North Carolina vs. Duke picks and best bets for Week 7 ACC matchup

North Carolina makes the short trip to Durham to face rival Duke for the Victory Bell on Saturday.

By Nick Simon@Nick_JSimon Oct 15, 2022, 4:00am PDT

The Victory Bell will be up for grabs on Saturday night as the North Carolina Tar Heels make a short road trip to meet the Duke Blue Devils at 8 p.m. ET. The game will take place at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC, and will air on the ACC Network.

North Carolina (5-1, 2-0 ACC) picked up its second conference victory last Saturday in a 27-24 road victory over Miami. Quarterback Drake Maye had his ups and downs in this one, throwing for 309 yards with two touchdowns and two touchdowns in the win. The defense iced the game when defensive back DeAndre Boykins picked off Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke in the final seconds.

Duke (4-2, 1-1 ACC) stumbled last Saturday when falling 23-20 to a Georgia Tech team that has shown a pulse under interim head coach Brent Key. The Blue Devils struggled to stay consistent on offense, producing just 278 total yards and a touchdown. Sahmir Hagans housed an 81-yard punt return to get Duke back into the game late.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

North Carolina: 51st overall, 13th offense, 101st defense
Duke: 77th overall, 69th offense, 84th defense

Injury update

North Carolina

DB Ja’Qurious Conley - Out (Lower body)

Duke

WR Jalon Calhoun - Questionable (Undisclosed)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

North Carolina: 3-2-1 ATS
Duke: 3-3 ATS

Total

North Carolina: Over 3-3
Duke: Over 1-4-1

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: North Carolina -7
Total: 68
Moneyline: North Carolina -275, Duke +230

Opening line: North Carolina -6.5
Opening total: 66.5

Weather

59 degrees, clear, 6 MPH SSW

The Pick

Under 68

This is an interesting clash of styles as it will be the explosive offense of UNC offensive coordinator against the defensive mind of first-year Duke head coach Mike Elko. I think this will be a tight contest with both the Victory Bell and positioning near the top of the ACC Coastal division standings on the line. Both staffs will most likely play things conservatively at times to avoid potential turnovers, so take the under.