There isn’t a ton going on in the ACC this week as several teams are playing FCS teams. I was able to find a few plays for us this week.
Duke vs Northwestern (-3)
Since 2015, Northwestern has beat Duke 2 out of 3 times. The average Northwestern win has been by 10 points. Northwestern will be in line for a revenge spot as they lost at Duke last year 41-17. The average score in the past 19 meetings is Northwestern 22.9 – Duke 22.3 and the series is 10-9 in favor of Northwestern.
Northwestern comes off a win against Purdue in week 1. Purdue again out gained Northwestern for the second straight year. After a 31-17 lead at the half, Purdue’s defense shut them out in the second half. Another concern for Northwestern is the health of Clayton Thorson. In order to bring home the win in this one, Northwestern will need to control the tempo of the game and limit their mistakes. They will also need to make some plays through the air and get some stops on defense.
Duke is coming off a win against Army’s triple option in week 1. Duke had a very balanced attack with 17 pass plays going for 197 yards and 35 rush attempts going for 184 yards. The key for Duke in this game is going to be the play of QB Daniel Jones. In last year’s game he had 305 yards passing and 108 yards rushing. He was also nearly the leading rusher against Army. If Northwestern can’t contain him, they’re in for a long day.
I was not impressed with Northwestern in the Purdue game, and Purdue probably should have beat them. If Duke’s defense can contain Northwestern’s offense, I would look for them to have a good shot at covering the spread and possibly winning outright. Take Duke +3 for 1U and sprinkle the ML for 1U.
Clemson vs Texas A&M (+12.5)
Both of these programs are coming off wins in week 1 vs FCS teams. They both won handily, which was to be expected. Clemson managed over 500 yards of offense vs Furman. Texas A&M managed over 750 yards against Northwestern St. This should be a fun as Dabo Swinney will go against a familiar foe in Jimbo Fisher.
Coming in to the year Clemson has been highly regarded as the second best team behind Alabama. From what we’ve seen so far, there’s no reason to doubt that’s the case. With starter Kelly Bryant playing well and freshman Trevor Lawrence impressing, Clemson’s offense is looking like it shouldn’t drop off no matter who’s under center. Clemson’s defense was also impressive allowing only 163 total yards.
Texas A&M is a bit of a wildcard team with Jimbo Fisher heading over to the SEC. They looked good early and were able to run the ball extremely effectively. Again this was against an FCS team, so there might not be a ton of carryover here, especially going against one of the best defenses in the country this week. I’m interested to see what Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies can muster against Clemson on both sides of the ball.
This one could go either way as far as the total goes. It could be a grind it out game with Clemson’s defense, or it could be a bit of a shootout if the offenses get rolling. I’m staying away from the total here. Take Clemson -12.5 for 1U.
