Duke was notably weak against the pass last season, and with Clemson in a new offensive system under Garrett Riley, it seems like the perfect opponent to test. The Tigers defense should remain strong, and while what Mike Elko has done with the Blue Devils is impressive, we won't see that come to fruition Monday night.

Clemson has its entire secondary from last season back. The team's defensive line is great, and this game should start slowly. The Under is the play.

Duke is a little overrated. It lost 13 straight ACC games before last season and didn’t play a single ranked opponent in 2022. The Blue Devils do have more talent this year, but not nearly on the level of Clemson, which has 15 returning starters and a great new quarterback. I think the Tigers could go undefeated. They are one of my most underrated teams.

I like Clemson at -12 (-110) or -11.5 (-120), both of which are currently available in the market. I have them favored by -15 against Duke, despite playing on the road. Clemson is expected to perform significantly better on the offensive side of the ball this season with Cade Klubnik at quarterback, leading a Garrett Riley-led offense. Additionally, Clemson retains three defensive linemen and the entire starting secondary. Much like Florida State last night, I believe Clemson is underrated at the start of the season.

The quarterbacks, Clemson's Cade Klubnik and Duke's Riley Leonard, are the headliners in this one, but it's the defenses that will rule the day -- specifically Clemson's. The Tigers' defensive line is deep, talented and versatile and will be too much for the Blue Devils' offensive line. Clemson's offense will come out hot early, but put it in cruise control in the second half.

Duke had a very nice first season under Mike Elko, winning nine games including a bowl. However, they did not face ANY ranked opponents in 2022. Clemson is battle-tested and Dabo Swinney's team is loaded with talent once again. Alone on the national stage on Monday night, I expect the Tigers to look impressive and win convincingly (and I also wouldn't be surprised if they had more fans on site than the home team, Duke).

Two angles to this, starting with the game script for Duke. This is a massive spotlight opportunity for the Blue Devils, on national television in primetime. Shortening the game is a great way to keep the game close and give Duke QB Riley Leonard, a legit NFL talent, a chance to make some magic late. The other angle is respecting Clemson's elite defense and Dabo's propensity to play conservative and let that side of the ball go win the game. Punting in plus territory, field goal attempts, etc. all seem to show up in the Big Game Dabo gameplan. And yes, I know it's strange but this road trip to Durham is one of the Big Games on the Tigers' schedule.

The Blue Devils are No. 11 while Clemson is No. 53 in Bill Connelly's returning production and experience rankings from Phil Steele. Both teams have dual-threat QBs; Duke's Riley Leonard had a QBR of 73.7 on 391 passing attempts last season, while Clemson's Cade Klubnik had a 57.1 QBR on just 100 pass attempts last season. Mike Elko improved Duke from a three-win to a nine-win team, including a 30-13 victory in the Military Bowl over UCF. Duke has a 10-3 ATS record at home over the past three years, while the Tigers are 1-7 ATS in September over the last three seasons. This is the first matchup between these two schools since 2018, and I'm on the home dog.