The Duke Blue Devils and Ole Miss Rebels will enter the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl with the same record, but ESPN Analytics doesn’t see the two programs as evenly matched.
The ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Duke a 16.9% chance to upset the SEC program and win a 10th game for the second time in school history.
The Rebels remained in College Football Playoff contention for much of the season, knocking themselves down the ladder with a 20-17 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats and an overtime road defeat to the LSU Tigers, but a home win over the Georgia Bulldogs kept them alive with two games left on the schedule. The Florida Gators eventually closed the door on Ole Miss with a 24-17 upset in Week 13, dropping the Rebels down to 8-3 and ending their postseason hopes.
Despite the losses, it’s easy to argue Ole Miss rivaled the ceiling of any of its conference opponents. The Rebels finished seventh in scoring offense (37.5) points per game, ended up fourth in scoring defense (13.9), and led the nation with 52 sacks and 116 tackles for loss.
However, the Blue Devils have found ways to win almost every game on their schedule. Despite the ESPN Football Power Index projecting a 6-6 season, Duke erased four fourth-quarter deficits to finish 9-3. With quarterbacks [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] and Grayson Loftis in the transfer portal, however, they might need more magic for a final win.