Central Michigan Chippewas at Temple Owls, Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, September 9, 2010, 7:00 pm, TV: ESPNU
Opening Line: Temple -7 1/2
Current Line: Temple -7 1/2
Opening Total: 47
Current Total: 48 1/2
Money Line: Temple -300 / Central Michigan +250
All odds taken from Bookmaker Sportsbook who offers a 20% signup bonus to all new wagering accounts
The Central Michigan Chippewas have won the last two MAC championship games, but will be hard pressed to repeat that success this year. Coach Butch Jones left for Cincinnati to coach the Bearcats and talented quarterback Dan LeFevour was drafted by the Bears. Coach Dan Enos takes over the program. He led the Chips to a convincing victory in their first game of the season against cupcake Hampton 33-0. It is really hard to say what you can garner from a victory over such an inferior opponent. FBS schools are supposed to beat lower division schools. (Kansas and Ole Miss the notable exceptions.) Quarterback Ryan Radcliff wasn’t bad in his debut as the starter throwing for 234 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing, one passing.) He was sacked 3 times so that could be a problem in the future if the offensive line can’t protect him better. The running game accounted for three of the Chips scores including a 29 yard TD run by Paul Mudgett in the third quarter. The defense was dominant only allowing 129 total yards in the shutout. They also scored a safety, forced two turnovers and got three sacks. We will find out more about how good Central Michigan is as they travel to Philadelphia to open conference play against a strong Temple team.
With this game hovering around the key number of 7, make sure you shopping around getting the best price on this game. You can compare odds from multiple sportsbooks on our college football betting lines page. This way if you like Central Michigan you can take +7.5, if you like Temple you can lay 7 be line shopping.
Temple also opened against an FCS school. however they played a much tougher opponent, in-city rival Villanova, who is also the defending FCS National Champion. Hardly a cupcake. The Owls escaped with a narrow hard-fought 31-24 victory. The Owls trailed for much of the game, and only took the lead late in the fourth quarter. Villanova was down 25-24 and had a slim chance to win the game on the last play of the game, but they fumbled and Temple ran it back for a touchdown accounting for the 31-24 final. Quarterback Chester Stewart threw for 200 yards, no interceptions and a 62 yard touchdown pass. He was also sacked 3 times. The Owls also rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown behind the two headed running back combo of Bernard Pierce and Matt Brown. The defense wasn’t bad, but did give up 311 yards and 24 points, while getting one sack and forcing two turnovers, and the aforementioned defensive touchdown. Like Central Michigan it is hard to tell what you can learn about Temple from their first game. Was it a tough game against a talented gritty team who is one of your biggest rivals or a harbinger of a team that was overrated and could struggle during the season? The one thing that is certain is that the Owls struggled and were lucky to escape with a victory. We will find out more about the Owls after this game.
The weather will not be a factor as the game time temp will be in the mid 60’s with no rain. It will be an interesting game to watch, even though to be honest only hardcore Temple and CMU fans along with bettors will be watching this game. It is is up against the Vikings-Saints and Auburn-Mississippi St. It might be worth checking out during commercials.
While we haven’t released a prediction on this game, we have released a premium college football pick on the Auburn Mississippi State ESPN game. We have crushed the books to start the college football season and will keep the winning up today. Dont miss these point spread winners.
