Duke football vs. Middle Tennessee first look: Betting odds, key matchup, player to watch

One thing Duke football has shown in the early weeks of this football season is that its not afraid of a fourth-quarter deficit.

The Blue Devils have come from behind in the last quarter of their last two games, including Saturday night’s 26-21 win over Connecticut that kept Duke unbeaten.

Looking to start 4-0 for the second consecutive season, Duke (3-0) hits the road to play at Middle Tennessee State on Saturday and is favored to win by more than two touchdowns.

But even if the game is close late, Duke coach Manny Diaz said his team knows how to handle it.

“A lot that we have to improve on, but it’s always more fun to improve when you’re winning than when you’re not winning,” Diaz said. “Three and 0 and, eventually, going into league play where you know you’re going to be in tough games, you know you’re going to be in close games. And what they have learned through these last couple of weeks is going to really bode well as we get further down into our season.”

Duke easily dispatched Elon, 26-3, in its season-opener on Aug. 30 before coming back late to reach overtime while beating Northwestern, 26-20, in double overtime on Sept. 6.

Middle Tennessee (1-2) enters on a two-game losing streak. The Blue Raiders beat Tennessee Tech, 32-25, before losing at 52-3 Mississippi and 49-21 at home to Western Kentucky.

Key matchup

Duke showed a bit of hit-or-miss on offense while beating UConn on Saturday night. The Blue Devils relied on big plays, particularly in the passing game, to run up 409 yards of total offense. That’s the most Duke has produced in a game this season.

The Blue Devils also had five series that went three-and-out, though. That helped UConn erase Duke’s 17-0 lead to take a 21-17 lead into the fourth quarter. But Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy tossed his third touchdown pass of the game and Duke won 26-21.

The Blue Devils look to be in position to put up even better numbers on offense at Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders have allowed 42 points and 542.3 yards of total offense per game thus far with their opponents scoring 17 touchdowns.

Player to watch: WR Que’Sean Brown

A redshirt freshman from East Forsyth High School in Kernersville, Que’Sean Brown turned in the performance of his young college career against UConn. Murphy threw 11 passes Brown’s way and he caught all 11 to gain 87 yards. That included the catch on a 20-yard pass from Murphy in the fourth quarter that put Duke ahead for good.

It was quite the step up for Brown, who had caught two passes for a net gain of one yard in Duke’s first two games. While redshirting last season, he played in two games and caught two passes for 19 yards.

But Diaz said Brown showed so much promise during the team’s August preseason practices, he was worthy of a deeper look in the offense.

“If you ask anybody on our roster,” Diaz said, “they would tell you they saw that all August in training camp. He just started making play after play as he got comfortable in the offense.”

Vegas betting odds

Duke opened as a 14-point favorite on Sunday with the over-under total at 54.5 points.

Duke at Middle Tennessee State

Teams: Duke Blue Devils (3-0) at Middle Tennessee State (1-2)

Where: Johnny Floyd Stadium, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Date: Saturday, Sept. 21

Time: 4 p.m.

TV: ESPNU

Stream: DIRECTV Stream, fuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, SlingTV