College Football Predictions: Will South Florida cover vs. Temple?
Will No. 21 South Florida have any struggles at home when it takes on Temple tonight at 7:30PM ET? Here’s our College Football Predictions for this contest.
ODDS
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, South Florida is the clear favorite in this game, as the Bulls are getting odds of -19.5 points against the Owls. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 63 points. The home team has won and covered the spread in the last three meetings between these two. Tonight’s game takes place from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida and will air live on ESPN.
SOUTH FLORIDA
USF has started the season 3-0, beating the likes of San Jose State, Stoney Brook and Illinois. However, the Bulls are just 2-1 against the spread, covering in a 47-23 win over Illinois last week. USF comes into tonight’s game averaging 40 points per game on offense. The Bulls are allowing just 20.7 points per game on defense and holding opponents to only 89.3 rushing yards per game. On offense, Quinton Flowers is leading the team with 678 passing yards and eight touchdowns while also rushing for 243 yards and two scores. Darius Tice is the leading rusher with 256 yards and four scores while D’Ernest Johnson is adding 215 yards and two scores on the ground.
TEMPLE
Temple is off to a 2-1 start overall with wins over Villanova and UMass and a loss to Notre Dame. The Owls have yet to cover the spread in any of their three games this year. Temple comes into tonight averaging 20.3 points per game on offense while giving up 27.7 per game on defense. The Temple defense is also allowing 488.7 yards per game, including 174.3 rushing yards per contest. Offensively, Temple has struggled to establish a run, averaging just 94.3 yards per game on the ground. Ryquell Armstead is the leading rusher with 177 yards on 48 carries. Logan Marchi is leading the offense with 767 passing yards and five touchdowns.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS
Temple hasn’t looked great this season, failing to cover in all three games this season and not looking terribly competitive in the one game it was the underdog, a 49-16 loss at Notre Dame. South Florida has traditionally been pretty good at home, going 11-4-1 against the spread in their last 16 in Tampa while also going 9-3 ATS in their last 12 conference games. I see the Bulls being able to continuing running the ball very well and forcing Temple into a passing team quickly, which will continue to cause the Owls problems.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS: SOUTH FLORIDA -19.5