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

For the second time in a row, Duke’s football head coaching search landed on a defensive coordinator.

Like Mike Elko before him two years prior, Manny Diaz took over the Duke program and the early returns on his defense match his background.

The Blue Devils, the toughest team in the ACC to score against last season, beat Elon, 26-3, in Diaz’s opener and, with a game at Northwestern looming on Friday, showed they just might be a stingy group once again.

Duke stifled Elon with aggression, recording 16 tackles for losses. That’s the most Duke has recorded in a game since 2007. The Blue Devils also had eight sacks.

“We felt, watching us in training camp, that we’d have some guys who could have big performances,” Diaz said. “You just don’t ever know in that opening game with a new scheme. Is it really going to come to fruition? And it was a sight to see.”

Now the challenge is to turn in another strong defensive performance against a fellow Power 4 conference team. While Elon plays in the lower Football Championship Subdivision, Northwestern plays in the Big Ten. The Wildcats opened their season with a 13-6 win over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at their temporary home field, Martin Stadium.

Northwestern’s long-time home, Ryan Field, is undergoing a massive overhaul that makes it unavailable for use until 2026. So the school converted a lacrosse stadium into a 12,500-seat football stadium to use for two seasons.

Key matchup: Duke run game vs. Northwestern defense

Northwestern stifled the Miami (Ohio) running game on Saturday, holding the RedHawks to 40 yards on 24 attempts. That’s a meager 1.67 yards per carry. Only two of Miami’s 17 first downs were achieved via the run.

The Blue Devils, while handling Elon, only averaged 2.19 yards per carry, rushing for 59 yards on 27 attempts.

Duke’s offensive line played well as quarterback Maalik Murphy was not sacked. The unit admirably also had no pre-snap or holding penalties. But Duke needs to run the ball better for its offense to achieve peak performance.

Elon, it should be noted, stacked the line and sacrificed its downfield coverage because it prioritized stopping Duke’s rushing offense. That’s why Duke took so many shots downfield, with Murphy attempting 14 passes of 15 yards or more.

Nothing’s wrong with taking a chance a big play every now and again. But Duke needs to run the ball better to sustain drives and, given week one results, that won’t be easy against Northwestern.

Player to watch: LB Tre Freeman

A second-team, all-ACC linebacker last season when he lead Duke with 106 tackles, Freeman had a comparatively subpar game against Elon. The Durham native recorded four tackles, with no solo stops. Pro Football Focus analysis shows Freeman had three missed tackles against the Phoenix. That was more missed tackles than any other Duke player in the Elon game.

Freeman remains an important player for Duke. He played 45 snaps against Elon. Only cornerback Chandler Rivers, with 49, played more. So the Blue Devils need Freeman to be more productive and effective against Northwestern.

Vegas betting odds

Northwestern opened as a 1.5-point favorite over Duke with the over-under total at 41.5 points

Duke at Northwestern

Teams: Duke Blue Devils (1-0) at Northwestern Wildcats (1-0)

Where: Martin Stadium, Evanston, Illinois

Date: Friday, Sept. 6

Time: 9 p.m.

TV: FS1

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