Duke Vs Northwestern Prediction: The Road Ahead for Duke Football

Duke Vs Northwestern Prediction: A Critical Showdown

Date 9/6 || Time 9:00 p.m. || Venue Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium || Video FS1

Duke gets a chance to move to 2-0 if they can pull off a road win at Northwestern. New coach Manny Diaz came to Duke with a strong defensive reputation and the Blue Devils were aggressive in the opener, shutting Elon out until a field goal in the closing seconds. New QB Maalik Murphy had some erratic moments, but he put together a solid game with 291 passing yards. He’ll need to be more consistent, but it was a good start.

Key Players and Teams

• Northwestern's dual-threat QB Mike Wright, who had 178 passing yards against Miami.
• Duke's aggressive no-huddle offense designed to pressure Northwestern.
• Duke currently boasts a five-game winning streak against Northwestern.

Game Venue and Impact

Duke may have caught a break with the venue: Northwestern’s stadium is being renovated and games will be played at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium, right on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. What’s the break? It only seats about 15,000, which should negate the home field advantage somewhat.

Even if Duke loses though, the Blue Devils will still be ahead of Florida State and no worse than tied with Clemson in the ACC standings. And if they win, they’ll stay up on the Tigers, who play Appalachian State this weekend. Obviously Clemson’s going to be favored, but as Dabo Swinney acknowledged, App State is no joke and an upset isn’t out of the question. The ACC with Duke at 2-0 and FSU and Clemson at 0-2? That would be wild.