College Football Predictions – Temple Owls 2019 College Football Preview
2018 Recap
Record – 8-5
ATS – 7-5-1
The Owls started slow losing to Villanova (!) and Buffalo but proceeded to TURN IT ON later in the year and finish with an impressive 7-1 record in conference play. The problem? They compete in the same division as the JUGGERNAUT UCF Knights. Temple football has gotten to a good place if you consider that an 8-win season can be regarded by some as a disappointment.
Temple has had four (!) head coaches since week 12 of the 2018 season. Yup, it’s true. Rod Carey did a really good job with Northern Illinois and appears to be a good fit for the Owls. Let’s see if they have what it takes to compete for a conference title this year.
2019 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
East Division – #4
American Athletic Conference – #6
Temple Owls 2019 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Owls made a big jump in their scoring output from 25.1 PPG (#9 AAC) to an impressive 34.9 a season ago (T4 AAC). Last season’s figure was helped greatly by an insane 12 (!) defensive and special teams TDs and it will be interesting to see how potent the Owls will be in 2019. They lose their #1 rusher (by far) in Ryquell Armstead (1,098, 5.2, 13 TD LY) who is off to work for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the hope is that one of their promising young RBs takes the bull by the horns and turns into a #1 back (Kyle Dobbins, Jeremy Jennings). Junior QB Anthony Russo (no relation to Rene) is a legitimate AAC QB but will need to cut down on the mistakes (14 INT LY) if the Owls are to contend in the division. The WR group should be decent even with the departure of #1 WR Ventell Bryant (690, 3 TD LY). We love the look of an offensive line that returns four starters including 1st Team AAC honoree LG Jovahn Fair, and you KNOW that HC Rod Carey and new OC Mike Uremovich will be able to take advantage of that talent and experience.
The offense looks pretty good and should easily crack the 30 PPG mark.
DEFENSE
The Owls allowed the most PPG (27.1) since the 2013 season but still finished a respectable #3 in the AAC in scoring defense and #2 in total defense (373 YPG). They also performed well vs the pass and bagged 36 sacks (#3 AAC), but the run defense was sketchy once again (185 YPG, #5 AAC) for a team that wants to contend for a division title. The DL looks decent and it makes us feel better that Northern Illinois was known for their solid line play. Then again, that was the MAC. The LB corps figures to be one of the best in the conference and it features 1st Team AAC member MLB Shaun Bradley who was second on the team in tackles a season ago. Temple was very opportunistic vs the pass LY (18 INT, #1 AAC) and led the conference in completion % (55.0%). We expect good things on the back-end this year but they will definitely miss star CB Rock Ya-Sin (#2 DC – Colts) who had 12 PBU in 2018.
We trust that new DC Jeff Knowles can cobble together a solid defense with the talent on hand. The Owls will certainly have one of the better defenses in the AAC.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Yes, guy.
The Owls are loaded when you consider they bring back all-Universe return man Isaiah Wright (2 PR TD, KR TD LY) and PK Will Mobley who nailed 11/15 three pointers in 2018. They need to break in a new punter.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – It looks extremely favorable. We know they kinda threw up all over themselves in non-conference play a season ago losing to Villanova and Buffalo BUT we think they can run the table this year. Bucknell, Buffalo, Maryland and a rebuilding Georgia Tech squad are on the menu. They draw Memphis out of the West which is a bit of a downer.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at SMU (October 19)
This is a bit of a SANDWICH spot as it pops up between dates with Memphis and UCF. SMU is capable of being a SURPRISE PACKAGE on any given Saturday.
Season Win Total
Over 6.5 -125
Under 6.5 +105
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean to the ‘over’. The schedule is kind, and while they are in a tough division, we feel it’s more likely than not they get to seven wins.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Temple is the last original Big East football member still in the American Athletic Conference.
INCISORS rattled across the country when Temple notched their first ever victory in a battle with Philadelphia Dental College in 1894. Tell that story to a RANDOM HOTTIE next time you engage in SPEED DATING at your local APPLEBEE’S.
MEGALOCKS ATS Outlook: Positive
We should probably confirm with the MEGALOCKS ARCHIVES DEPARTMENT, but it seems to us that we usually give the Owls an overall positive ATS endorsement. We suppose that’s a good thing, because betting on the Owls has been CASH MONEY over the past ten years as evidenced by their crazy 77-48-1 ATS mark (62%) over that time horizon.
Look for the Owls to be a money-maker once again in 2019, even if they don’t notch a division crown.
HOOT HOOT!
Want more Temple football ?
WEBSITE
http://owlsports.com/index.aspx?path=football
FORUM
https://247sports.com/college/temple/Board/Temple-Owls-Message-Board-104514/
http://temple.247sports.com/Board/Temple-Owls-Message-Board-Forum-59459
https://temple.forums.rivals.com/forums/temple-football.10/
NEWS
http://temple-news.com/category/sports/football/
http://bleacherreport.com/temple-football
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/218/temple-owls
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/temple/
TWITTER
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