No. 18 Louisville, coming off bye, hosts No. 20 Duke with both teams eager to avoid second ACC loss
No. 20 Duke (5-2, 2-1 ACC) at No. 18 Louisville (6-1, 3-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Line: Louisville by 4½, according to FanDuel.com Sportsbook.
Series: Louisville leads 3-0.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Both schools are aiming to bounce back from losses and avoid dropping farther behind first-place and No. 4-ranked Florida State with a second ACC defeat. The visiting Blue Devils also seek their first win over the Cardinals, who are coming off a bye following a loss at Pittsburgh.
KEY MATCHUP
Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer passed for 350 yards and two touchdowns at Pitt but also had three interceptions, with one returned for a score. Duke’s defense ranks third in the ACC with nearly 316 yards allowed per game -- just above Louisville, which is yielding nearly 318 per contest. That leaves Plummer no room for similar errors. The Blue Devils allowed 38 points in the Florida State loss but are giving up just 13.9 points per game to remain the league’s stingiest in scoring defense.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Duke RB Jaquez Moore has been part of a quality rushing tandem with Jordan Waters this year. He had a 42-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of last week’s loss at FSU and rushed 16 times for a career-best 110 yards.
Louisville WR Jamari Thrash has 17 receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown the past two games, including nine catches for 120 at Pitt. The junior transfer is second in the ACC with 639 yards, six TDs and a 91.3-yard average per game.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The only meeting at Louisville came in 2016, with the Cardinals winning 24-14. ... The Cardinals beat the Blue Devils 62-22 on the road in the last meeting two years ago. ... Duke had a season-low 273 total yards, marking the fifth straight week it had a lower offensive yardage output than in the previous game. ... Duke had given up seven touchdowns in six games before surrendering five against FSU, with the 38 points by the Seminoles more than Duke allowed through its first five games combined (35). ...Louisville is 54-49-1 coming off byes. First-year coach Jeff Brohm was 6-4 off byes at Western Kentucky and Purdue. ... Louisville's Ashton Gillotte is third in the ACC with 6.5 sacks. ... The Cardinals' Austin Collins will start again at right guard in place of Renato Brown, who is out for the rest of the season after knee surgery from an injury sustained before the game at Pitt.
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