The Duke Blue Devils are coming into the Walk-On’s Independence Bowl as underdogs against the Temple Owls. The opening kickoff for this important showdown is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET and fans can catch the action by tuning in to ESPN.
Temple Owls at Duke Blue Devils Betting Preview
In this Thursday game, Temple is tabbed as the favorite and is currently giving up 4 points. The Owls are also receiving -175 moneyline odds while the Blue Devils are +155. Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 55.5 points, and if one team can find paydirt early, it would probably produce a decent betting scenario in-game.
Sharp bettors are siding with the under. This game’s over/under initially opened at 56.5.
The Owls are 8-4 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 1.3 units so far. The team has recorded an O/U mark of 5-6. The Blue Devils are down 2.5 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 6-6 ATS and own an even O/U record of 6-6.
The Owls have gone 8-4 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Blue Devils are 7-5 SU.
Temple enters this matchup on a zero-game losing skid while Duke has won each of its last zero. The Owls want to keep things rolling following a 57-7 victory over Connecticut on November 24. Frank Nutile completed nine passes on 12 attempts for only 184 yards and one interception. Todd Centeio (32 rushing yards on six attempts, one TD) and Jager Gardner (57 yards on six carries, one TD) provided the ground attack while Branden Mack (two receptions, 62 yards) and Chris Myarick (two catches, nine yards, one TD) handled the receiving duties in the win.
Back on November 24, Wake Forest knocked off this Duke crew by a score of 59-7. Daniel Jones completed 17-of-36 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Deon Jackson (30 rushing yards on eight attempts) led the running game as Jackson (seven receptions, 45 yards, one TD) and Helm (two catches, 20 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the loss.
Temple has run the ball on 53.9 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Duke has a rush percentage of 50.5 percent. The Owls have run for 165 yards/game and have 26 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Blue Devils are averaging 163 rushing yards per game and have 16 total rush TDs.
It seems like the Owls ought to hold an edge in the trenches. Their offensive line has allowed just 20 sacks while the D-line registered 39 sacks. The Blue Devils offensive line has allowed 29 sacks and their defense has created only 29 sacks.
The Owls offensive scheme has tallied 256 yards per game in the air overall and has 19 passing TDs so far. The Blue Devils have produced 230 pass yards per contest and have 26 total pass scores.
Defensively, Temple should have the upper hand in both facets. The team has let opponents run for an average of 190 yards and pass for 166 yards per game. The Duke defense has given up 197.1 yards per game to opposing passers and 222.3 yards per game on the ground. The Owls are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.49 to opponents, while the Blue Devils have given up a 6.18 ANY/A.
Offensively, Russo has put up 2,335 passing yards on the year. He’s connected on 173-of-299 attempts with 13 scores through the air and 13 interceptions. Russo has a 6.28 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 5.89 over the last two games.
Daniel Jones has managed to complete 183-of-308 passes for 2,093 yards, 17 TDs and seven INTs for Duke. His ANY/A sits at 6.02 for the year and 2.88 over his last two games.
Free Prediction: Temple Owls at Duke Blue Devils
SU Winner – Duke, ATS Winner – Duke, O/U – Under
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Notes
Team Betting Trends
Duke has lost 10 fumbles this season while Temple has lost five.
The Temple defensive unit has 32 sacks on the year while Duke has just 21.
Temple has averaged 5.1 yards per carry across its past three outings and 4.8 over its last two.
Duke has averaged 4.6 yards per carry over its last three matchups and 3.0 over its last two.
Temple has won seven of its last eight games SU, with a 12-point defeat to UCF on November 1st accounting for the only loss over that span.
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