Duke is certainly stepping up in competition here, but itâs hard to see where Notre Dameâs heads are at in this situation. Meanwhile they continue to have inflated lines as favorites and I like enough things about Duke for them to cover the 20 points.
Dukeâs strength right now is the passing game with Daniel Jones as they rank 26th in passing success rate against a couple of decent defenses in Northwestern and Wake Forest (both in top 50 last year vs. the pass). Right now Notre Dame is vulnerable in the secondary and rank 115th in opponent passing success rate. I donât see how they can be favorites in this spot.
Duke is well coached under David Cutcliffe, and their defense is a bit under rated. They have 6 starters back and did not allow any team to run over 200 yards on the road last year. I think they have enough to scare Notre Dame a bit here. Notre Dame did not at all look impressive at home against Nevada despite winning and covering the final score was misleading.
