Temple vs. Rutgers Odds
| Temple Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7.5 -110 | 44.5 -110o / -110u | +240 |
| Rutgers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7.5 -110 | 44.5 -110o / -110u | -300 |
Let's head out east to beautiful Piscataway, New Jersey, where it's all about Italian deli meat and Rutgers football.
Rutgers will host Temple on Saturday evening, as the Scarlet Knights look to start 2-0. Temple is coming off a disappointing home victory over Akron, squeaking out a narrow 24-21 win.
This is quite an interesting matchup to handicap, so let's dive into the best betting angle for Temple vs. Rutgers on Saturday, Sept. 9.
Temple Owls
Say what you want about the Owls, but this E.J. Warner kid can sling it. Of course, Warner is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner.
E.J. threw for 292 yards last weekend against Akron, and he will look to replicate that performance to pull off an upset road win.
The reigning AAC Rookie of the Year will need to play at the top of his game if he wants to lead the Owls to an upset, as the Scarlet Knights ranked 56th in Defensive Success Rate and 29th in explosiveness allowed.
The Owls are fortunate they're not facing an offensive powerhouse because their defense was extremely bad against the pass last season. Rutgers likes to run the football and muck things up, which actually plays to the strength of the Owls defense.
I really like Temple's linebacking group, led by Jordan Magee. It also added some pieces to bolster its defensive front through the portal.
With that said, not only do I think it'll be able to score on offense, but its improved defensive line can prevent the Knights from having any success offensively.
I believe in Warner to keep things close here, and the Owls' defensive issues may quickly disappear if they start to gel in the trenches.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
I realize Rutgers beat Northwestern, 24-7, but the box score was much closer than it looked. Rutgers barely outgained the dumpster-fire Wildcats, which makes me question why it's favored by so much here.
The Owls' defensive issues can definitely result in this Knights offense looking like a powerhouse, but I'm still wondering how Rutgers puts up points here. This is an offense that finished outside the top 100 in most offensive metrics, including Success Rate, explosiveness and Havoc.
I think its defense would have to contribute a ton to the scoreboard for it to keep up. Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt finished with a measly 163 passing yards last week, and he'll have to do better than that if he wants his team to cover a big number.
This defense is a lot of fun to watch, and considering Greg Schiano says D-lineman Wesley Bailey is going to be OK, he'll help bolster this defensive front.
Its defensive line could give Warner issues all evening, which is the Knights' only true route to pulling off a big win, in my opinion.
Temple vs Rutgers
Betting Pick & Prediction
I think Rutgers could be on upset alert here.
The Owls can be a nice round-robin underdog piece this weekend, but I feel much more comfortable taking the points.
Our Action Network team actually makes the Owls a 4-point favorite in this game, which is why I was stunned to see this number. I think the market is overreacting a bit too much to last weekend's results.
I like what Schiano is doing with this Rutgers program, but it should not be 8.5-point favorites against anybody. I think Warner will do enough against this Knights defense, and it's tough to cover a big number with such a low total.
I think the under is also a decent look here, but I love the Owls and think they can win this game outright.
