4. Miami at Duke
LINE: Miami -14.5
ATS PICK: Miami
– Bet on this, BetMGM latest line
And this starts the theme of the week for the next three games on the list.
Big Teams, Big Spreads, Big Wins.
Over the first part of the season, the underdog was always, always, always the play no matter how illogical it might have been. Teams weren’t in shape, they weren’t sharp, and everything was a bit … off.
Now we can see those patterns and adjust. In this case, there’s a something-to-play-for factor here, too.
What’s interesting about this is how the ACC Championship chase will be playing out with Clemson facing Virginia Tech at around the same time the Canes are doing their thing in Durham. If the Hokies pull off the shocker and win, Miami is in the ACC title game against Notre Dame with a victory over Duke and then with a win over North Carolina next week.
Whatever … it’s not like the Hurricane players are going into this thinking about all the crazy scenarios.
Miami hasn’t been able to play over the last several weeks, Duke gave up 56 in back-to-back games against North Carolina and Georgia Tech, and the team that’s given away a whopping 30 turnovers on the year is about to meet a defense that has a chain it likes to show off (but hasn’t used enough this season).
The Duke D that allowed close to 1,100 yards of total offense and hasn’t done a thing against the run over the last two games is about to have issues.
Big Teams, Big Spreads, Big Wins, Part 2 …