Kansas-Duke
Line: DUK -14
Betting Odds courtesy of Bovada
Football, football, football…Must think football….
Bill Self and Mike Krysewski are two of the finest coaches in the NCAA and have kept Duke and Kansas at the top of the NCAA heap for quite some time. But oh, unfortunately this game is played with a pigskin, and neither school has been anywhere near as potent as their respective hoops games.
That tangent notwithstanding, let’s evaluate the football prospects of these two storied universities.
Kansas is 1-0 this season following a narrow six-point victory over Southeast Missouri State. Kansas QB Montell Cozart threw for 196 yards and three TDs, while not throwing a single interception.
The Jayhawks also got some major production from its backfield, with De’Andre Mann rushing for 121 yards to the tune of 8.1 yards per carry, and Corey Avery contributing an additional 91 yards per carry on 19 touches.
Tony Pierson and Nick Harwell did well at WR, accounting for eight receptions and three TDs between the two of them, while Pierson had a long catch of 67 yards, to set up a DeMichael Jackson seven yard TD run.
Duke has been a much improved program in recent years, and has started off this season 2-0. Typically Duke’s defense is poor, but in the first two contests the team has allowed just 15 points per game, though both were against small school opponents in North Carolina, Elon and Troy.
QB Anthony Boone is picking up right where he left off after posing a 64 percent completion rate with a 128.2 QB rating. He threw as many TDs as INTs though (13) and was sacked 10 times. This season he has been good for 66.7 percent and a 147 rating (see: 5 TDs, 0 INTs), though the rating is likely to fall when the Jayhawks begin playing tougher opponents.
He’s also been sacked twice already. While Kansas is far from a pushover, the 14-point spread by college football oddsmakers displays the disparity between the teams.
Trends:
KAN: 0-4-1 ATS in last 5 Sept; 0-7-1 in last 8 non-conf.; UNDER 6-0 in last 6 road games.
DUK: 3-0-1 ATS in last 4 home games; 6-0 ATS i last 6 after accumulating 450 or more total yards previous game; UNDER 4-0 in last 4 following SU win.
