NC State vs Duke Prediction
I’ll go with Duke. Plenty of people are drinking the Duke Kool-Aid these days, and for good reason. The Blue Devils pummeled a decent Boston College team on Saturday, giving up just 14 first downs, 213 total yards and 2-of-13 on third downs alongside a couple of fumble recoveries. Duke did have 10 penalties for 90 yards though, and went just 5-of-12 on third downs but those are just about the only areas to complain about. The Blue Devils’ only two losses this year have come by a combined seven points, so they’ve been very competitive. Overall they’re scoring at a great clip as well.
As for NC State, they took a little while to get going in their win over Cal last weekend but everything worked out well. The Wolfpack gave up just 15 first downs and 5-of-18 on third-down tries defensively while gaining 327 total yards and 19 first downs themselves. NC State had given up 28 or more points in six of seven games prior to that, so it was a good effort on D. Duke isn’t going to be that easy to contend with, though.
Game Info, Stats and Previews
The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina State Wolfpack meet Saturday in college football action from Carter-Finley. Here’s a collection of relevant information and reasoning for a sound NC State vs Duke prediction. We have looked at this information from a betting perspective and attempted to determine the best NC State vs Duke pick.
Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview
The Blue Devils have been doing quite well so far this year. Duke opened up the season with a four-game win streak, taking out Tulane, Illinois, Stanford and William & Mary in that time. The Blue Devils would lose their next pair versus Georgia Tech and North Carolina, but then recovered with wins over Virginia and Boston College. Through eight games so far this year that gives Duke a 6-2 run.
In last weekend’s matchup with Boston College, Duke didn’t have a whole lot of issues. The Devils jumped out to an early lead with consecutive touchdowns, then scored two more in the second quarter. Duke added two more touchdowns and two field goals in the second half on the way to a 47-2 blowout victory. QB Walker Eget was 11-of-18 for 201 yards and a TD. Nate Sheppard rushed 20 times for 97 yards and a whopping five touchdowns in the victory effort for the Blue Devils.
North Carolina State Wolfpack Betting Preview
Over on the North Carolina State side, they’ve been quite a bit shakier in the record column. The Wolfpack went 1-2 in their first three with a win over Richmond between loses to Virginia and Vanderbilt. After wins over Appalachian State and Louisville in the next pair, NC State fell to Wake Forest and Stanford. Over the first seven games that made for a 3-4 record in the books.
Matched up against Cal last weekend the Wolfpack got themselves a sizable win as well. NC State was up 10-0 early but ended up going to the break with a 10-10 tie. The Wolfpack got better in the second half, scoring three times on the way to a 31-10 victory in the end. QB CJ Bailey was 13-of-25 for 192 yards and two scores while Davion Gause carried 19 times for 104 yards and a TD. Chance Robinson led the receives with four catches for 76 yards and a TD.
Duke Blue Devils @ NC State Wolfpack Betting Trends: Week 10
NC State Wolfpack Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 10, Will Wilson leads NC State for touchdowns (8) this season.
Duke Blue Devils Player Prop Facts
- Heading into Week 10, Nate Sheppard ranks 1st amongst FBS players for touchdowns (18) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- NC State ranks 9th among FBS teams for 3rd down conversion percentage this season (51.7).
- NC State ranks T16th among FBS teams for Q1 points per game this season (9.1).
- Duke has recorded the equal-most home wins by a margin of 40+ points of any FBS team this season (2).
- Duke ranks 1st among FBS teams for H2 opponent points per game this season (3.8).