Duke vs. Indiana Prediction, Pinstripe Bowl Preview

The Duke Blue Devils (7-5) and the Indiana Hoosiers (6-6), a pair of traditional hoops powers, meet in football for the first time since 1984. Check out the Duke vs. Indiana prediction and game preview.

Duke vs. Indiana Prediction & Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, December 26
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Network: ABC

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Why You Need To Care

Best known for their hardwood history, Indiana and Duke will square off on grass … at an iconic baseball stadium. The sixth annual Pinstripe Bowl features a couple of teams looking to step outside of their ‘basketball school’ reputations.

The weight of higher expectations appears to be catching up to the Blue Devils. Sure, you don’t want to become overly greedy when it comes to Duke football. The institution is all about Coach K, not Coach Cut, so four straight bowl games are still a really big deal. But for the second straight fall, the Blue Devils unraveled down the stretch. In 2014, it was a two-loss November that handed the ACC Coastal to Georgia Tech, and this past season the team never recovered from a controversial Halloween loss to Miami. The Devils dropped four in a row in the second half before halting the skid with a season-ending win over Wake Forest. And their last bowl triumph occurred all the way back in 1960.

The Hoosiers, on the other hand, will be soaring into Yankee Stadium. This is their first bowl game since 2007, and a chance for their first postseason win in almost a quarter-century. There’s also the potential for a rare winning season in Bloomington, which will further solidify the position of once-embattled head coach Kevin Wilson. It’s been a season of swings for IU, which started 4-0, lost six Big Ten games in a row and then closed with wins over Maryland and Purdue to cop this bowl berth. For Wilson, a victory here would do wonders for his quest to build a little stability and momentum entering the offseason.

Why Duke Will Win

The Hoosier defense is a mess.

With a month to prepare for IU, David Cutcliffe will have no problems locating the right gameplan to keep the Hoosier D reeling. From the moment Southern Illinois rung up 47 points in Week 1, Indiana has been gutted, yielding 37 points per game and a whopping 6.4 yards per play. True, Duke has been erratic offensively, but this is an ideal opponent against which to get on track. C Matt Skura and LG Lucas Patrick spearhead an underrated O-line, and a well-rested Thomas Sirk is positioned to burn the Hoosiers with his arm and his legs. When Sirk starts rolling downhill, he’s very difficult to corral.

Why Indiana Will Win

IU harbors the offensive firepower to build off its strong finish.

In the Hoosiers’ final three games, no one held them below 41 points, including Michigan. Wilson’s offense is highly explosive, averaging 36 points a game, comprised of 25 rushing scores and 24 passing touchdowns. All-Big Ten linemen Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney spearhead a veteran blocking unit that will blow a pedestrian Duke front seven off the ball. Plus, the passing attack of QB Nate Sudfeld to receivers Simmie Cobbs and Ricky Jones will cause problems for a Duke secondary that has underachieved in 2015. Despite harboring talented vets, like Jeremy Cash, the Devils have just nine picks and rank 85th nationally in pass efficiency D.

Player Who Matters

Just because star RB Jordan Howard may not suit up doesn’t mean Duke won’t have to respect the running game.

Indiana, like most teams, is at its best when it’s balanced. Howard was a huge part of that balance, rushing for 1,213 yards despite missing three games. But he’s still rehabbing a knee injury. Enter sophomore Devine Redding, who has seamlessly stepped into the feature role by rushing for 274 yards in the final two games. He’ll be asked to soften a Blue Devil D that’s generally done a good job of keeping running plays in front of it throughout the fall.

What’s Going To Happen?

After painfully close losses to Ohio State, Rutgers, Iowa and Michigan this past fall, Indiana is ready to break through with a meaningful win for the program.

Duke badly wants this game, especially for the seniors. The Hoosiers, though, will want it a little more. And they’ll have the offensive execution and pop to offset a flimsy defense that won’t have a significant role in the victory. The combination of Sudfeld and Redding will outperform Sirk, whose valiant effort in an entertaining shootout in the Bronx will come up a little short.