Northwestern got some redemption in its Week 0 win over Nebraska in Dublin, Ireland, beating a team that embarrassed them the year before.

On Saturday, the Wildcats will get another shot at righting a wrong against Duke in their home opener. The Blue Devils dealt the Cats a bitter defeat in Week 3 last season, building a 27-0 second-quarter lead and holding on for a 30-23 win. You might remember that it was quarterback Ryan Hilinski debut as a Wildcat; he appeared in the second half, in relief of the yanked Hunter Johnson and the injured Andrew Marty.

The Duke team that comes into Ryan Field is much different team than last season’s. The Blue Devils feature a new coach in former Notre Dame and Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko, and are coming off a resounding season-opening shutout of Temple.

Will the Wildcats snap their three-game losing streak against the Blue Devils and continue their 2022 revenge tour? Or will Duke, a 10-point underdog, pull off the upset?

Our staff has the answer.

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MORE CATS COVERAGE: Inside Information: Duke l Wiederkehr's return pushes OL to new heights l Cats keeping pedal down after beating Nebraska

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My take: Northwestern will control and win this game in the trenches. Their offensive line paved the way to a win in Ireland; they'll do the same back in Evanston. Hilinski showed he's a strong starter at quarterback, but I don't think we can count on 300+ and two touchdowns every game. If he can deliver in the mid-to-low 200s with a touchdown, the tandem of Evan Hull and Cam Porter will take care of the rest.

Duke's 30-0 win over Temple is a mixed bag and might cause some trepidation among Northwestern fans, who have seen the Cats drop their last three matchups with the Blue Devils. It's an intimidating performance on paper: Duke outgained Temple 500-179. Dual-threat quarterback Ryan Leonard was dominant, throwing for 328 yards, rushing for 64 yards, and throwing two touchdowns.

However, those gaudy stats came against a team that is going through an extensive rebuild and would be a heavy underdog against Duke even if they were at standard operating procedure. Those numbers should take a hit as the Devils face their first Power Five opponent of Mike Elko's tenure. When it's Cam Mitchell and Adetomiwa Adebawore lined up across from Leonard and Co., that will be a very different test than Temple.

Fearless forecast: Northwestern 24 Duke 17

My take: I hesitate to take any team lightly that's shut out an FBS opponent. Granted, Duke blanked the lowly Temple Owls 30-0 in Week 1, but that's still an auspicious debut for the Mike Elko era in Durham. Not too often do you witness a Power 5 football program go through a regime change and kick off the following season guns blazing. The Blue Devils face minimal, dare I say nonexistent, expectations from the outside; they're able to play recklessly and establish the culture in year one. A lack of stakes makes a team like Duke very dangerous in a nonconference game.

On the other hand, I have witnessed a team with a first-year head coach shut out UTEP and then get the brakes beat off of them the following week. Teams under new leadership can be enigmatic, sometimes inconsistent.

The onus is on Northwestern to fine-tune the areas that Fitz said needed improvement after the Nebraska game - maximizing its opening drive, tackling in open space and converting on third down. The Wildcats will need to start faster and set the tone early, particularly on defense. Duke's Riley Leonard completed his first 15 pass attempts last week vs. Temple. NU won't struggle as much containing the Blue Devils' athletes as much as the Huskers'; perhaps the defensive and offensive lines both will have banner days and my concerns become null and void. Even if the Cats stumble out the gate, they may find success in riding Evan Hull and Cam Porter in the second half to secure the win.

Fearless forecast: Northwestern 28 Duke 20

My take: This has trap game written all over it. Two weeks ago, Northwestern played in a bowl-like atmosphere against a Big Ten West rival in an electric Aviva Stadium in Dublin. On Saturday, they're going to play a non-marquee, non-conference game in a sleepy, half-empty Ryan Field that won't even have any students in the stands.

There's some real concerns if you're a Wildcat fan. The Cats are notorious slow starters, and Duke jumped all over Temple last week, building a 24-0 lead halfway through the second quarter. The Cats gave up 355 passing yards to Nebraska, and Duke's Riley Leonard went 24-for-30 for 328 yards and two TDs last week. Duke head coach Mike Elko is still an unknown commodity coaching his second game, while Pat Fitzgerald is an open book in his 17th year.

Northwestern will rely on its physical offensive line and punishing backs to control the tempo. Defensively, the Cats will look to shut down Duke’s running game and make them one-dimensional, and then let Adetomiwa Adebawore & Co. get after Leonard. The Devils will make some plays, but eventually Northwestern will wear them down.

I like the Cats, but it's going to be a dogfight.

Fearless forecast: Northwestern 27 Duke 23