The Duke Blue Devils opened Week 9 as double-digit underdogs against the SMU Mustangs, but Manny Navarro of The Athletic thinks a storm could be brewing in Durham.
In an ACC preview published on Thursday, Navarro put the Mustangs on upset alert for their Saturday night game at Wallace Wade Stadium.
“On paper, the Mustangs should roll,” Navarro said. “But the fact that Diaz and Lashlee worked together for two years and that SMU recently lost leading receiver RJ Maryland to a season-ending injury makes me feel like something unexpected will happen. SMU turns it over three times and Duke finds a way to pull the upset at home.”
Maryland, the star Mustangs tight end, leads the roster in every major receiving category through seven games, but Lashlee confirmed he’ll miss the rest of the year earlier this week.
If Duke football fans want the bad news about Navarro’s prediction, the Blue Devils have averaged 284.3 yards and 19.3 points per game against conference foes, and SMU is averaging 45.5 points over its four-game winning streak. The positive spin, however, is that Duke won two of those three ACC games and has only lost at home twice since the start of 2022.
Check out our staff predictions for more in-depth analysis of the matchup.