Duke Football Set as Underdogs in First Road Game
By Hugh Straine
Duke football is heading into its first road game Friday night at Northwestern after its dominant victory versus Elon last weekend. This will be the first true road test for Manny Diaz at the helm for the Blue Devils, and he's looking to bring home a victory to improve his team to 2-0.
Duke enters the matchup at +2.5 with a +115 money line per ESPN BET. Despite being a slight underdog, the Blue Devils are certainly in a position to come out with a win.
This game poses to be a defensive brawl, as the over/under sits at a mere 37.5. Coach Diaz has emphasized time and time again in his press conferences over the past week the importance of his defense and how they displayed a ton of potential in the team's first matchup. The defensive mind Diaz is, this contest against the Wildcats will be a great test for Duke's front seven.
With four different ball carriers in Northwestern's 10-6 victory over Miami (OH) last weekend, the Wildcats ran the ball 31 times for 150 yards, good for a solid 4.8 yards per carry average. Diaz touched on how well he thought his defensive front played against Elon, and shutting down the Wildcats' run-heavy scheme will put Duke in a great position to win.
It will also be interesting to see how the Blue Devils' offense comes out from the get-go. Against Elon, it was definitely rocky in the first half and Maalik Murphy took a while to get completely settled in before a great second half. Duke's new offensive coordinator, Jonathan Brewer, schemes opposite of Northwestern as he rides with a fast-paced offense where he likes to throw the ball downfield quick.
But, the location of the game could pose challenges for Brewer and his game plan. Per Reed Wallach of SI.com, "Northwestern is playing at its practice stadium as it renovates its old stadium, Ryan Field. It's notable because the practice field is right on the water and the wind appears to be playing a significant role in how teams can move the ball."
How Brewer plans around the possible weather implications to keep the Blue Devils advancing the ball smoothly will be a big storyline to watch as we head into Friday night.
Watch the game at 9pm EDT on FS1 tomorrow night.