Temple vs. Notre Dame Prediction
Will Notre Dame be able to start the 2017 college football season with an impressive win over Temple at 3:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Notre Dame is favored to win this game, as the Fighting Irish are getting odds of -18 points against Temple. The over/under total for this game is listed at 56 points. The Irish have won the last two meetings with Temple, but the Owls covered the spread in both games. These two meet from Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. The game will air live on NBC.
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Notre Dame had a 2016 to forget, as the Irish were 4-8 overall and 4-8 against the spread. The Irish averaged 30.9 points per game on offense while allowing 27.8 points per contest. Notre Dame comes into this season with a new starting quarterback, as Brandon Wimbush is set to make his first start for the Irish. While inexperienced, Wimbush has two great receivers to work with in Equanimeous St. Brown and Kevin Stephenson. Those two had a combined 14 touchdowns catches last season. Josh Adams is also back at running back after leading the team in rushing last year, but he was under 1,000 yards. Adams could be more of a focal point this season to take the pressure off Wimbush.
Temple is coming off a 10-4 record last season, which included an American Athletic Conference title, and the Owls were among the best in the country at the betting window in 2016. Temple posted an impressive 12-2 record against the spread. Geoff Collins takes over the program this season and has some high expectations to meet. The Owls averaged 32.36 points per game on offense last year while giving up 18.4 per game on defense. Temple has still yet to announce its starting quarterback for this game. The Owls will go with either Frank Nutile, a redshirt junior, or sophomore Logan Marchi. Marchi threw six passes last season. The new quarterback will have some veteran receivers to throw to in Ventell Bryant and Keith Kirkwood. The two combined for over 1,500 yards. Like Notre Dame, Temple also returns its leading rusher from a year ago Ryquell Armstead for 919 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2016 and he also could be a focal point in the offense today to take pressure off the new quarterback.
This game features two teams with a lot of questions coming into the contest. Temple certainly was the better team of the two last year, but the Owls seem uncertain on their choice for a quarterback and they are dealing with a new head coach in Geoff Collins. Notre Dame was a mess a year ago and is now working in a new quarterback as well. I certainly can see the Irish winning at home today, but all signs point to a close game for me. Temple is no push over. This is an Owl team that spent all of last year winning and being competitive in their losses. They won’t be overwhelmed by Notre Dame.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTION: TEMPLE +18