Duke was a team that had issues finishing off games. Four of its six losses were by seven points or less. To end the season the Blue Devils were able to correct their errors and roll off dominant wins against Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. That, combined with the MAC’s poor showing with Toledo, has created value on Northern Illinois. Grab Northern Illinois to prevail ATS on a key two point move from the original 4.5.

QUICK LANE BOWL (Detroit) -- Duke usually rides a forceful offense into the postseason, but not this year. The Blue Devils rank a putrid 117th in yards per play. That does not bode well against Northern Illinois, whose defense is tops in the nation in negative yards per game at 8.8 and second in sacks per contest at 3.4. Duke is hamstrung by the suspension of kicker/punter Austin Parker. NIU is accustomed to playing Power Five foes -- and playing them tough. The Huskies nearly upset San Diego State this year and will not be intimidated by the Blue Devils. NIU has dropped four consecutive bowl games straight-up, but Duke has won only one of its last four.

QUICK LANE BOWL (Detroit) -- Duke has been so good under David Cutcliffe, and nobody wants to talk about it. The combination of Shaun Wilson (743 rushing yards) and Brittain Brown (660) will keep the Huskies guessing, quarterback Daniel Jones will have enough success passing to keep the defense off-balance and the multi-dimensional Blue Devil offense will win at the line of scrimmage against a defense that's been pretty stout against the run in 2017.

QUICK LANE BOWL (Detroit) -- This is a really good matchup because in my opinion, both the Blue Devils and Huskies are very similar in their approach. Where they differ is defensively. Duke has some issues with their run defense and they?ll see more than their fair share of attempts coming from NIU. Take NIU and the points.