How and what to watch for Duke vs. Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles will return to the field for the first time in nearly a month when they host the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday.

Florida State had two games taken off the schedule against Virginia and Clemson, both of which were deemed to be unplayable the morning of the game, so the Seminoles aren’t making many friends in the ACC. In addition, Florida State isn’t making its fans or bettors all that happy either this season, so it’s been a rough go of it for Mike Norvell in Year 1 in Tallahassee. The Seminoles struggle pretty much everywhere on both sides of the ball, aside from their rushing attack, which ranks 44th in the country in yards per rush.

The Duke defense has fallen apart over its last three games, giving up 56 points to North Carolina, 56 to Georgia Tech and 48 to Miami last week in a home loss in which the Blue Devils failed to score. Duke is pretty much bad across the board whether it’s in the passing game and running game, both offensively and defensively. When you cannot get things done on either side of the ball, you might find yourself with a 1-8 record in your conference, which is where the Blue Devils are heading into this weekend.

Florida State won the first 18 games of this series, though these two teams haven’t played since 2017, a 17-10 road win for the Seminoles.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Duke vs. Florida State on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network, or you can stream it via the ESPN app with a cable or streaming login.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends

Point spread: Duke vs. Florida State (-5)
Point Total: 57
Money line: Duke (+150) vs. Florida State (-182)

Betting splits against spread

Duke: (28% of action, 23% of bets)
Florida State: (72% of action, 77% of bets)

• Duke is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games, while Florida State is 2-9 against the number in its last 11.
• The point total went over in six of Duke’s last eight games, and it cashed in five of Florida State’s last seven.
• Florida State is 2-8 straight up in its last 10 games, and Duke is 3-13 in its last 16.

The Best Bet

When we get this late in the season especially in 2020, finding motivation is very important, but I’m not sure either team is too interested in getting out on the field this weekend. Especially with the way Duke has been playing defensively, I think it makes sense to take the over considering its opponents have nearly hit this point total by itself. Finding a way to score might be tough for the Blue Devils, but Florida State has been offering assistance to offenses all year long.

Pick: Over 57

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