The records are the exact opposite. The Florida State Seminoles are 1-5 heading into Friday night’s road game in Durham, N.C., while the host Duke Blue Devils are 5-1.

But that doesn’t mean the game should be a mismatch.

That could of course be the case, but when you dig a little deeper into the numbers, you realize it Mike Norvell’s team and Manny Diaz’s The pair might be fairly evenly matched football teams – despite what it says in the TD column.

First and foremost, the combined record of the Seminoles’ first six opponents this season is 27-10.

Duke’s combined record? 17-21.

The Blue Devils’ wins have come against Elon, Northwestern, Middle Tennessee State, UConn and North Carolina. The only loss came in their last game, a 24-14 loss at Georgia Tech.

And aside from a blowout win over a 1-5 MTSU team, Duke’s three other FBS wins were by a total of 12 points.

Wins are wins. And Duke currently has four more than Florida State. But despite the record, the Seminoles won’t be facing an unbeatable juggernaut at Wallace Wade Stadium on Friday night.

However, they face a team that defends well. Duke has not allowed any team to score more than 24 points in a game all year.

The Blue Devils rank second in the ACC and 25th in the nation in scoring defense at 309.3 yards per game. They are also No. 1 in the ACC in third-down percentage defense and No. 2 in the ACC (and 23rd in the nation) in scoring defense, allowing 17.5 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Seminoles’ offense is struggling to score against anyone. And it has the nation’s worst rushing attack at just 58 yards per game.

The points may therefore be more expensive on Friday evening. Especially since Duke’s offense isn’t exactly putting on an offensive clinic so far in 2024.

The Blue Devils rank 84th in offensive scoring so far this season. And if you take away the 45 points they scored against Middle Tennessee State, one of the worst units in the country, Duke’s offense is only averaging 22.6 points per game. And remember, some of those games were against the likes of Elon and North Carolina.

Not exactly a line-up of great defenses for murder.

The Blue Devils also rank 112th in the country in rushing offense, but it should be pointed out that they still average more than 60 yards per game than the Seminoles in that area. And running back Star Thomas is on pace for a 1,000-yard season. He already has 528 yards on 113 carries.

And while second-year quarterback Malik Murphy is completing just 60 percent of his passes, he is averaging 239 yards per game and has thrown 14 touchdowns and five interceptions. However, he hasn’t proven to be a running threat at all. He has minus-54 yards on the ground, and his longest run is just two yards.

So no, none of these offenses were high-flying through the first half of the season.

But Duke has won five games. Florida State has lost five.

On Friday night we will see if the underdog Seminoles can hand the Blue Devils their second loss of 2024.

If not, it will be Duke’s first win against an FSU football team in school history.

Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans at Tribal Council.