The UCF Knights (-10) are making a trip north to face the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. This pivotal conference game is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 p.m. ET and ESPN2 will televise the action.
Betting Preview: UCF Knights at Temple Owls
In this Saturday American Athletic Conference game, UCF is projected as the heavy favorite and is currently giving up 10 points. If they are wanting to play the moneyline, bettors would currently need to lay down $400 in order to net $100 back on the Knights (-400). The Owls are getting +300 moneyline odds. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 60.5 points. If the favorite gets behind early, it’ll likely result in a reasonable betting opportunity in-game.
The sharp action has been siding with the Knights, as the line opened at 8.5. The O/U has yet to change after it was initially posted at 60.5.
The Knights have lost 3.8 units so far and are 3-4 against the spread (ATS). The team’s posted an O/U mark of 4-3.
The Owls have lost 2.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 4-3 ATS and also have an O/U record of 4-3.
The Knights have gone 5-2 straight up (SU), including 2-1 SU against conference opponents. The Owls are 5-2 SU overall and 2-1 SU in conference play.
These two teams met last year with the final result being a 52-40 win for UCF.
The Knights are trying to maintain momentum following a solid 41-28 win over East Carolina last week. Dillon Gabriel completed 22 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns. Otis Anderson (80 yards on 18 rush attempts) and Bentavious Thompson (51 yards on 10 carries, one TD) led the ground attack while Gabriel Davis (nine receptions, 164 yards, two TDs) and Marlon Williams (five catches, 78 yards) handled the receiving duties in the win.
One week ago, SMU took care of this Temple crew by a score of 45-21. Anthony Russo completed 18-of-32 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown. Re’Mahn Davis did it all in the loss. Along with 54 rushing yards on 16 attempts (and one TD), Davis also reeled in four receptions for 13 yards.
UCF has run the ball on 55.5 percent of its offensive plays this year, including 52.1 percent across possessions in conference play. Temple has an overall run percentage of 50.9 percent, and has rushed the ball 53.9 percent of the time when playing AAC opponents. The Knights have run for 212.3 yards/game (including 184.3 per game against American Athletic Conference opponents) and have 17 scores on the ground this year. The Owls are totaling 151.9 rushing yards per game (166.3 in conference) and have 10 total rush TDs.
The Knights offensive scheme has tallied a ridiculous 341.6 yards/contest through the air overall (362.7 per game against conference opposition) and has 22 passing TDs so far. The Owls have put up 269.9 pass yards per game (240 in the AAC) and have 15 total pass scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, UCF should have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed 137.1 rush yards and 212.6 pass yards per game. The Temple D has given up 236.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 136.4 yards per game on the ground. The Knights are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 4.42 to opposing QBs, while the Owls have given up a 5.39 ANY/A.
Russo has managed to complete 127-of-217 passes for 1,450 yards, 12 TDs and six INTs. Russo’s adjusted net yards per pass attempt stands at 6.16 for the season and 7.00 across his past two games. In the other huddle, Gabriel is up to 1,703 passing yards this year. He’s completed 96-of-155 attempts with 16 passing touchdowns and only two interceptions. Gabriel’s got an 11.34 ANY/A for the year, although that number is 6.51 over the last two outings.
UCF Knights at Temple Owls NCAA Prediction
SU Winner: UCF, ATS Winner: UCF, O/U: Under
Betting Notes
- The Temple D has sacked opposing QBs 18 times this season. UCF has produced 15 sacks.
- Temple has lost seven fumbles in 2019 while the UCF offense has lost four.
- The Knights offense has tallied 13 pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Owls have accounted for four such plays.
- The UCF defense has allowed zero pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Temple has given up six such plays.
- The UCF offense has created 16 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Temple has created four such runs.
- The Knights defense has allowed nine rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Owls have given up five such runs.
- The Over/Under for Temple’s last matchup going into it was 59.5. The over cashed in the 45-21 defeat to SMU.
- Over its last three matchups, Temple is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- In its last three matchups, UCF is 0-3 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The O/U for UCF’s previous game was 64.5. The over cashed in the team’s 41-28 victory over East Carolina.
- As a team, UCF has averaged 4.4 yards per rush attempt over its past three outings and 3.6 over its last two.
- Temple has averaged 3.8 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 3.2 over its past two.
