Every week the Blue Zone gives you our can't-lose prop bets for the upcoming football game:
Duke -1 vs. Georgia Tech
In what has been a rare occurrence this season, the Blue Devils are favored going into an ACC matchup. This time, Duke finds itself as a one-point favorite on the road against the Yellow Jackets. While this line indicates that this should be a fairly even contest, the Blue Devils have some clear advantages on both sides of the ball. Firstly, the weakness of Georgia Tech's defensive unit is its ability to stop the run, as the Yellow Jackets give up an average of 202.7 yards per outing. This bodes well for Deon Jackson and Mataeo Durant, who have excelled on the ground in both of Duke's victories this season.
With a chance to establish a ground game against a weak Georgia Tech front line, Duke will be able to create momentum and control the clock. On the other side of the ball, look for the dynamic duo of Chris Rumph II and Victor Dimukeje to tee off on the inexperienced Jeff Sims, who is making just his eighth career start. Duke is in good position to win and cover tomorrow.
Pick: Duke -1
Over/Under 58.0
This seems like too many points for a pair of offenses that rank below eightieth nationally in points per game. Both quarterbacks, Chase Brice for Duke and Sims for Georgia Tech, have struggled mightily in 2020 up to this point. In light of this, I expect there to be a steady dose of smash mouth football throughout the night. Neither offense has been very dynamic this season, meaning that having the edge in terms of time of possession and converting on third downs will be major storylines. In a game that features two teams who have not taken the field in a combined seven weeks, look for scoring to come at a fairly steep price.
Pick: Under 58.0
39.0 Rushing Attempts for Duke
This number, which is roughly the average amount of rushing attempts that Duke has had per contest, seems bit high at first glance. However, with Georgia Tech's suspect run defense, the Blue Devils have an opportunity to get things going early and often with their running back duo. Brice has clearly struggled when asked to drop back and scan the field, so Duke will likely try to set up the redshirt junior signal caller with some simple, short-yardage situations after establishing the run. Expect the Blue Devils to go ground heavy tonight.
Pick: Over 39.0
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Max Rego is a Trinity senior and an associate sports editor for The Chronicle's 118th volume. He was previously sports managing editor for Volume 117.