The Duke Blue Devils get set to take on the Louisville Cardinals in this ACC clash. Both teams are having surprisingly good seasons so far and find themselves in the Top 20 of the AP Poll heading into Week 9.
Duke is coming off of a tough road loss to ACC foe Florida State. That loss likely took them out of any sort of playoff contention.
Louisville had a bye last week. However, the week prior, they were on the wrong side of one of the biggest upsets in college football this season. They suffered a horrific road loss to then 1-4 Pittsburgh.
Which team can bounce back this week? Which team will keep their ACC title hopes alive? Let’s take a closer look at this matchup.
Duke Blue Devils Vs. Louisville Cardinals Odds and Match Details
Team | Spread | Total | ML |
Duke Blue Devils | +4
-110 |
O46
-110 |
+160 |
Louisville Cardinals | -4
-110 |
U46
-110 |
-192 |
Fixture: Duke Blue Devils @ Louisville Cardinals
Date and Time: Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.
Location: L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky
Weather Forecast: 67 Degrees and 40% Chance of Rain
Field Surface: Turf
Duke Blue Devils Vs. Louisville Cardinals Injury Report
Duke Injuries
- Riley Leonard (QB)-Ankle: Questionable
- Nicky Dalmolin (TE)-Undisclosed: Questionable
- Eli Pancol (WR)-Lower Body: OUT
Louisville Injuries
- Renato Brown (OL)-Undisclosed: OUT
- Jawhar Jordan (RB)-Hamstring: Questionable
- M.J. Griffin (DB)-Leg: OUT
Duke Blue Devils Key Stats
The main thing looming for Duke in this game is the health status of Riley Leonard. Duke’s offense is nearly non-existent when Leonard is not on the field.
Duke was shut out in the second half of their loss against Florida State once Leonard went down.
He also did not play at all in the week before that against NC State. Duke did the bare minimum offensively to win that one. QB Henry Belin IV threw just 107 passing yards in that 24-3 win.
As you can see, the health of Riley Leonard is critical to how much upside Duke has in this game. We are likely not going to know until closer to kickoff if he is going to suit up.
Louisville Cardinals Key Stats
For as good of a year as Louisville is having, they have not done a good job at covering spreads. They are just 3-4 against the spread this season despite having a 6-1 overall record.
Despite losing Malik Cunningham to the NFL last year, Louisville has a big advantage in passing offense here. They rank 28th in the nation in passing yards per game (285.7) on top of Leonard’s health status. Duke does not rank in the top 50 in comparison.
If they separate themselves here, Duke could be in trouble.
Game Prediction
Truthfully, this game is very hard to predict without knowing Riley Leonard’s injury status. If he does not play in this game, I love Louisville at the current point spread. However, even if Leonard does end up playing, I think I would still take the Cardinals in this spot.
Final Pick
Louisville -4 (-110)
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