Duke vs Ole Miss Gator Bowl Prediction, Odds & Picks – 1/2/2025

The Duke Blue Devils are set to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in the Gator Bowl on January 2, 2025, at 7:30 pm EST. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Ole Miss Rebels as 14.5 point favorites, with the total for the game set at 52 points. Duke will surely be looking to overcome the odds and secure a win over the favored Rebels. It's bound to be an exciting matchup with both teams eager to come out on top. Tune in to see which team will emerge victorious in this highly-anticipated game.

Before Duke vs Ole Miss in the Gator Bowl, continue reading to get our betting preview of this game. Along with our comprehensive knowledge of the college football betting market, our prediction is based on our projections of the game using our complex college football betting models. With so many moving parts during the bowl season, let us help you make the most informed decision possible during this game and every bowl game.

Duke Looks For Fourth Straight Win

The Duke Blue Devils went 9-3 this season and they finished their regular season with three straight wins. But the Blue Devils are huge underdogs going into the Gator Bowl according to this week's college football betting odds. That is a product of the quarterback situation for Duke, which looks rough going into a bowl game against an Ole Miss team that has proven that it is not opposed to running up the score under head coach Lane Kiffin.

While Duke is bringing in transfer quarterback Darian Mensah on a lucrative NIL deal, their QB prospects for this game are not promising. Duke is set to be without its starting quarterback and backup quarterback for this game, leaving Henry Belin IV to start in this game. Belin has thrown one pass this season and he will need to get acclimated to game action in a hurry.

Ole Miss Looks to Take Advantage Of Duke's QB Situation

Ole Miss went 9-3 this season and will look to finish their season on a high note in the Gator Bowl against Duke. Lane Kiffin's team is a heavy favorite here, but the Rebels were heavy favorites in their home loss to Kentucky this season too, a loss that gave Kentucky their only win in SEC play this season. With most key players set to take the field for the Rebels in this contest, it would take an especially poor performance from Ole Miss for them to lose this game and for them to fail to reach 10 wins on the season.

Jaxson Dart enters this game 125 yards shy of reaching 4,000 passing yards for the season. We expect him to air it out early and often in this contest, even if Ole Miss may not need to throw the ball late in the second half of this contest. And, as is the case in any game with Lane Kiffin involved, you can expect plenty of creativity from the Ole Miss offense in a game that doesn't ultimately mean anything for them.

Duke vs Ole Miss Pick & Prediction

We are going to take the over in this Duke vs Ole Miss matchup. While it is tempting to lay the points with the Rebels in this matchup, a Lane Kiffin coached team is always vulnerable to letting their opponent hang around. Instead, we will bank on the Rebels doing a ton of scoring in this game and for Duke to do enough scoring to help us get to the number in Jacksonville.