Game Preview: Maryland at Duke, Saturday 1:30PM EST

Forgive me again for taking you down the path less travelled for college football fans and wagerers alike.  I bring this game to light because I think it is a great investment opportunity and, as you know, I love shedding a little light on the programs that seldom receive it.

For some the ACC is mediocrity incarnate, a bunch of middle of the road teams without a dominant team that everyone can agree on.  Earlier this year the league seemed even below mediocre as teams like Virginia and Maryland struggled against FCS foes.  Now that all teams are in conference play that mediocrity makes for some interesting wagering opportunities if you know where to look.

I believe this matchup is one of these opportunities.  Duke is currently sitting at 3-3 (rare for them) and has somehow developed the best passing attack in the ACC.  Thaddeus Lewis is gunning for POY honours with over 1600 yards to date.  He has thrown for 12 TDs with only 2 INTs.  Maryland may have owned Duke in the past but it appears this year that the Blue Devils will be able to defend themselves especially coming off of their biggest win in memory on the road NC State.

The current line is Duke -5.5 and it will take another strong performance by Lewis and Co. to grab the victory and cover the spread.  This shouldn’t be too hard against a Terps squad that is ranked 106th in the nation in points allowed who will also be missing their leading rusher Da-Rel Scott the rest of the year making their attack pretty one dimensional.  QB Chris Turner has picked up the slack with over 1600 yards himself but turns it over too much, 8 picks so far this season in only 7 games.  Look for an up and and down aerial battle.  Duke’s ability to sustain drives and convert them into points will get them the victory while Maryland will pile up some yardage playing most of the game from behind.

Score Prediction
Duke – 30
Maryland – 17

Play Duke -5.5.  The over might be the best bet here (see below)

News/Notes
-Duke has covered in its last 2 conference games in is 3-1 ATS on the year
-Lewis threw for 359 against VT two weeks ago in a thriller.  Their passing D is ranked 17 in the country.
-Duke is 6-0 O/U this season