Duke vs. Louisville point spread: Picking Blue Devils vs. Cardinals

Two ranked ACC squads will face off this weekend as Duke visits Louisville in one of the most exciting games in the conference to date this season.

Both squads will be looking to bounce back from disappointing road losses this past weekend, but the Blue Devils may have to do so without their star quarterback Riley Leonard. He made his return to the field on Saturday after suffering from an ankle injury versus Notre Dame earlier in the season, but unfortunately appeared to re-aggravate the injury and did not finish Duke’s most recent contest versus Florida State.

On3’s Andy Staples and Clark ‘Stat Cat’ Brooks recently discussed this weekend’s matchup starting with the status of Leonard.

“While he is a fantastic athlete in the open field, he’s still improving, developing just operating from the pocket passing the ball and that’s just not his strength,” Brooks said. “And you don’t really want him at 70, 60% so I don’t really think we’re gonna see him this weekend against Louisville.”

The two agreed that Leonard likely won’t play in Saturday’s matchup, but with the Cardinals favored by 4.5 points at home, they believe the Blue Devils may have a chance to cover and even win because of the play of Louisville’s quarterback on the flip side of things.

“Jack Plummer might keep them [Duke] in the game because he’s a fairly combustible quarterback, I use that word very literally. He can give you the explosive play and he can also give you that back-breaking decision that gives the defense a field-flipping opportunity or even a touchdown themselves,” Brooks explained.

Plummer ranks second in the ACC in passing yards this season, with his running back Jawhar Jordan ranking second in rushing and his top wideout Jamari Thrash ranking second in receiving yards.

But despite them having some offensive firepower, both Brooks and Staples believe that Duke will be able to cover the 4.5-point spread in this one thanks to their stout defense that leads the ACC in scoring allowing just 13.9 points per game.

“The total’s 47.5, I’d take the under on this one, I say Duke covers though,” Staples said. “I got faith in Duke to cover because I think they’ve had to play some very good defenses of late. We’re looking at Duke through the prism of having to play against Florida State’s defense and Notre Dame’s defense. Well Louisville’s defense ain’t those so this should be a chance for Duke to get right even with a backup quarterback in. So I will take the Blue Devils.”