Florida State vs. Duke Prediction
Will Florida State rebound off its loss to Miami and thump Duke as a road favorite today at 12:00PM ET?
THE ODDS: According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Seminoles are 7-point road favorites versus the Blue Devils, who opened as 8-point underdogs earlier this week. As for the total, the number hit the board at 45 and that’s where it currently sits.
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FLORIDA STATE: Despite falling to one of its biggest rivals last week in a heartbreaker against Miami, Jimbo Fisher is seeing some improvement from his Seminoles. “We’ve gotten better,” Fisher said. “The offensive line has gotten better. James [Blackman] has gotten better….We should be making that one other play in those games.”
DUKE: Coach David Cutcliffe is well aware of how good Florida State is despite the Seminoles’ 1-3 record this season. “Alabama struggled offensively against them. And I don’t know anybody that has composite talent like they do down there [at Alabama], although I know Coach [Nick] Saban is so tired of being told how good they are,” Cutcliffe said. “Florida State challenged ‘Bama physically. I learned from [the 2013 ACC championship] not to underestimate how good they are.”
“Florida State is talented,” Cutcliffe said. “They can play a lot of people on defense and they can run. They can consume a field. I don’t know that we’ll play another defense as talented as this one.”
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OUR PREDICTION: You look at the records of these two teams and consider how much Florida State has struggled without starting quarterback Deondre Francois and this looks like an easy cover for the home underdog. That said, Duke amassed just 124 passing yards versus Virginia last week. The Blue Devils have also scored just two offensive touchdowns in their last eight quarters and only one when quarterback Daniel Jones was on the field. The redshirt sophomore has regressed significantly after a late surge during his freshman year and his offensive line has done him zero favors, allowing a combined eight sacks against North Carolina and Miami.
Now comes Florida State, which ranks 15h in the nation in defensive efficiency, led by a stingy front seven. Yes, the Seminoles have struggled offensively and are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Miami. But perhaps James Blackmon and Co. are ready to put it all together.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 7 PREDICTIONS: FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES -7