Northwestern visits a Top-25 opponent as they face Duke. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Northwestern-Duke prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

Northwestern enters the game with a 1-1 record. It was an ugly loss to start the season. They fell 24-7 to Rutgers in the first game of the year. Northwestern struggled to move the ball all day, ultimately only scoring with 19 seconds left in the game. Still, Ben Bryant and Northwestern would rebound. After allowing a touchdown on the opening drive by UTEP, both the offense and defense stepped up. Northwestern answered on the next drive to tie the game and would enter the half-tied at seven. Then in the third quarter, they scored three times and held UTEP completely scoreless in the second half. Northwestern would win 38-7.

Meanwhile, Duke is 2-0. Duke came away with a huge win over number nine Clemson. The offense struggled in the first half, scoring just six points on two field goals, but they held Clemson to just seven points on defense and were down just one at the half. Then, Riley Leonard took over. He had a 44-yard run to put Duke up in the third quarter. After a touchdown drive and two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, Duke was in command. They would end up winning 28-7. Then, the next week it was a beating of Lafayette. While tied after the end of a quarter, Duke would score five unanswered touchdowns to win 42-7.

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Northwestern-Duke Odds

Northwestern: +17.5 (-110)

Duke: -17.5 (-110)

Over: 48.5 (-110)

Under: 48.5 (-110)

How to Watch Northwestern vs. Duke

TV: ACC Network

Stream: ESPN App

Time: 3:30 PM ET/ 12:30 PM PT

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Northwestern Will Cover The Spread

If Northwestern is going to cover, they are going to need to have Ben Bryant play like he did against UTEP, not Rutgers. In the game with Rutgers, he completed just 20-36 passes for 169 yards and two interceptions. Meanwhile, he threw five turnover-worthy throws in the game. Against UTEP, he was 11-17 for 115 yards with a touchdown, without a turnover-worthy throw. One of the major differences could have been protection. Bryant was pressured 17 times in the game with Rutgers and sacked five times. Meanwhile, he was pressured just five times against UTEP, but still took two sacks. Bryant has to do better with pressure in this game. He is getting sacked on 31.8 percent of pressures while being pressured over 33 percent of the time.

Bryant also took care of the ball on the ground against UTEP. He ran just four times, one being a scramble, for eight yards and scored in the game. Meanwhile, he ran just once and scrambled twice against Rutgers, but he fumbled two times. The run game as a whole was much better against UTEP. Cam Porter has a solid game, running 17 times for 90 yards in the game. He caused five missed tackles and also had 59 yards after first contact. Still, his average spot of first contact was right around two yards beyond the line of scrimmage, which will need to change for this game.

Finally, Northwestern needs the defense to step up. That will start with putting pressure on Riley Leonard for Duke. Last game, against a good UTEP offensive line, they managed to get just ten quarterback pressures. They did come away with four sacks though. The defense also needs to create turnovers, which they did against UTEP. In the game, they had three interceptions. If they can create turnovers and get pressure, they could keep the game close.

Why Duke Will Cover The Spread

For Duke, it all begins with Riely Leonard. Leonard was solid against Clemson and even better against Lafayette. On the season he is 29-47 passing for 311 yards and a score. He has not had a turnover-worthy pass yet this season, even in the face of pressure. So far this year, Leonard has been pressured 23 times, but has yet to be sacked, getting the pass off 16 times and scrambling for yards seven times. Overall, 19 of those came against Clemson, and Northwestern does not have the same level of defensive line. Further, his ground game is going to be a part of this game, if needed. In the game with Clemson, he ran seven times for 93 yards and a score. He ran just once in his next game, for 13 yards.

Duke will also look to control the clock in this game, and they have the running back to do it. Jordan Waters had a solid game last time out. He ran 11 times for 112 yards in the game while scoring twice and fumbling once. On the year, he has 175 yards rushing with three scored. He is getting solid blocking as well. His average spot of first contact this year has been roughly three yards downfield, and there he is making people miss, causing six missed tackles this year and running for 102 yards after first contact.

Duke will also be looking to get a solid pass rush against Northwestern in this game. In 43 dropbacks against Clemson, they had pressured the quarterback 24 times. That led to two sacks, six quarterback hits, and a batted ball. RJ Oben was great in the game, with five pressures and a sack, while winning the majority of his pass-rushing situations with the offensive line. Northwestern showed that when they have pressure on their quarterback they struggle. If Duke can provide that pressure, they will cause turnovers and will score in those short-field situations.

Final Northwestern-Duke Prediction & Pick

Northwestern currently has eight players already ruled out for the game with injuries. Further, the game with UTEP was a lot closer than the score indicated. They outgained Northwestern by less than 80 yards on the day and the big difference was they forced three turnovers, while not giving the ball away once. That will not be the case with Duke. They have done a good job of protecting the ball in this game. If Northwestern cannot get the ball on a short field, they will struggle to score. Take Duke to cover in this one.

Final Northwestern-Duke Prediction & Pick: Duke -17.5 (-110)