Matt Rhule has been one of the most underrated coaches in the country over the last couple seasons. His Temple Owls are in the driver’s seat in the AAC East, but have to win their last three games in order to make the conference title game. The good news is that they should be favored in each of their last three. Temple will start their stretch run when it travels to Storrs to take on the Connecticut Huskies in Week 10 college football.
This contest in Week 10 will go down Friday, November 4, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. This game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Temple -10.5
Connecticut +10.5
Over/Under 46.5
Odds Analysis
No team is as hot as Temple right now. The Owls have covered eight straight against the number after a surprising reverse cover in the season opener against Army and tallied two outright wins as underdogs in that timeframe as well. Five of the Owls’ last seven games have finished over the total.
Conversely, the Huskies have been bad ATS wise in 2016. UConn is 3-6 SU and 2-6-1 ATS this season and has only been able to win one conference game. Five of the Huskies last seven games have finished over the betting total.
Coaching Angle
It’s hard to describe how good of a job Matt Rhule has done. Temple has been one of the those places that it’s pretty much impossible to win at throughout the years, but after a 2-10 initial season, the Owls have steadily improved. The Owls were 6-6 in 2014 and won the AAC East at 10-3 last year. This season they are 6-3 and once again in prime position for a division title.
Rhule is an old school coach who relies on a strong ground game and a solid defense to win game and that combination has worked well at Temple. The Owls have already carried the ball 365 times this season and have a defense that is one of the best in the conference. They are great at getting opponents off the field on third down, allowing them to convert just 31.75 percent of their conversion attempts.
Last Meeting
It was all Temple when these teams squared off last season. The Owls would have recorded a shutout, but Bob Diaco’s Huskies decided to kick a field goal down 27 late in the fourth for their only points of the game.
UConn was unable to do anything on the ground all game long against Temple. The Huskies managed just nine yards rushing on 26 carries and the lack of a ground game meant a lot of third-and-longs for UConn. UConn was only able to convert 25 percent of its third-down conversions and tallied a scant 138 total yards. They were able to only run 47 plays on the day, while Temple was able to run 67.
Free ATS Pick
If there’s one area that Temple has struggled this season, it’s been with turnovers. QB Phillip Walker has thrown 10 interceptions and the less he throws the ball the better. His numbers aren’t as bad as Bryant Shirreffs is though.
Shirreffs has had a tough time leading the Huskies to points this year. UConn is averaging just 18.3 PPG and the Huskies can’t throw or run the ball very well with him at the helm. This was supposed to be a season where Shirreffs took a big step forward, but that hasn’t been the case and the running attack is bad.
Temple is a much better team and even though you should be wary of grabbing double-digit road favorites, this is a prime spot to grab one. The Owls are miles better than the Huskies and will prove it on Friday night.
College Football Odds: Owls 33, Huskies 14
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