Las Vegas handicappers are eyeing several key matchups this weekend, starting with Miami's home game against Duke. The Hurricanes suffered their first loss of the season last week, falling 31-24 at Notre Dame, but remain 6-0 in ACC play and in control of their conference championship destiny. Analysts note this fits a classic "bubble burst" scenario for Miami, which leads the nation in scoring at 45 points per game but faces a Duke defense allowing just 13 points per game. Duke head coach Manny Diaz, a Miami native and former Hurricanes coach (2019-2021), is 12-4 against the spread as a road underdog, and his quarterback, Darian Mensah, is a Heisman co-favorite facing his former team.
In another ACC tilt, Wake Forest enters as a road underdog to unranked SMU despite a dominant 7-0 run against the spread and a No. 13 CFP ranking. The Demon Deacons rank No. 1 nationally in EPA per play and have crushed their last five opponents by a combined 264-31, though their earlier road wins over Louisville and Purdue were narrow. SMU, meanwhile, is 11-0 straight up and 8-3 ATS in home conference games since joining the ACC, and quarterback Kevin Jennings boasts a 7-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio in Dallas.
The SEC features Texas A&M hosting Tennessee, with the Aggies viewed as a prime home rebound candidate. Texas A&M put up 457 yards and 26 first downs without a turnover last week but lost 17-9 to South Carolina as a 7.5-point favorite, a result labeled the "Bad Beat of the Week." Tennessee jumped to No. 8 in the CFP after a 34-6 win over Kentucky, though the score was only 13-6 entering the fourth quarter. Texas A&M is playing its first SEC home game in over a month under new offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins, who replaced Collin Klein.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
English (US)·