Louisville Cardinals (5-5) vs. Duke Blue Devils (3-7)
November 18, 2021 7:30 pm EDT
The Line: Duke Blue Devils +19 ; Over/Under: 60
(Get latest betting odds)
The Duke Blue Devils and Louisville Cardinals square off Thursday night in a week 12 ACC college football contest from Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. The Cardinals are coming off a matchup versus Syracuse. In that one Louisville rolled to a blowout win. As for the Devils, they played Virginia Tech in their last game. Duke ended up losing big there. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
Louisville won three of their first four games this year, with an opener loss to Ole Miss as the only blemish. The Cardinals would go just 1-4 over their next five games, falling to Wake Forest, Virginia, NC State and Clemson with a win over Boston College.
In last weekend’s game versus Syracuse, Louisville scored 35 points in the first half alone on the way to a 41-3 blowout win. QB Malik Cunningham finished with 209 yards and four touchdowns, while Jalen Mitchell put up 15 carries for 102 yards to lead the rush.
Over on the Duke side, they lost to Charlotte in their opener this season but bounced back for wins in the next three games. The Blue Devils hit the skids after that, losing to North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh in their next five.
In their last matchup versus Virginia Tech, Duke coughed up 41 points over the final three quarters in a 48-17 blowout loss. QB Riley Leonard finished with 84 yards and Jordan Moore topped the rush on 113 yards and a score.
Louisville is 5-2 ATS versus a team with a losing record and 1-4-1 ATS in their last six on grass. The Cardinals are 6-14-1 ATS in their last 21 road games.
Meanwhile, the Devils are 4-1 ATS in their last five at home and 1-4 ATS in their last five on grass. Duke is 0-4 ATS in their last four overall.
PICK: I’m going to try Louisville here. The Cardinals had a great day overall in their last outing, posting 382 total yards, 163 rush yards and 7.1 yards per play. In turn, Louisville held Syracuse to just 184 total yards, 3.2 yards per play and 13 first downs. It was a nice all-around effort with zero turnovers and just three penalties.
As for Duke, they gave up 573 yards to Virginia Tech in their last outing and didn’t have much chance at keeping up. I like the Blue Devils to comparatively tighten it up here but I don’t think they’ll cover.
