Temple-Rutgers
Time: 12 PM ET, Nov 2, 2013
Spread: RUT -13
O/U: 57

Odds courtesy of Bovada

The 1-7 Temple Owls have not had a victory against major competition this year, with the lone score a 33-14 win over Army on Oct 19. The Owls are ineffective via the pass and the rush and manage just 22.6 points per game, which ranks it 100th in the nation in scoring.

The Owls have used P.J. Walker at QB instead of Connor Reilly recently and it has paid dividends to some degree. Walker is more accurate (60.8 percent to 51.4 percent) and has thrown nine TDs to just three interceptions.

It’s a small sample size but it has to give Temple some optimism since the backs have been reasonably productive. Zaire Williams and Kenneth Harper both have over 400 yards on the year and sport 5.5 and 4.6 yard per carry averages, respectively, but Temple is going to have to get more from its defense to be considered a threat in the American Athletic Conference.

The Owls have allowed 30.9 points per game and the offense just isn’t anywhere near strong enough to match that kind of scoring allowance.

Rutgers is coming off consecutive losses to then-No.8 Louisville and Houston, and the Scarlet Knights weren’t in either game, outscored by a total of 73-24 between the two weeks. Prior to those stumbles, the Knights had a four-game win streak, and college football oddsmakers at Bovada predict the Scarlet Knights will have no problem returning to its winning ways over a poor Temple squad, setting Rutgers as 13-point favorites in this affair.

Gary Nova has been slightly disappointing this season for Rutgers, as he’s thrown 56.5 percent for completion but has 14 TDs and 11 INTs. Nova hasn’t improved his accuracy over last season, and he’s been sacked considerably more this season, too. For Rutgers to take the next steps in the AAC, Nova will have to improve in his senior season.

Temple Trends:

0-4 ATS after accumulating more than 200 yards rushing in previous game; 4-0 ATS in last 4 after accumulating more than 450 total yards previous game; 4-0 ATS in last 4 overall.

Rutgers Trends:

UNDER 5-0 in last 5 vs teams with losing road records; UNDER 4-0 in last 4 in NOV; UNDER is 5-0 in last 5 after allowing more than 200 rushing yards in previous game.

Check out our paid pick plans for the 2013-14 NCAA Football season!