South Florida at Temple – Preview and Prediction
SOUTH FLORIDA 7 TEMPLE (60)
MEGALOCKS LINE – South Florida -4.5 Sagarin ratings – South Florida -5
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: South Florida 33.5 Temple 26.5
Massey Ratings Projected Score: South Florida 34 Temple 28
The Game
It’s a yuuuuuuuge AAC East match-up on Friday night as the Temple Owls host the South Florida Bulls. The Bulls are rolling right along at 6-1 (3-0 AAC) with their only loss coming to Florida St back in September. Temple has a 4-3 mark, but with one AAC loss already on the scorecard, it will probably mean the end to their conference title hopes if they lose to the Bulls this week.
The Match-Up
South Florida offense vs Temple defense
We get to see one of favorite players on Friday night. QB Quinton Flowers is a very underrated QB in the sense that he does not get much national attention. Flowers has picked up right where he left off last season and is leading one of the most potent offenses in college football. South Florida has scored more than 35 in EVERY game this season and it is due in large part to the dual-threat ability of the QB. Star RB Marlon Mack is fresh off a big game vs UConn. In fact, the Bulls have back-to-back 300Y rushing games. The passing game is dangerous as well and lies just outside the top 30 in the FBS in efficiency. Temple is going to have their hands full.
The good news for the Owls is that their defense is really coming around. They held a really good Memphis team to 323 yards offense and held UCF to only 296 yards in their yuuuuuuge comeback win last weekend. It will be interesting to see if the #17 ranked defense can slow down the Bulls’ potent attack. Flowers is unlike anything they have seen yet in 2016.
Temple offense vs South Florida defense
14th year seniors PJ Walker and Jahad Thomas are back to their old tricks carrying the offense. Thomas is supplying a lot of the ground game while Walker is putting up 400 yards passing mixed in with a ton of interceptions (10 so far). Statistically, the Owls can trick you. Since the opening loss to Army they have scored 26 points or more in every contest. They have not played many good defenses, but the point is, they have found a way to get it done on offense. South Florida has a suspect run defense (#89 FBS), and while their pass defense is ranked high from an efficiency standpoint (#22), UConn of all times managed to light them in through the air last week. The Bulls will want to play fast and make it a track meet. Temple will want to slow it down and control the clock. The problem is that when PJ Walker is on the field, it is open season on TDs for both teams.
MEGA-MAZEMENT !
Last season the Bulls shredded a really good Temple defense for 556 yards in a 44-23 home win….This offense looks very similar and the Temple defense is probably a shade below the 2015 version…..The Bulls have won six games and all of them have been by 15+ points….Amaze your cheating poker buddies with that gem…..Temple’s four wins have been against Stony Brook, SMU, Charlotte and UCF (last second TD)…..not saying…. just saying…..Both teams have done very well ATS this season…….The last game Temple failed to cover was their SEPT 2nd game with Army.
Summary
Mixed bag time, kiddies. We feel like Temple is catching too many points from a pure perceived value perspective. However, we do not like the spot for Temple as they are coming off a dramatic last second conference win on the road, and get to face essentially the same team that obliterated them last season. BACKS ARE AGAINST THE WALL GUY will be hoping that Temple can fight for a full 60 minutes but the talent edge seems a bit daunting.
Conclusion
Official play: None
Lean: None yet. May have a team total lean on Friday.