The Temple Owls fly into Connecticut to take on the Huskies in an ACC match-up on Friday, November 4th at 7:00 p.m. ET. The battle between the two schools will be shown on the ESPN 2 Network. As of now, the Owls enter the game as -10 point favorites and the total has been placed at 46.
Last year, in an impressive defensive performance in Philadelphia, Temple defeated Connecticut 27-3. Connecticut quarterback Brian Sherriffs did not play after being hurt the week before against Houston. It was only the second time in the Owls history that they achieved a ten win season.
Temple (6-3):
Last Saturday, the Temple Owls had another solid team effort in a 34-13 home win over the Cincinnati Bearcats. Quarterback Philip Walker was steady, throwing for 199 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. The senior signal-caller is having a decent season, accumulating 1,990 yards in the air with 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The Owls field a dangerous duo on the ground in Jahad Thomas and Ryquell Armstead. Together, the two have combined for 1,238 yards and a gaudy 20 touchdowns. The offensive line is clicking and the two horsemen are taking full advantage of it over the last five weeks.
Six Temple receivers share the passes from quarterback Phillip Walker. Four receivers have over 20 catches and all four have multiple touchdowns. Combined, they have 95 grabs for over 1,350 yards and 10 scores.
The Owls defense was outstanding in their victory last week, limiting the Bearcats to only 119 yards through the air and 67 more on the ground. Temple features an aggressive pass defense which reared it’s angry head against Cincinnati.
The Owls defense is now conceding an average of 22.7 points per game, which ranks them 32nd in the nation. Furthermore, Temple holds opponents to just 306 yards a game, which also is just outside the top ten in the country in 11th.
Connecticut (3-6):
The Huskies could not find any momentum in their appalling 41-3 loss to the East Carolina Pirates last week. Bryant Shirreffs struggled again, connecting on only 16 of his 30 passes for 180 yards with no touchdowns and two picks. The junior quarterback is having a colorless year, throwing for 2,010 yards and has only tossed seven touchdowns to go with six interceptions.
Connecticut didn’t have any prosperity on the ground in their loss last week. Against the country’s 76th ranked defense, the Huskies rushed for only 89 yards with quarterback Bryant Shirreffs leading the way with 46. Arkeel Newsome leads the Huskies in rushing with 528 yards and four scores.
Wide receiver Noel Thomas continues to be the one-man show in Connecticut, making seven catches for 135 yards last week against the Pirates. As a result, Thomas leads the Huskies with a whopping 1,058 receiving yards, which places the stud fifth in the entire nation. Unfortunately, the standout has only been rewarded with three touchdown catches for his outstanding efforts.
The Connecticut defense struggled in the loss to the Pirates last week, giving-up 430 total yards. Once again, the Huskies 116th ranked secondary had no answer for receiver Zay Jones who made 19 catches for 185 yards. Now, Connecticut is conceding an average of 27.6 points per game, ranking them 66th in the FBS.
Trends and Notes:
The Owls are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 road games.
The Huskies are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
The Over is 5-2 in the Owls last 7 games overall.
The Under is 4-0 in the Huskies last 4 home games.
The Owls are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
Game Prediction:
The Temple Owls enter this match-up against their ACC foes as hot as a coach could want their club. Temple is looking good, capturing five wins out of their last six games. The Owls also have three very winnable games remaining. Temple is now scoring an average of 33.8 points per game, ranking them 38th overall.
Connecticut is going in the opposite direction. The huskies have lost five of their last six contests and almost seemed to have thrown in the towel in East Carolina. This will be a big test for the Huskies, just to see if they still have anything left in the tank to compete with.
Connecticut tries to moves the chains with their air attack, now that the ground game has gone completely in the toilet. That’s bad new for Mr. Sherriffs, as the Owls secondary is deep and talented. Plus, their defensive line makes a living in other schools back fields.
Temple can pound the rock successfully and they have enough talent in their receiving corps to expose the Huskies weak secondary. Connecticut does play tough at home but if the Owls play up to potential, this ones a no-brainer. Take the Owls -6.5 at half-time or -10 full time. Either way, you should get the results you were looking for.
