Duke vs. North Carolina 2023 NCAAF Odds, Time, and Prediction

The Duke Blue Devils (7-2) at North Carolina Tar Heels (6-3) is a Week 11 game of the 2023 NCAAF season at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The two rivals compete for the Victory Bell, which is currently in possession of North Carolina who won last year’s duel. 

The Tar Heels are expected to win again, with their Duke-Carolina odds being -480. The hosts are 13-point favorites ahead of Saturday’s duel, mainly because they’ve been brilliant offensively in 2023. However, the Blue Devils are great defensively. In fact, they’ve got the best defense in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels NCAAF 2023 Odds

*Odds taken from Caesars Sportsbook on Tuesday, November 7.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
• Time: 8:00 PM ET
• How to Watch: ACC Network

Drake Maye and North Carolina’s Offense Look Great in 2023

Our Duke-North Carolina 2023 prediction is that this is going to be a high-scoring game, meaning that we’ll probably see the home team do great offensively. The North Carolina Tar Heels are averaging 39.11 points in the 2023 NCAAF season, which makes their offense second in the ACC, just behind Florida State with 39.55.

Their quarterback Drake Maye has been nothing short of phenomenal lately, throwing for at least two touchdowns in each of his last five games. Maye has also thrown for just one interception in his last six NCAAF games. That’s no surprise actually, given that he’s last season’s ACC Player of the Year award recipient.

Not only is the 21-year-old super-talented but he also seems to love playing big games such as the Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels Week 11 duel. The evidence of this is that he did brilliantly against Miami, which is the only ranked team North Carolina has faced in 2023. The Tar Heels won the game 41-31 with Maye throwing for four touchdowns.  

Is Duke’s Defense Good Enough to Stop North Carolina?

The short answer is no. Duke’s defense probably won’t be able to keep NC’s offense to a low number. In fact, our prediction is that the Tar Heels are going to score somewhere near their season average.

Sure, they’ve got some great defenders on the team, the evidence being that they’ve been allowing fewer points than any other team in the ACC. They’re conceding just 15.66 points per game in 2023. However, when they played against ACC’s highest-scoring team (Florida St.), they conceded 38 points.

That said, the big question is not whether they can stop Maye & Co. (they can’t!) but whether their offense can make things interesting. They’re averaging 25.66 PPG which isn’t bad, but it’s mainly due to the killer run in the early stages of the 2023 college football season when Riley Leonard was in the QB role.

With him as the signal-caller, the Blue Devils scored 149 points in the first four gameweeks. But then, he injured his ankle against Notre Dame on the last day of September, and things just haven’t been the same since.

He did come back in October but his performances post-injury haven’t been great. The worst thing is that the same applies to backup QB Henry Belin IV.

Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Prediction

We’re going to see a lot of touchdowns at Kenan Memorial Stadium as Maye and NC’s offense are going to explode once again. Duke’s defense won’t be able to stop them, but we do feel as if the Blue Devils are going to do okay in the offense.

Whether it’s Leonard coming back again or Belin getting another shot, these guys are going to score a couple of TDs on November 11. Unfortunately for their fans, we’re pretty certain that won’t be enough to win the Victory Bell.

Pick: North Carolina Tar Heels to win & over to hit