slip through its fingers. Georgia Tech defeated the Blue Devils 23-20 before North Carolina defeated them 38-35 thanks to a late touchdown by the Tar Heels. Although Duke plays hard in every game, it hasn’t been able to win its last two matches. Elko needs to figure out how to get his team to make the extra defensive stop and additional play that will make the difference in the game.
Under head coach Mario Cristobal, Miami has been a significant letdown this season, but the good news for the Hurricanes is that the most of their three losses have come outside the ACC. They lost to Texas A&M and Middle Tennessee, leaving them with just one ACC loss—against North Carolina. Miami is still very much in contention for the ACC Coastal Division title, and if the Canes can make the necessary adjustments in the second half of the season, they could still make it to the ACC Championship Game and have what would be Cristobal’s first season as head coach be a season that serves as a foundation for the programme.
Miami’s offence has been their main issue. Despite the excitement and fanfare surrounding his arrival, Tyler Van Dyke hasn’t performed well. Miami has had trouble reaching the 30-point mark while Van Dyke is on the field. Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo has suffered a significant injury for the Canes. He served as Van Dyke’s safety net and a dependable target on third downs and in unplanned scramble situations. Restrepo was more of a necessity for Van Dyke than many people realised, and his absence has crippled Miami’s offence. Miami scored just 20 points in last week’s game against Virginia Tech, which is not likely to be enough to win most of the games the team will play over the coming weeks. However, Van Dyke got Miami off to a strong start against Virginia Tech, leading the Canes to early scores and a lead the Canes were able to maintain.
These Duke-Miami NCAA football odds are provided by FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Duke-Miami Odds
Blue Devils of Duke: +9.5 (-105)
Hurricanes of Miami: -9.5 (-115)
Over: 57.5 (-112) (-112)
Under: 57.5 (-108)
Why Duke Could Cover the Spread
Simply said, Miami’s offensive is not particularly effective. It should be possible for Duke to keep this game close enough so that it can cover what appears to be a sizable spread. Miami defeated Virginia Tech by only six points, although the majority of people would probably argue that Virginia Tech is a worse team than Duke.
Why Miami Could Cover the Spread
Even though the game was nasty and close, the Hurricanes’ victory at Virginia Tech may have given them the confidence they needed to start a stronger phase of their season. In the meantime, Georgia Tech, who had recently fallen to Virginia, couldn’t defeat Duke. That reveals something about the Blue Devils’ limitations. Miami might be prepared to take home the big prize in this situation.
Final Duke-Miami Prediction & Pick
Before being predicted to cover a huge spread, Miami must demonstrate that it can destroy an ACC Coastal Division foe.
The last Duke-Miami Pick and Prediction: Duke +9.5
Duke vs. Miami prediction, odds, and selection for October 22, 2022 in college football appeared first on ClutchPoints.
