Prop bets for No. 20 Duke football vs No. 18 Louisville

The 20th-ranked Blue Devils face their second-straight road test this week, taking on No. 18 Louisville. Ahead of kickoff, the Blue Zone brings you some can’t-miss prop bets:

Duke (+6.5) vs Louisville

Duke is coming off a heartbreaking 38-20 loss at the hands of Jordan Travis and the Florida State Seminoles, but the biggest pain from last week may be yet to be felt. Junior quarterback Riley Leonard went down in the third quarter, apparently reinjuring his right ankle that he first hurt during the Blue Devils’ loss to Notre Dame. Henry Belin IV came into the game in his stead, and completed just one pass on six attempts for seven yards. On the other side of the ball, Duke’s defense held strong throughout the first three quarters too, giving up just 10 points, while forcing two fourth down stops and a pick six. Only after Leonard went down did it begin to collapse, giving up a monster 14-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock, along with two other touchdown drives.

On the other hand, Louisville comes off a bye week after a stunning 38-21 loss to an unranked Pittsburgh team. Led by veteran sixth-year quarterback Jack Plummer, the Cardinals boast the 18th ranked offense in the country in terms of yards per game and the 28th overall scoring offense. Running back Jawhar Jordan averages 7.4 yards per carry, and redshirt junior Jamari Thrash leads the team in receiving with 639 yards and six touchdowns to his name. On the flip side of the ball, Louisville is no slouch either. It has allowed under 100 yards rushing per game, and is on par with the Blue Devils in terms of total yards allowed per game.

Picking the spread comes down to if Leonard is ready to play tomorrow. If he does, the Duke defense will likely do enough, with some help from the offense, to keep this game close. However, if Leonard is unable to play, or is forced out with another injury, then the game could snowball out of control similar to the events just a week ago in Tallahassee, Fla. In front of a sold-out crowd, expect the Cardinals to bring their A-game and prove a handful for the Blue Devils to handle.

Pick: Louisville -6.5

Over/Under 45.5 Points

There are no doubts – Duke’s defense is elite. The Blue Devils are 16th in pass yards per game and 5th in scoring defense. Louisville is not far behind, ranked 38th in points allowed and inside the top 20 in rushing yards allowed. And, for a second week in a row, Leonard’s health remains a game-time decision. These effects were seen last week, as Duke’s offense struggled to get extended drives going, with most of its points coming from short field situations caused by turnovers. Expect the Blue Devils to try to work the pace of the game into their favor with lots of run plays and extended drives if Leonard is unavailable or limited. This will likely be a slow-paced, low-scoring jockey for time of possession.

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