Duke Football hasn’t beaten rival North Carolina since the days of David Cutcliffe and Larry Fedora, but the two programs are on a collision course this weekend going in two completely different directions. The Tar Heels lost starting QB Max Johnson in the first week of the season and have dealt with inconsistent play from backups Jacoby Criswell and Conner Harrell ever since. A deflating 70-50 loss to James Madison this past weekend had Mack Brown reportedly offering to resign if it meant the team would fare better without him, setting up an integral game this weekend between the two long-time foes.
On the other side of the rivalry, Manny Diaz has coached his team to four wins in nonconference play despite dealing with multiple injuries to starters on both sides of the ball. It hasn’t always looked pretty, but the Blue Devils put together their most complete game last weekend in a blowout win over Middle Tennessee on the road.
ESPN’s FPI projects this game to result in a Duke win, with the home team holding a 57.1% chance of notching the team’s first ACC victory of the year. The same network’s advanced statistical algorithm SP+ has the Blue Devils winning by 4 points, 28-24…