The South Florida Bulls have used a dominant ground game to roll to an undefeated start in the American Conference. They will aim to keep it going in a tough matchup on the road against the Temple Owls in Week 8.
Even though the Bulls have been superior this season, Temple will be in its element at home and hopes to spring the upset to climb into a tie atop the American East standings. This is a big one for both sides, and South Florida should be the team which emerges with a road win.
This contest in Week 8 of the regular season will go down Friday, October 21, 2016, at 7 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
South Florida -6.5
Temple +6.5
Odds Analysis
The half-point makes it enticing to choose South Florida, since a touchdown difference would pay off as a cover if South Florida can win by that margin. That may be the thinking of the gamblers early on, as the Bulls have gotten 65 percent of the action.
Player to Watch
Quinton Flowers - South Florida is seventh nationally in points per game with 44.1, and much of it stems from the production of its star quarterback.
Flowers leads the team in both passing and rushing. He has completed 106-of-181 passes for 1,535 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has been equally as dangerous on the ground, carrying the ball 94 times for 655 yards and seven touchdowns.
Flowers had a game earlier in the season when he threw for 350 yards, while he also has a pair in which he’s rushed for more than 150 yards, making it tough for defenses to stop him.
Flowers is one of the biggest reasons why the Bulls have had such a solid start to the season and he will aim to keep it up in a tough matchup.
Key Stat
166.7. That’s the number of passing yards per game Temple has allowed this season. If the Owls’ secondary can successfully slow down the South Florida aerial attack, it will allow the front seven to really focus on stopping the run.
Temple has only given up 23 points per game this season, which is in the top-40 nationally. The defense must play well against an explosive set of Bulls skill players, and limiting the pass and forcing South Florida to become one-dimensional would be a positive step.
Free ATS Pick
The Owls have gone from two wins to six wins to 10 wins the past three years. They have been up and down this season but an upset win here would put them right in the thick of the conference race.
Temple is coming off a wild one-point win over Central Florida last week when it scored a touchdown with one second remaining in the contest. The Owls would once again take this one in any way possible, but it won’t be easy.
South Florida’s lone loss this season came to Florida State and it has the inside track on winning its side of the conference. That could set up a big-time matchup with Houston or Navy in the conference title game.
The Bulls have some work to do to get there, but expect this one to end up in their favor. Flowers and the Bulls’ offense will get it going as South Florida should be able to pull away and claim this victory. While it’s enticing to take a pretty good team at home, South Florida is also the choice to cover as it could win by double-digits.
Keep an eye on the scoring total as it comes out, since this one could set up for a nice wager on the over/under.
College Football Odds: South Florida 33, Temple 23
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