[gambcom-standard rankid=”4141″ ]
The Army Black Knights (3-0, 2-0 AAC) travel to meet the Temple Owls (1-3, 0-1) Thursday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s college football odds around the Army vs. Temple odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
The Black Knights are off and running, literally, in the AAC so far. Army is unbeaten in 3 games, including 2 inside the conference. Army is averaging 429.7 total yards of offense per game, with a majority of that coming on the ground. It ranks 2nd in the nation with 356.0 rushing yards per game.
Army won 24-7 at FAU in the AAC opener as a 1-point underdog, while pounding Rice 37-14 last weekend at Michie Stadium in West Point as a 7.5-point favorite. The defense has allowed just 28 points in 3 games, too.
Temple picked up an impressive 45-29 win over Utah State last weekend in Philly, winning outright as a 6.5-point underdog. That comes on the heels of a solid 28-20 loss as a 17-point ‘dog on Sept. 14, also at home.
The defense has been shredded for 28 or more points in all 4 games, however. Temple is especially susceptible to the run, giving up 221.8 yards per game, which ranks 126th in FBS. That’s ominous with Army coming to town.
– Rankings: US LBM Coaches Poll, conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports
Stream select live college football games and full replays: Get ESPN+
Army at Temple odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of college football odds. Lines last updated Wednesday at 9:11 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Army -550 (bet $550 to win $100) | Temple +400 (bet $100 to win $400)
- Against the spread (ATS): Army -13.5 (-110) | Temple +13.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 45.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
[gambcom-standard rankid=”4132″ ]
Army at Temple picks and predictions
Prediction
Army 35, Temple 17
Moneyline
Army (-550) will set you back 5 1/2 times your potential return, and there is no way you can bet such a heavy favorite. Over the long term, that’s a losing betting strategy. You would need to wager $10 for every $1.82 of profit. That’s just too risky.
PASS, and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
ARMY -13.5 (-110) is a strong play on the road. It’s a short trip for the Black Knights from Army to Philadelphia, and they’re used to this venue since it often plays Navy in the annual end-of-season game.
The Black Knights are a running machine, and so far neither FAU or Rice offered much resistance inside the AAC. In a crazy schedule quirk, this will be the 3rd consecutive game for Army against a team nicknamed the Owls.
Temple +13.5 (-110) is terrible against the run, and it will have tremendous difficulty shutting down the power triple-option attack of the Black Knights.
Over/Under
OVER 45.5 (-110) is the play, which is a departure from the norm.
When you have a running team like Army, the conventional wisdom is to go low on the total. A team that is primary ground-based keeps the clock moving. But, Army has scored 37 or more points in 2 of 3 games to date, and the Over is 2-1 on the season. Only FAU had any modicum of success stopping the run when it mattered in the red zone.
Temple has split 2-2 on the Over-Under. The Over hit last week, as the Owls exploded for 45 points against Utah State. The thinking of an Over play, though, is based on Temple’s inability to stop anybody. It has allowed 28 or more points in all 4 games this season.
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
[gambcom-standard rankid=”6305″ ]
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook.
College sports coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:
Alabama / Arkansas / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Duke / Florida / Florida State / Georgia / Iowa / Kentucky / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Notre Dame / Ohio State / Oklahoma / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / UCLA / USC / Washington / Wisconsin / Recruiting / Transfer portal / College Football Playoffs / College Sports Wire / High School
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]