Duke football opens up as considerable underdogs against SMU, receives AP Poll votes

Duke football is coming off of its sixth win of the season after its 23-16 victory at home against now 1-6 Florida State. This improved the Blue Devils record to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in the ACC, earning the program bowl-eligibility eight weeks through the season.

The program now begins its toughest stretch of the season with its next two games against ranked opponents: this Saturday at home versus #22 SMU and next weekend at #6 Miami.

Duke has not faced a ranked opponent yet this season and has been an inconsistent offensive team throughout the 2024 campaign. It's been on the outside of the Associated Press Poll looking in all season, waiting for that statement win to bring it into the rankings.

After its win against FSU, Duke received its first AP Poll votes of the season and is now on the verge of being ranked for the first time since the 1994 season. Duke received two votes and the only programs on the outside of the poll to receive more were Washington State, Syracuse, and UNLV.

With a win over a ranked opponent, it seems sure that the Blue Devils would find themselves ranked after the thirty year drought. But, the betting markets aren't giving Duke the best chances.

The Blue Devils have opened as 11.5-point underdogs against SMU with a healthy +340 moneyline. Despite being at home, sportsbooks don't seem to think the Blue Devils can get the job done.

This is the second game of the season where Duke has been the underdog with the other being against Georgia Tech three weeks ago where the Blue Devils entered the contest as 9.5-point underdogs. Duke ended up losing that game 24-14.

SMU will be the toughest offensive opponent that Duke has faced this season as the Mustangs average close to 41 points scored per game which is fourth among ACC teams. It's also giving up just about 21 points per game to its opponents which is third-best in the ACC. With how reliable this Blue Devil defense has been all season, it can be expected SMU will be held under that average this Saturday, but this brings all the more pressure on the offense to perform, which it's struggled to do consistently all season long.

Besides Miami and SMU, two other ACC teams found themselves in this week's AP Poll: #9 Clemson and #19 Pittsburgh.