Navy vs. Temple Pick
Is Navy in danger of having a letdown performance when it goes on the road to face Temple tonight at 8PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Navy is favored on the road right now, as the Midshipmen are getting odds of -7.5 points against Temple. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 54.5 points. Navy has won five of the last seven meetings with Temple, but the Owls have covered in four of their last five encounters. The public is currently putting 73 percent of the wagers on Navy on the road. Tonight’s game takes place from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game will air live on ESPN.
Temple is coming off a 31-28 OT loss at Army back on Oct. 21 to fall to 3-5 on the season. The Owls are 1-3 in conference play 3-5 against the spread. Their three covers have come over their last four games. The Owls are averaging just 20.9 points and 372.6 yards per game on offense this season. Logan Marchi has thrown for 1,658 yards and nine touchdowns, but is doubtful to play in this game due to a lower body injury. Frank Nutile has thrown for 370 yards in limited action and will start for Marchi if he can’t play. Ryquell Armstead is the leading rusher with 428 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Temple is giving up 26.9 points and 397.8 yards per contest.
Navy has lost its last two games, falling to Memphis 30-27 and UCF 31-21 over the past few weeks. The Midshipmen are now 5-2 on the season and 3-2 in the AAC. Navy is 3-2-2 against the spread this season, pushing their last two games. Navy is putting up 33.4 points and 470.7 yards per game on offense behind its option run game. The Midshipmen average 376.1 rushing yards per contest. Zach Abey has run for 1,142 yards and 13 touchdowns while throwing for 606 yards and six scores. Malcolm Perry and Chris High have combined for 833 rushing yards and four scores as well. Defensively, Navy is allowing 28.4 points and 410.3 yards per game on defense.
Navy is in a little bit of a tumble right now, as they have lost two straight. Now the Midshipmen go on the road to face a Temple team it has struggled to cover against. Temple is 20-6 against the spread in its last 26 conference games and 7-3 in its last 10 games. I think the Owls do enough to make this game competitive against a Navy team that has to be hurting a little bit from back-to-back losses.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTION: TEMPLE +7.5