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Northwestern vs. #21 Duke Prediction, CFB Picks & Odds: Saturday, 9/16

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Don’t look now, but the Duke Blue Devils are ranked inside the top 25 this week, as they continue to prove that they’re not just a basketball school. They’re sandwiched between rival North Carolina and Miami (FL), but take on a Big Ten opponent this week in the Northwestern Wildcats.

We’ve provided our experts’ best Northwestern vs. Duke prediction and how you can use our top pick to snag a double-gifted FanDuel Sportsbook sign-up bonus that is perfect for the start of the football season.

NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS VS. DUKE BLUE DEVILS PREDICTION: Duke -18.5 (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

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Northwestern Wildcats vs. Duke Blue Devils Prediction: CFB This Week

The Blue Devils get to enjoy starting their season with three straight home games, and hopefully for their fans, three straight wins. Their season-opening victory against a top-10 ranked Clemson team 28-7 was one of the most surprising upsets of the season thus far.

That, combined with how rough Northwestern has looked, has Duke as favorites of nearly three touchdowns this Saturday. When breaking down the matchup to make our Northwestern vs. Duke prediction, the thought of a low-scoring game was certainly on our minds. While that will likely still be the case, FanDuel Sportsbook has adjusted for that and set the total (over/under) at a rather low 48.5 points.

Therefore, we’re going to focus our Northwestern vs. Duke prediction on the Blue Devils covering the spread.

Northwestern vs. Duke Picks & CFB Best Bets for Saturday Including Blue Devils -18.5

It’s not often we’d prefer backing such a heavy favorite in a game where we don’t expect many points, but we’re also expecting that the Wildcats will likely struggle to score even just a single touchdown. They did get a win this past weekend, but it came against the UTEP Miners - one of, if not the only, game Northwestern will be favored in this season.

Duke also came into the season with one of the top QBs with experience - Riley Leonard - who is in the mix in terms of the Heisman Trophy odds (+8000 at FanDuel Sportsbook). His numbers certainly aren’t jumping off the page just yet, but that’s also because he wasn’t needed in the Blue Devils’ smooth win over Lafayette last weekend.

Regardless, he likely won’t need to do much this Saturday either. When Northwestern faced a true opponent rather than last week’s UTEP (Rutgers in Week 1), they tallied just 189 yards through the air and their top rusher had just 11 yards. The Wildcats also don’t seem to have much trust in QB Ben Bryant, and it remains to be seen if RB Cam Porter can be a true bell cow.

Even if Northwestern does put things together a bit more than we expect, Duke was able to hold Clemson to just seven points in Week 1, who just scored 66 points this past weekend. Lastly, we also have a trend to support our Northwestern vs. Duke prediction. The Blue Devils are 3-0 against the spread in their last three matchups and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 meetings.

With all that in mind, our best Northwestern vs. Duke prediction is on the Blue Devils -18.5 (-110 at FanDuel Sportsbook).

How to Secure a FanDuel Sportsbook Sign-Up Bonus for Duke -18.5 Worth $300

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  1. Sign up here for a new FanDuel account; no promo code required
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By following those few steps, you’ll instantly receive two incredible benefits. First, your bankroll will be instantly boosted with $200 in bonus bets, and then you’ll also receive $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket. You’ll receive both rewards no matter if your $5+ bet wins or not, so there’s truly no reason not to create a new account today.

Latest Northwestern vs. Duke Betting Lines, Odds & Spread for 9/16 Presented by FanDuel

We’ve provided the latest lines and odds at FanDuel Sportsbook below, and based on those prices, an $11 wager on our Northwestern vs. Duke prediction of the Blue Devils -18.5 profits $10 as long they win by at least 19 points.

Point spread:

  • Northwestern Wildcats +18.5 (-110) vs. Duke Blue Devils -18.5 (-110)

Money line:

  • Northwestern Wildcats (+800) vs. Duke Blue Devils (-1400)

Total (over/under):

  • Over 48.5 (-110) vs. Under 48.5 (-110)

Lafayette vs. Duke Football Score Last Week

We touched on last week’s victory for the Blue Devils when going through our Northwestern vs. Duke prediction, and here is that final score:

  • Lafayette Leopards 7 vs. Duke Blue Devils 42

That certainly helps support our Northwestern vs. Duke prediction for this week, so make sure you take full advantage by becoming a new member at FanDuel for your $200 in bonus bets plus $100 off NFL Sunday Ticket.

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