In a display of two teams that like to run the football, Head Coach Brian Kelly and the No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-8) are gearing up to face off against the Duke Blue Devils at Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium. ACC Network will televise the action and the game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Duke Blue Devils
In this Saturday matchup, Notre Dame is getting picked as the favorite and is currently giving up 8 points. The Fighting Irish are also receiving -340 moneyline odds while the Blue Devils are +260. If one team catches a lucky break early it’ll create a worthwhile live betting opportunity. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 51.5 points.
Sharp bettors have been hammering both the Fighting Irish and the under. The line initially opened at 6 while the total was placed originally at 53.
The Fighting Irish are 4-4 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 1.9 units so far. They’ve been a decent under bet and have posted an O/U record of 3-5.
The Blue Devils are down 0.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 3-3-2 ATS and the over has hit in six of their games.
The Fighting Irish have gone 6-2 straight up (SU) in 2019 while the Blue Devils are 4-4 SU.
The Irish enter after a 21-20 victory over Virginia Tech last week. The passing game left much to be desired as Ian Book completed only 29 passes on 53 attempts for 341 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Jafar Armstrong (37 yards on 19 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Book (50 yards on 13 carries, one TD) led the running attack in the win. Chase Claypool (eight receptions, 118 yards) and Chris Finke (five catches, 56 yards) handled the receiving duties.
Duke narrowly fell 20-17 to North Carolina. The defense let the Tar Heels eat up the clock by running for 205 yards on 45 rush attempts. Javonte Williams had a solid showing for North Carolina, accounting for 111 rushing yards on 22 attempts. For Duke, Quentin Harris completed 22-of-39 passes for 229 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Deon Jackson (91 yards on 19 rush attempts) and the signal-caller Harris (-9 yards on 13 carries, one TD) mounted the ground attack in the defeat while Jalon Calhoun (six receptions, 37 yards) and Scott Bracey (five catches, 62 yards, one TD) led the pass-catching corps.
Notre Dame has run the ball on 51.7 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Duke has an overall rush percentage of 56.8 percent. The Fighting Irish have produced 160.5 rush yards/game and have 14 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Blue Devils are totaling 166.1 rush yards per game and have 14 total rushing TDs.
The Irish offense has averaged 255.8 yards through the air overall and has 20 passing scores so far. The Blue Devils have produced 196.8 pass yards per outing and have 15 total pass TDs.
Notre Dame should possess the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 163.8 yards and pass for 180.5 yards per game. The Duke defense has allowed 206.6 yards per game to opposing passers and 145.1 yards per game to opposing runners. The Irish are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.59 to opposing QBs, while the Blue Devils have given up a 5.51 ANY/A.
Offensively, Book is up to 1,760 passing yards this year, and has connected on 61 percent of his 224 attempts with 16 scores through the air and only four interceptions. He’s got a 7.92 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 4.84 over the past two outings.
Chase Claypool (512 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns on the year), Jafar Armstrong (43 rush yards, 65 receiving yards) and Javon McKinley (226 receiving yards, three TDs) have each played significant roles of late.
Quentin Harris has managed to complete 137-of-220 passes for 1,412 yards, 12 TDs and five INTs for Duke. His ANY/A stands at 5.87 for the season and 2.56 over his last two games.
Deon Jackson, Scott Bracey and Jake Bobo have combined to account for 301 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns over the last two outings.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Duke Blue Devils NCAA Prediction
SU Winner: Notre Dame, ATS Winner: Notre Dame, O/U: Under
Betting Notes
- As a team, Notre Dame has produced 3.9 yards per carry across its past three contests and 2.2 over its last two.
- Duke has averaged 3.2 yards per carry over its last three games and 3.0 over its last two.
- The Duke offense has lost nine fumbles this season while Notre Dame has lost five.
- Notre Dame has won five of its last six games SU, with a 31-point loss to Michigan on October 26th accounting for the only defeat over that span.
- Duke has lost four of its last five games SU, with an 18-point win over Georgia Tech on October 12th representing the only victory over that span.
- The Fighting Irish offense has created five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Blue Devils have accounted for three such plays.
- The Notre Dame defense has allowed three pass plays of 40+ yards, while Duke has given up four such plays.
- The Notre Dame offense has created 11 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Duke has created nine such runs.
- The Fighting Irish defense has allowed 12 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Blue Devils have given up 15 such runs.
- Each team defense has recorded 21 sacks this year.
