Every week the Blue Zone gives you our can't-lose prop bets for the upcoming football game:
Duke vs. Miami (-21.5)
Remember how exciting the beginning of the season was? After three straight September wins by the Blue Devils, the fans in the Wallace Wade crowd still had twinkles in their eyes. Well, a lot has changed in the months since. October and November turned into a victory drought, with the Blue Devils' conference schedule turning into a seven-game losing streak. With the worst record in the ACC, the Blue Devils' last matchup this season will be their competition against Miami (6-5, 4-3 in the ACC) Saturday at 12:30 pm.
The Hurricanes come into the contest off of a 38-26 win over Virginia Tech, a team to which Duke lost in a 48-17 blowout, but comparing the two teams' records and shared opponents would be unnecessary to see that Duke is the clear underdog. Miami has only taken down one team, Central Connecticut State, by more than the 21.5 points it is favored by Saturday, but this game could see Miami do just that. The Hurricanes have played tight matches against all of their ACC opponents, even defeating No. 17 Pittsburgh 38-34 and No. 20 N.C. State 31-30. And if we learned anything from the Hurricanes' game against Pittsburgh, who topped Duke 54-29 this season, it's that the Blue Devils could be in for a similar blowout loss against Miami.
Pick: Miami -21.5
Over/Under 67 points
This one is a little bit of a change for Duke, as the Blue Devils have only seen three of their 11 matches exceed 67 total points, yet Miami and its opponents have combined to go over the total five times in its 11 games. Combined, the teams average more than 60 total points per game this season, and given the Blue Devils' recent track record, it's a good call for bettors to expect this game to reach the total.
In its past three contests, Duke has made somewhat of a comeback—at least in the number of points it has scored. All three of those games also saw the composite score go over the total. With that in mind, the Blue Devils are likely to perform similarly to what we’ve seen recently, and that begins with a double-digit scoring performance of their own.
Pick: Over 67 points
Mataeo Durant over/under 100 rushing yards
Last season, the senior running back rushed for 817 yards and received the team's Most Valuable Player award. He has done even better this season, totaling 1,173 yards on the ground so far to rank 11th in the nation before Saturday's games. Durant saw the bulk of that yardage come in the early part of the season, with a season-high and program record of 255 rushing yards in the opener at Charlotte. However, in Duke's five most recent games, Durant has gone over the 100-yard threshold only once, with 103 yards against Wake Forest. Considering that he has been unable to top 100 yards against these ACC opponents that have blown out Duke, a matchup against Miami will likely be no different.
Pick: Under 100 yards
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