Johnny Manziel will look to cap off his college career with a bowl victory on December 31 as Texas A&M takes on Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta.
The Aggies suffered four losses in the SEC during the regular season and had to settle for No. 21 in the final BCS rankings. Duke, No. 24 in the final BCS rankings, was blasted 45-7 by Florida State in the ACC title game.
The ACC has won three of past four vs SEC schools but can Duke pull the upset here? The Aggies won and covered two straight after long bowl losing skid, but they finished the year on 2-6 ATS losing skid.
Duke was 10-3 ATS in a surprising 2013 season and plays in its second straight bowl. They also lay double digits according to Sportsbook who had them at +11.5 earlier in the month.
This season the Aggies are 8-4 overall and 5-7 ATS against the number, while the Blue Devils are 10-3 and 10-3 ATS. As for the totals, Texas A&M is 8-4 on the OU, and Duke is 5-8.
View Duke Blue Devils vs Texas A&M Aggies Odds and Stats.
Chick Fil A Bowl odds: Texas A&M was favored by 11.5 points at Sportsbook earlier with a sky-high total of 75 according to Sportsbook.
According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 23-rated Aggies and the No. 46-rated Blue Devils in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 42-37 win for the Aggies on Tuesday.
Duke lost its last outing, a 45-7 result against Florida State on December 7. Duke failed to cover in that game as a 30-point underdog, while the 52 combined points took the game UNDER the total. Duke didn't make much of a game of it last time out, losing to the Seminoles as Florida State blasted them 45-7 in Week 15 action. In their last game, the Aggies were Week 14 losers coming out on the wrong end of 28-21 score against Missouri.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Texas A&M's No. 6-ranked offense (43.58 PPG) against a Blue Devils defense that ranks No. 47 at 24.69 PPG. The Aggies passing attack has averaged 350.92 yards per game, more than the Blue Devils give up through the air (233.23 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Blue Devils own the league's No. 46-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 158.33 yards per game when on the road. Texas A&M, on the other hand, rates No. 57 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
