AAC Championship Free Pick
Public bettors are laying the points on Houston today in the American Athletic Conference Championship at 12:00PM ET but is Temple the better bet?
Many bettors turned on Houston following its loss to Connecticut a few weeks ago but the Cougars must have won people back with their impressive win over Navy last week because 63% of public bettors are backing UH today. The Cougars are led by quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who has thrown for 2,502 yards and 16 touchdowns to just five interceptions this season.
Ward is a dynamic player but you could tell that he wasn’t 100% playing on a bad ankle in last week’s win over Navy. Perhaps another week has improved the situation greatly, but he nevertheless faces the AAC’s top defense today.
The Owls might not be dynamic offensively but they still average 32.3 points per game and are ranked 16th nationally while allowing just 18.8 points per contest on defense. They’re led by senior linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who is just the seventh player in FBS history to record four 100-tackle seasons.
Temple’s defense will keep the Owls in the game throughout. The fact that the public is on Houston but the line is dropping indicates some sharp money on the Owls. I too like Temple, which is a 5.5-point underdog after opening at +7 according to oddsmakers from online sports book Mybookie.ag.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP FREE PICK: TEMPLE OWLS +5.5
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