Florida State vs Duquesne Odds, Spread and Picks
- Florida State is a 39.5-point home favorite over FCS Duquesne on Saturday, August 27th
- Duquesne is the only Northeast Conference team to have beaten an FBS school
- Read below for Florida State vs Duquesne odds, analysis, and betting prediction
Florida State opens the season as a prohibitive 39.5-point favorite at home at Doak Campbell Stadium against Duquesne at 5 pm ET Saturday (Aug 27) on the ACC Network. The Seminoles were 5-7 SU and 5-6-1 ATS last season in coach Mike Norvell’s second season, their third consecutive losing season.
Duquesne is again stepping up in class early this season. After losing to TCU 45-3 in the 2021 season opener, the Dukes beat Ohio U. 28-26 last Sept. 11 for their first victory against an FBS opponent. They were 7-3 SU in 2021.
Florida State vs Duquesne Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duquesne Dukes | +39.5 (-109) | +10000 | Over 56.5 (-109) |
| Florida State Seminoles | -39.5 (-112) | -1600 | Under 56.5 (-112) |
Odds from Barstool Sportsbook on Aug. 25.
Seminoles Has Its QB
Florida State returns eight starters on offense for a team that showed improvement as 2021 progressed, winning five of seven before a 24-21 loss to arch-rival Florida in Gainesville in the final week of the season, a loss that kept the Seminoles out of a bowl for the third straight year.
Norvell has found his quarterback in dual-purpose Jordan Travis, a fifth-year junior who was 5-2 in his last seven starts a year ago. Travis completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 1,539 yards and 15 touchdowns (six interceptions) and also rushed for 530 yards and seven scores, and the CFB win total odds see a step forward for the Seminoles.
Travis closed the season with a strong showing against Florida, passing for 202 yards with a touchdown and an interception and rushing for 102 yards while playing through a right shoulder injury. The Seminoles have not been favored by as much since 2017, when they beat Delaware State 77-6 as a 53.5-point home favorite, a late-season victory that helped assure their last winning season (7-6).
Seminoles’ D Trending in Right Direction
The Seminoles were squarely in the middle of the NCAA pack in total defense and scoring defense a year ago after early-season personnel changes in the secondary, improvements that trimmed about 80 yards per game from the opponents’ total offense, a step not necessarily reflected in the Seminoles’ conference title odds.
Safeties Jammie Robinson and Akeem Dent were big factors there, and both return, although the two sack leaders are gone, including ACC Defensive Player of the Year defensive lineman Jermaine Johnson II, who was a first-round pick of the New York Jets in the 2022 draft.
Lowest passer rating allowed in coverage among ACC Safeties last season
🥇 Akeem Dent: 42.4
🥈 Traveon Redd: 54.8
🥉 Kamren Kinchens: 70.1 pic.twitter.com/JBBevJt0A5— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 26, 2022
Florida State will be without wide receiver Ja’Khi Douglas, who was injured in a scrimmage and is unavailable, Norvell said. Douglas had 255 yards and 14 receptions in 2021.
Dukes Schedule Up
Duquesne lost the fall 2020 season due to COVID-19 (it played four games in the spring of 2021) when it was scheduled to open against FBS Air Force, and it has continued its aggressive scheduling — Florida State has among the most difficult schedules in the NCAA, according to the NCAAF strength of schedule rankings.
The Dukes have a pair of veteran quarterbacks returning. Darius Perrantes was second in the Northeast Conference in passing yards per game (180) and passing efficiency (136.1) last season after stepping in for starter Joe Mischler, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the loss to TCU after averaging 239 passing yards per game in the 2021 spring season.
https://twitter.com/FSUFrank/status/1561714522972381184
The Dukes, a contender in the Northeast Conference, are playing this game for a simple reason — money. Duquesne received a $400,000 guarantee to visit Tallahassee. It is a common practice for the Seminoles, who guaranteed Louisiana $1.4 million for their Nov. 19 meeting.
Florida State vs Duquesne Prediction
The only question here, of course, is the Seminoles’ margin of victory. The Dukes pushed in their first and only game against a Power Five opponent when they suffered a 45-3 loss to TCU in Fort Worth as a 42-point underdog last season. Florida State has been favored by 26 or more points seven times since 2017, going 6-1 SU but 3-4 ATS in those games. As much as the Seminoles would like to run up the score to prove to itself (and its boosters) that a program resurgence is imminent, they have not performed well in this spot.
The pick: Duquesne +39.5 (-109)
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Jack has covered college and professional sports for various Arizona media outlets since the 1980s and has written for the Associated Press, USA Today and Baseball America, among others. He staffed the 2015-17 World Series and has staffed four Super Bowls.
