- Where: Walk-On’s Independence Bowl – Shreveport, Lousiana
- Payout: $1.2 million
- Date: December 27, 2018
- Time: 1:30 PM EST
- Channel: ESPN
- Bowl Gifts:
- Timely Watch Co. watch
- New Era skull cap
- Football
- Gift Grade: C-
Shreveport isn’t exactly ACC country, but the Duke Blue Devils head down to Louisiana and look to right the ship against the soaring Temple Owls. Temple has won four out of their last five games with the lone loss coming against UCF, and Duke has gone 2-3 over their last five that includes a blowout loss against Wake Forest.
These two teams appear to matchup well on offense. Both have balanced attacks, but this game will come down to quarterback play. Duke’s Daniel Jones is a legit NFL prospect, but he’s had a somewhat inconsistent year. He’s only completed 59% of his passes and has struggled with accuracy in his last four games. The Temple defense only allows 166 yards per game, so Jones will have his work cut out for him.
On the other side, Temple’s sophomore quarterback Anthony Russo has been ok this year, but is turnover prone. He has as many interceptions as touchdowns (13), and will need to protect the ball if Temple wants to win this game. Duke’s biggest weakness is stopping the run, so if Temple can get senior Ryquell Armstead working on the ground, that should open up some opportunities in the secondary for Russo.
Coach Profile
Ed Foley will be coaching the Owls for this one, as head coach Geoff Collins moved on to Georgia Tech, but Foley has been in this situation before after Matt Rhule left for Baylor. Duke coach David Cutcliffe is in his 11th season as head coach and this will be his sixth bowl game. Cutcliffe has a 2-3 record thus far, but has a two game bowl-winning streak.
Prediction
Duke’s offense has been bad down the stretch, and Temple’s biggest strength is running the football. Look for Temple to have success on the ground, and for that rushing attack to be too much for this struggling Duke offense to overcome.
I like Temple to cover and win – 42-20 over Duke
