The Penn State Nittany Lions will try and bounce back from last week’s loss to Pittsburgh as they host the Temple Owls in Week 3 action on Saturday. It is a key game for Penn State head coach James Franklin who is trying to show that he has the Nittany Lions headed in the right direction. It is also a revenge game for Penn State as they were beaten by Temple 27-10 last season. It may not be easy for the Nittany Lions against a Temple team coming off a 38-0 win over Stony Brook, the first shutout for the Owls in almost two years.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 3 game is set for Saturday, September 17, 2016, at 12 p.m. ET at Beaver Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Temple +9
Penn State -9
Over/Under 48
Odds Analysis
The Nittany Lions opened up as 9-point favorites and Penn State briefly went to 9.5 before the number came back to 9. There was a brief line movement toward Temple as the line dropped down to 8.5 but it quickly came back to -9.
The total on this contest opened up at 48 and there has been no movement on that number.
If the line on this game moves much it should be toward Temple as Penn State is not likely to go to a 10-point favorite. The Owls looked good last week in a win over Stony Brook and bettors usually remember what they saw last.
Coaching Angle
Temple is coached by former Penn State linebacker Matt Rhule so this will be a big game for the Owls. Last season it was Temple under Rhule getting their first win over Penn State since 1941.
Rhule said that going to Beaver Stadium to face Penn State will be much different than the game last season. "Playing them here is one thing. Playing there, it is so loud," Rhule said, "So I think it's having the poise in the noise to handle that. ... This is like a bunch of young puppies."
Temple linebacker Stephaun Marshall said that the team should do fine with the noise. "The atmosphere, I'm expecting, is going to be a college football atmosphere.” Marshall said, “Just got to get the guys ready, got to get myself ready, and we'll be good."
Revenge Angle
The Owls won in Philadelphia last season against the Nittany Lions by a score of 27-10. It was the first win by Temple over Penn State since 1941. Both teams come into this game at 1-1 but Temple is coming off a win while Penn State is coming off a loss.
Both Temple and Penn State are struggling to stop the run as Temple gave up 329 yards on the ground to Army while Penn State allowed 341 rushing yards against Pittsburgh.
If the Nittany Lions are going to get revenge for last year they will need to play better than they did last week in the loss to Pittsburgh. The Nittany Lions used to dominate their two rivals, Pittsburgh and Temple but Penn State under head coach James Franklin is just 1-2 against them. Penn State was 7-1 against Pittsburgh from 1989-2000 and they were 38-0-1 against Temple from 1942 to 2014.
If the Nittany Lions can get the win on Saturday then Franklin can say his squad has turned the corner but if his team loses then people are going to start questioning if Franklin is the right man for the job. “You don’t want me to talk about being a young football team. I get it.” Franklin said, “You don’t want to hear that.”
Free ATS Pick
Is Penn State really any better than they were last year when Temple beat them 27-10? The Owls are definitely not as good as they were last year but the Nittany Lions don’t look any better. Oddsmakers are giving Penn State a lot of respect as the Nittany Lions are nearly double-digit favorites but Penn State is just 1-5 ATS in their last six games.
I am not sold on Penn State or Franklin so I will take the points with Temple in this game.
College Football Odds: Temple 27, Penn State 24
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