Georgia Tech at Duke
Time: 11:30 AM CST
Spread: DUK -18.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Duke Blue Devils suffered a bad loss to Pittsburgh last week, falling 30-33 to snap its three-game win streak and fall to 3-2 on the season. Duke stays at home for Week 7 as it hosts the struggling Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Blue Devils are heavy 18.5-point favorites in early week odds listed at bookmaker 5dimes. The game will kick off at 11:30 AM CST on Saturday.
DUKE
Pittsburgh gave up a 23-point lead the Devils, but it redeemed itself with a 26-yard TD pass with just 38 seconds to go in the game. Quentin Harris was somewhat stifled, compared to his usual performances. He threw just 18 of 43 for completion and amassed only 165 yards while throwing one TD and two interceptions. Duke also struggled to rush the football, managing just 2.8 yards-per-carry with none of its backfield options topping four yards per attempt. Deon Jackson had 60 on 19 rushes, but his longest was just eight-yards and he managed one TD rush. Harris averaged just 2.2 yards-per-attempt, but he did rush two of his 18 carries for two TDs while also having the long-rush of the day for Duke, a 17-yard play.
The Blue Devils had just 18 catches, and no receiver topped 50 yards on the day, though Jackson did well out of the backfield in catching two passes, one of which was a TD, Duke’s only receiving touchdown of the game. Duke’s defense did the work in getting it back into a game it easily could have surrendered in, and it did intercept Kenny Pickett twice while also forcing five fumbles, two of which Duke recovered. Those five turnovers gave Duke a chance, but ultimately Pickett found just enough of an opening late to make the game-saving play for Pitt.
Harris really has been something of a one man team, with a good bit of help from Jackson. Even so, Harris leads the team in rushing yardage at 342 yards on his 69 carries, which are just four short of Jackson’s 73 attempts on the year. Harris has four TD rushes, Jackson has three. The team has just two rushing TDs outside of that tandem. Harris has thrown 12 touchdowns, with Duke’s top-three receivers all having at least two touchdowns on the year. Duke also has six passing targets already over 100 yards on the season in reception yardage.
GA TC
Georgia Tech has lost three-straight since defeating South Florida in Week 2. There have been few bright spots for the Yellow Jackets, who have lost by 16, 22, and 3, over its last three games. The 3-point loss came to lowly Citadel, so it is tough to count that as anything short of a disaster. The Yellow Jackets are giving up 30.2 points per game while managing to score just 15.2 itself, good for a negative-15 point differential.
James Graham has not been good at QB, nor have Tobias Oliver or Lucas Johnson. Despite having three QBs to choose from, the Yellow Jackets have not been able to find one reliable one. Jordan Mason floats the team, and Oliver’s rushing makes up for his lackluster arm, as he ranks No. 2 in rushing yardage with 275 yards on 54 attempts. Mason and Oliver both average better than five-yards-per-carry, while the team is good for 4.2 per attempt. Georgia Tech, though, despite 191 rush attempts, has just six rushing TDs.
That might be acceptable if not for the fact that the passing offense is generating even less. The Yellow Jackets have just 53 receptions through five games, and only four receiving touchdowns. Ahmarean Brown leads the team in yardage with 160, but he also has just eight catches. Malachi Carter leads the team in total receptions with 11. Brown and Carter account for three of the TDs, with the other coming from No. 2 wide receiver Jalen Camp.
