Duke vs Ole Miss Prediction, Game Odds and Picks for the Gator Bowl

Thew New Year is a time to celebrate, especially of you are a fan of college football, because it means that we have a large slate of great games coming our way.

Of course, it is the playoff games that are going to get the majority of the attention, but there are still some very good bowl games on tap, too.

Duke vs Ole Miss Prediction: Gator Bowl Analysis

This is the time of bowl season when we get to see some of the bigger, better teams take to the field. We have one of those teams, the Ole Miss Rebels, going against the Duke Blue Devils on Thursday in what looks to be a very good matchup.

The Rebels are a 17-point favorite, with the point total for this one set at 51 ½.

Brief History

We are going to get into the game, the trends, and all the other details in a moment, but before we do, I thought it might be fun to take a quick look at the history of the Gator Bowl.

The first game was played back in 1946, making it one of the oldest bowl games on the current schedule.

The name has remained the same since day 1, although there have been several different sponsors, plus different conferences have had tie-ins with the Gator Bowl over the years. Right now, it is the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC that have tie-ins.

Ole Miss has been here a couple of times before, but many years ago, while this will be the first Gator Bowl appearance for Duke.

With all that said, let’s get into the matchup for this year’s game.

How to Bet and Watch Duke vs Ole Miss: Gator Bowl Odds and Prediction

MyBookie NCAAF Moneylines: Ole Miss -847 / Duke +550
Date & Time: Thursday January 2 at 7:30 PM EST
Location: EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville
TV: ESPN

Duke vs Ole Miss Prediction for Gator Bowl

These teams may have finished the regular season with the same record, but the Rebels definitely had a tough schedule to navigate.

With that in mind, I believe they are deserving of the big spread. I like the rebels to win and cover, and I also like the OVER.

Duke Blue Devils 24, Ole Miss Rebels 45

Duke Blue Devils Season, Trends and Odds

It wasn’t very long ago that Duke was viewed as strictly a basketball school, with football falling far behind.

While basketball is still king for Duke, the football program is now on the map and thriving.

They closed out the regular season with a 9-3 record, the second time they have reached that win total in the last 3 years.

This is a real chance for them to get to double-digit wins, but before we get into all the betting trends, let’s take a closer look at the Blue Devils season.

How was the Blue Devils’ season?

I think it’s fair to say that the early part of the season went better for the Blue Devils than the second half did.

They started the year with 5 straight wins, and while getting to 5-0 was a great achievement, you do have to say that the quality of the competition was not at a particularly high level, With Elon, Northwestern, UConn, MTSU, and UNC the teams that Duke beat during that stretch.

Their uneaten start came to an end with a loss to Georgia Tech, but they bounced back quickly with a win over Florida State.

That win was then flowed by back-to-back losses to ranked opponents in SMU and Miami. Duke was able to close out the season strong, beating NC State, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest to get to 9 wins.

Game ready 😈 pic.twitter.com/AhVdwMQdrG

— Duke Football (@DukeFOOTBALL) January 1, 2025

Betting Duke

The Blue Devils have been a very good bet, winning 11 of their last 14 games overall, but it does not look as good when you look at how they have done versus teams from the SEC. They have won only once in their last 11 games versus teams from that conference.

They are 5-1 ATS in their last 6, as well as 7-1-1 ATS in their last 9 games starting as the underdog. They are 4-6 O/U in their last 10 games.

Ole Miss Rebels Season, Trends and Odds

The feeling was that a 12-team playoff would stop the arguments about who gets in and who misses out, but that does not seem to be the case.

The Ole Miss Rebels, who went 9-3 in the regular season, are one team that thought they deserved to be there.

The Rebels beat some very good teams this season, but does their argument hold any water? Let’s take a closer look at their regular season to try and figure out the answer.

How was the Rebels’ season?

Ole Miss had a pretty easy start to the season in terms of strength of schedule, but they made it look very easy, winning 4 in a row and racking up 220 points in offense. They went off the rails pretty quickly, though, losing 2 of their next 3 games, with Kentucky and a ranked LSU team taking them down.

The rebels needed a good response, and they got it, winning 3 in a row, the last of which was a signature win over the Georgia Bulldogs.

That very much put them in the playoff conversation, but a loss to Florida a week later put them on the outside looking in again. A win over Mississippi State in the final week of the regular season gave them a glimmer of hope, but other results went against them, with Ole Miss needing to settle for a #14 national ranking.

Happy New Year, Rebs! 🎆#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/ksQYLb0Wvv

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) January 1, 2025

Betting Ole Miss

Ole Miss has been a good SU bet, winning 16 of their last 20 games overall. They have also been good in January games, winning 6 of their last 7.

While the Rebels have not been particularly great against the spread of late, going 2-4 ATS in their last 6, they have been dominant when playing teams from the ACC, going 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games versus teams from that conference.

The Rebels are a high scoring team, but all the trends point to the UNDER. The total has gone that route in 10 of their last 11 games.

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