Temple vs. UCF Total Prediction
After back-to-back road games the past two weeks, the UCF Knights return home Thursday night when they host the Temple Owls. After covering the spread in four of their last five games, will the Knights also cover as a double-digit favorite in this matchup?
Game Snapshot
313 Temple Owls at 314 UCF Knights
7:30 p.m. ET, Thursday, November 1, 2018
Spectrum Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Knights are 10-point favorites to beat the Owls. The total, meanwhile, sits at 60.5 points. As of this writing, 62% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Knights.
Temple Owls
Temple redshirt sophomore QB Anthony Russo completed 20-of-41 passes for 237 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in Saturday’s 24-17 overtime win over No. 20 Cincinnati. Russo (6’4/230) led the Owls on a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with 49 seconds remaining to force overtime. In OT, Russo threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Wright, which was the final score of the game. It was a gutsy performance for the redshirt sophomore, but it certainly wasn’t a clean game highlighted by the three interceptions. These growing pains are to be expected with an unexperienced quarterback, but Temple should be stoked to have a three game winning streak and to have a quarterback capable of moving the ball down the field. Russo will get a tough test against UCF on Thursday, November 1st.
UCF Knights
UCF junior QB McKenzie Milton is a game-time decision for Thursday’s game against Temple. Milton missed the October 20 game against East Carolina, and was able to get a week of rest with the Knights on bye. The star quarterback didn’t practice much last week, but that was likely at least in part due to maintenance. If Milton can’t go, Darriel Mack Jr. would get a second-straight start.
Betting Trends
Temple
The under is 14-3 in the Owls’ last 17 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game.
UCF
The under is 7-0 in the Knights’ last seven games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game.
Prediction
With the way these two teams have held opponents out of the end zone this season, there’s plenty of value in the under. In the Owls’ last 17 conference games, the under is 12-5. The under is also 5-2 in Temple’s last seven games played on Thursday, is 14-4 in its last 18 games after allowing less than 20 points in its previous game, and is 4-1 in its last five games coming off a win. The under is also 4-0 in the Knights’ last four games overall, is 13-3 in their last 16 games coming off an ATS win, and is 7-1 in their last eight games following a bye.
College Football Prediction: Temple/UCF under 60.5