The SMU Mustangs (6-1) face off against the Duke Blue Devils (6-1) on Saturday, October 26th. This game will be played at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham and televised on ACCN. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Kickoff is set for 8:00 ET.
SMU Mustangs vs Duke Blue Devils
NoneNone
SMU Offense Breakdown
Heading into week 9, SMU’s offense is averaging 40.7 points per game, ranking 11th in the nation. They are 21st in rushing, with 208.6 yards per game on 39.6 attempts. Brashard Smith leads the ground attack with 625 yards, averaging 6 yards per carry, and has scored seven touchdowns.
Quarterback Kevin Jennings has thrown for 1,336 yards, completing 66% of his passes with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. SMU ranks 21st in passer rating and third-down conversions, converting 45.7% of their attempts. Jake Bailey, the leading receiver, has 260 yards and one touchdown.
Duke Offense Breakdown
Heading into week 9, Duke’s offense ranks 104th in our college football offensive power rankings, averaging 25.9 points per game. They have struggled on third downs, converting just 26.8% of their attempts, and their rushing game is producing 116.3 yards per game.
Maalik Murphy leads the passing attack with 1,501 yards and 14 touchdowns, though Duke ranks 75th nationally in passing yards per game. Murphy’s passer rating is 89, and he has thrown five interceptions. Star Thomas has rushed for 616 yards this season.
SMU Team Defense
SMU’s defense was impressive in their recent 40-10 win over Stanford, allowing just 10 points and giving up only 206 total yards. They held Stanford to 33 rushing yards on 35 attempts and forced two interceptions.
On the season, SMU ranks 9th nationally in rushing yards allowed, giving up just 89.1 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks have completed only 52% of their passes against SMU, the 10th-lowest percentage in the country.
SMU Team Defense
Duke’s defense has been a strong point this season, ranking 17th nationally by allowing just 17.3 points per game. In their recent game against Florida State, they gave up only 16 points and forced two interceptions. The defense allowed 291 total yards, including 129 passing yards.
Opponents have averaged 153.6 passing yards per game against Duke, the 11th-lowest figure in the country, with a passer rating of 67.2, which ranks 14th. On the ground, Duke has allowed 153.4 rushing yards per game on 39.7 attempts per contest.
SMU vs Duke Trends
- In their last ten games away from home, the SMU Mustangs have a straight up record of 8-2 while going 5-5 vs the spread. The team’s offense averaged 32 points per game in these contests.
- Across their last three home contests, Duke has been good against the spread posting a mark of 2-0-1. Their overall mark in these games was 2-1, while averaging 28 points per game.
- As the betting underdog, the Duke Blue Devils have an ATS record of 2-0-1 in their last three games. In these matchups their, straight up record was 2-1.
- Through their last three games as the favorite, the SMU Mustangs have an ATS record of 2-1 and a straight up mark of 2-1.
Mustangs vs Blue Devils Prediction
SMU comes into this week nine matchup as the -11 point favorite over Duke. We expect them to win by a score of 36-20, making SMU the pick to cover the spread as the road favorite.
The over/under line is currently set at 48.5 points, and with our projected score, we see a lot of value in taking the over, as the combined 56 points is well above the current line.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:October 22, 2024 Duke Blue Devils, SMU Mustangs