College Football Game of the Week: No. 16 Duke vs. No. 4 Florida State

The No. 16 Duke Blue Devils return to the road to take on the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles in Doak Campbell Stadium this Saturday at 7:30.

Since the revival of the program under head coach Mike Elko, Duke will get its first real road test against No. 4 Florida State.

The big question mark entering this game is whether Duke quarterback Riley Leonard will play. Leonard suffered a scary ankle injury on the final play against Notre Dame.

Duke hosted North Carolina State in their previous game, without Leonard, and took the Wolfpack down 24-3.

Duke relied heavily on the run in this game. Jordan Waters carried the ball 13 times for 123 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jaquez Moore ran it 11 times for 45 yards.

Duke backup quarterback Henry Belin IV only threw the ball a total of 12 times in the win against North Carolina State.

If Leonard does play for Duke, look for their offense to be much more dynamic. The Blue Devils will utilize their star quarterback in any way possible, with his arm and through his legs.

Leonard has 326 yards on the ground to go along with his 925 yards in the air in only 5 games for the Blue Devils this season.

The Blue Devils' defense, led by linebacker Tre Freeman who leads the team in tackles with 49, will look to slow down the versatile Florida State offense.

Florida State is coming off of a dominant win against Syracuse. The Seminoles will look to continue that momentum into this week’s matchup.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis will look to improve his Heisman stock against a ranked defense.

Travis had no issues last week, despite being without one of his starting receivers, Johnny Wilson. He connected with his other top receiver, Keon Coleman, nine times for 140 yards and a touchdown, including a highlight-level, one-handed catch over a Syracuse defender in the middle of the field.

Travis will look to continue to rely on the dynamic duo of Coleman and Wilson against the Blue Devils.

Wilson, a 6 feet 7-inch tall receiver who did not play in their blowout win against Syracuse, will be a constant mismatch against the Duke defense. Wilson is expected to play against the Blue Devils.

The Seminoles will attack Duke’s defense in all facets of the game. Running back Trey Benson, a Doak Walker Award watch list member, will lead the rushing attack with an impressive 7.1 yards per carry entering the game.

Duke has a big test ahead of them. Not only do they have higher expectations now, but they have to go into one of the hardest environments in the nation.

The tomahawk chop will be out in full force on a primetime-ranked matchup. The big question will be how will Duke respond in a hostile environment as a ranked team. The Blue Devils have played well in their previous two ranked matchups during the season, but those were both home games at night in a re-energized Wallace Wade Stadium.

Now, with expectations higher than ever, Duke will look to go into Doak Campbell Stadium and pull off one of the biggest upsets of the season, so far.

Andrew Deal is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email asd5765@psu.edu.