Army at Temple – Preview and Prediction
TEMPLE 16 ARMY (46.5)
Implied Projected Score: Temple 31.25 Army 15.25
MEGALOCKS LINE – Temple 14
The Game
Army West Point starts the season in difficult fashion as they travel to Temple to take on the AAC East division champion Owls. The Black Knights have had only one winning season in the past 19 years (2010) but HC Jeff Monken had them playing improved football down the stretch last season.
The Match-Up
Temple offense vs Army defense
The Big Two are back for one more kick at the cat. Seniors QB PJ Walker and RB Jahad Thomas hope to lead the Owls to a Conference Title in 2016. Thomas is the player that everything works around and is coming off a 1,200-yard rushing season with 17 scores on the ground. The passing game will miss leading receiver Robby Anderson. The offensive line needs to work in three new starters which is a bit of a concern. Temple only averaged 150 yards per game rushing last season despite the services of Jahad Thomas.
Shhhhhh. Army West Point has a good defense. The Black Knights only yielded 28 points and 376 yards per game last season. They return 9 starters on defense and the Owls attack is relatively vanilla. We think they match-up pretty well with the Owls’ offense.
Army offense vs Temple defense
The latest MEGALOCKS intel has Ahmad Bradshaw starting at QB. Chris Carter had a fine game against Navy but is apparently hobbled by injury. We like the depth. They need to find a way to get more explosive plays on offense. Leading rusher Aaron Kemper is gone leaving a lot of inexperience in the RB group. WR Edgar Poe averaged over 27 yards per catch last season and Army would do well to try and make more use of him in this game.
Multiple-award winner and tackling machine Tyler Matakevich departs, and with the injury to LB Stephaun Marshall, that leaves only 5 returning starters on defense. We feel pretty confident about this match-up for the Owls defense as they are very well coached and still have some talent on board.
Tasty Tidbits
Temple has never made back-to-back bowl games….EVER….Impress your co-workers with that factoid next time they try and impress YOU with some meaningless “work-related” nonsense…..FWIW….Temple is on a 6-0 ATS run vs Army but their last meeting was in 2013….This series is 6-1 to the over in the past seven meetings…..The Black Knights have a new PK and P….not great.
Summary
There is a bit of perceived value here with taking the Black Knights as we feel the number should be no higher than 14. However, it is just not enticing enough to back Army West Point who are just 6-21-1 ATS in their last 28 road games. They were also -11 in turnovers last season and cannot see them winning that battle on Friday night.
Conclusion
No official play.
Lean: Slight leanage to Army at any number 16 or better. Only for the desperado who needs action.