Time: 1 PM EST, Saturday
TV: ESPN 3
Spread: UCONN -5.5
Total: 41
M/L: UCONN -230, TEM +190
Odds from Bookmaker
Temple won last week against South Florida by a score of 37-28. Marcus Green of the Owls blocked a late field goal attempted and Montel Harris scored a pair of TDs to seal the victory for the Owls.
It ended a two game losing streak and they’ll continue to try to get back on track, through college football oddsmakers render Temple a 5.5 point underdog to a Huskies team that is 3-3 and 0-1 in the Big East.
UConn has alternated wins and losses so far this season, with last week being one of the latter, a 19-3 defeat to then No. 22 Rutgers. They manhandled UMass opening night, lost to NC State, won by a field goal over Maryland, beat Western Michigan by 6, and defeated Buffalo by a touchdown, all leading into last week’s loss.
The Huskies defense has kept them in games, allowing only 16.2 points per game (22nd best in the nation), but their offense must produce more. They are averaging only 19.8 points per game (112th) while ranking near the bottom of the nation in rushing yards (116th with 102.2 per game) and passing yards (91st in the nation with 208.3 per game). As to whether or not they can get things going against a Temple defense which allows 24.5 points per game, it will hinge on whether or not sophomore QB Chandler Whitmer can get things going.
Whitmer has a low QB rating of 117.2. It’s mostly because he’s been sacked 14 times and thrown 10 interceptions. That lackluster performance won’t suffice if the Huskies are going to cover the spread, and also if they are going to have a shot at winning the game. Whitmer threw four interceptions last week and had a completion ratio of just 43.8 percent (14 for 32). He’s thrown interceptions in four of the six games, and his errant passes are reason enough for 100 percent of bettors to take the underdog Owls on a money line bet, while 54 percent of bettors are picking the Huskies to cover the spread. 84.6 percent of bettors predict the total to go over, as of the time of issue (Noon, Friday).
Temple Betting Trends:
Owls are 12-2 ATS in their last 14 conference games, 5-1 ATS in their last 6 after accumulating less than 170 passing yards, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 after accumulating 200+ yards rushing, 16-6-1 ATS in their last 23 in OCT, 13-6 ATS in their last 19 on the road.
UConn Betting Trends:
Huskies are 22-6 ATS in their last 28 games after scoring less than 20 previous game, 3-1-1 ATS their last 5 on grass, 22-9 ATS in their last 31 after accumulating less than 275 total yards previous game, 31-14-1 ATS in their last 46 home games, 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 after allowing less than 170 passing yards previous game.
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