The Temple Owls (1-1) welcome the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-0) to Lincoln Financial Field Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Rutgers at Temple odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Temple is coming into this game looking to hand Rutgers its first loss. The Owls lost to Duke 30-0 in their season-opener and then beat up on Lafayette 30-14.
Starting QB E.J. Warner threw for 2 touchdowns in that battle as Temple entered the intermission up 21-7. The freshman did not even have a single attempt against Duke as QB D’Wan Mathis led the team offensively.
Rutgers, which is typically on the lower end of the Big Ten programs in terms of finishing position, has yet to lose, beating Boston College by one in its opener. It then took down Wagner 66-7.
In its lone competitive game, it was starting RB Kyle Monangai that went for 78 yards and a touchdown and helped secure the win for the Scarlet Knights. Starting QB Evan Simon had just 63 passing yards in that battle.
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Rutgers at Temple odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:45 a.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Rutgers -1400 (bet $1,400 to win $100) | Temple +750 (bet $100 to win $750)
- Against the spread (ATS): Rutgers -18.5 (-112) | Temple +18.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 42.5 (O: -117 | U: -103)
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Rutgers at Temple picks and predictions
Prediction
Rutgers 31, Temple 7
Money line
PASS.
No thanks on -1400 for a road favorite. The price is right for the books, but I’ll pass on betting it.
Against the spread
BET RUTGERS -18.5 (-112).
The Scarlet Knights played a tough game and figured out how to win against Boston College, but this game should be more focused on the inability of the Owls.
They have a freshman quarterback under center that really only took on a team that Temple was supposed to destroy. Going from Lafayette to a Power-5 program is not going to be smooth sailing.
It lost 30-0 to Duke, and it was a quick defeat as the Blue Devils took a quite lead and never looked back. Duke was up 24-0 at half. The Owls didn’t stand a chance and had just 66 yards on the ground.
Rutgers should have a better defensive front and more explosive offense than a Blue Devils team that just got by Northwestern last weekend. Experts predicted Northwestern as the worst in the West unanimously with some putting Rutgers over Indiana in a more competitive East.
Rutgers should be able to put this one away early. Also, side note: home-field advantage with how close Rutgers is to Philadelphia should help take that away from Temple.
Over/Under
LEAN UNDER 42.5 (-103).
Temple didn’t score against Duke, and I envision Warner having a difficult time moving on Rutgers. Warner also isn’t a dynamic running threat, so it’ll be interesting to see how he moves in the pocket against a more aggressive front.
Considering they didn’t score on Duke and scored just 9 points in the second half against Lafayette, a game they won by just 16, Temple should find it difficult scoring.
Similarly, Rutgers scored just 22 on Boston College and may also not have the most dynamic offense.
Given that, I’ll lean the UNDER 42.5 (-103).
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