No team in the ACC brings back more experience and starters than the Duke Blue Devils. Duke has 20 starters returning from the 2002 team that made some important strides. Though the record resembled the records of the last four years at Duke, the Blue Devils shaved 118 yards per game off of the average allowed by their defense. They also improved their yards per carry on offense by almost a full yard. Those are two of the most important areas in winning football games and I expect those improvements not to go to waste, especially when the people responsible for accomplishing those things are all back again for this season. Duke played Virginia very tough a year ago, losing by only five points 27-22. That has given them the confidence to believe that they have a shot at beating the Cavs in this one. For a program like Duke, believing you can win is half the battle. I think this is too many points to give a team this experienced.
Virginia also brings back an experienced football team but they will be a team under pressure this season. Many writers and publications have picked Virginia to win the ACC this season and this is something new for this football team. No where is pressure felt more strongly than in the opening game of the season. People will be expecting a four touchdown blowout vs. the likes of Duke and Virginia may get frustrated when they don´t penetrate the Duke defense like they think they should. Duke has covered seven of the last nine meetings in this series and I love them getting more than two touchdowns in this contest.
DUKE +15 (1 UNIT)
Virginia also brings back an experienced football team but they will be a team under pressure this season. Many writers and publications have picked Virginia to win the ACC this season and this is something new for this football team. No where is pressure felt more strongly than in the opening game of the season. People will be expecting a four touchdown blowout vs. the likes of Duke and Virginia may get frustrated when they don´t penetrate the Duke defense like they think they should. Duke has covered seven of the last nine meetings in this series and I love them getting more than two touchdowns in this contest.
DUKE +15 (1 UNIT)
