The No. 20 Cincinnati Bearcats (+4) are heading east to visit their in-conference counterpart Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field. The key afternoon game will begin at 12:00 p.m. ET and ESPNU will broadcast the action.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Temple Owls Betting Preview
Cincinnati is the road underdog in this AAC game and is currently receiving 4 points. The Bearcats are also receiving +165 moneyline odds while the Owls are -185. It appears that there will probably be some good live betting opportunities for this match, and Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 47.5 points.
Sharp bettors have been hammering the under. This game’s over/under was initially set at 48.5.
The profitable Bearcats have recorded 9.0 units so far and are 5-1 against the spread (ATS). The team has recorded an O/U mark of 2-3. The Owls have lost 1.1 units this season. The team is 5-2 ATS and has an even O/U record of 3-3.
The Bearcats have gone 6-0 straight up (SU), including 2-0 SU against conference opponents. The Owls are 4-3 SU overall and are also 3-0 SU in conference play.
The Bearcats are hoping to remain unbeaten following a 37-21 win over Tulane on October 6. Desmond Ridder completed 15-of-25 passes for only 174 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Michael Warren II (123 rushing yards on 18 attempts, one TD) and the signal-caller Ridder (65 yards on 16 carries, one TD) led the running attack. Kahlil Lewis (three receptions, 40 yards, two TDs) and Warren II (three catches, 34 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
Temple just earned a 24-17 win over Navy. Anthony Russo completed 23-of-31 passes for 300 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Jager Gardner (52 yards on 11 rush attempts) led the running game while Ventell Bryant (eight receptions, 147 yards, one TD) and Randle Jones (three catches, 28 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the win.
Cincinnati has run the ball on 66.4 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Temple has a rush percentage of 52.7 percent. The Bearcats have rushed for 256 yards/game (including 296 per game against American Athletic Conference opponents) and have 22 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Owls are putting up 141 rushing yards per game (158 in conference) and have 12 total rush TDs.
The Bearcats offensive scheme has tallied 212 yards per contest through the air overall (257 per game against conference opposition) and has 10 passing TDs so far. The Owls have put up 239 pass yards per contest (235.3 against AAC competition) and have 11 total pass scores.
Defensively, Cincinnati has let opponents rush for an average of 120 yards and pass for 154 yards per game. The Temple defense has given up 152.7 yards per game to opposing passers and 180.6 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to the opposition, as the Bearcats have given up an ANY/A of 3.60 to opposing QBs, while the Owls are yielding an ANY/A of 3.32.
Offensively, Ridder has put up 792 passing yards on the year, and has completed 63 percent of his 99 attempts with eight scores through the air and only two interceptions. He’s got a pristine 7.97 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 8.27 over the last two outings.
Anthony Russo has completed 67-of-125 passes for 919 yards, two TDs and six INTs for Temple. His ANY/A stands at 5.23 for the year and 9.47 across his last two outings.
These two programs faced off last year with the final result being a 35-24 victory for Temple.
RELATED: Week 8 College Football Betting Odds and Predictions
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
The Over/Under for Cincinnati’s last game was 48. The over cashed in the team’s 37-21 triumph over Tulane.
As a team, Cincinnati has rushed for 5.5 yards per attempt over its last three contests and 5.9 over its last two.
Temple has averaged 4.1 yards per carry over its last three games and only 3.4 over its last two.
Temple has lost three fumbles this season while Cincinnati has lost four.
In its last three matchups, Cincinnati is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
The Over/Under for Temple’s last outing was set at 49. The under cashed in the team’s 24-17 victory over Navy.
In its last three contests, Temple is 3-0 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Temple has won five of its last six games SU, with a -10-point loss to Boston College on September 29th accounting for its lone slip-up over that span.
The Bearcats offense has produced three pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Owls have put up seven such plays.
The Cincinnati defense has allowed two pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Temple has given up zero such plays.
The Cincinnati offense has created 14 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Temple has created eight such runs.
The Bearcats defense has allowed five rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Owls have given up 10 such runs.
The Temple defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 20 times this season. Cincinnati has recorded just 13 sacks.
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