The Temple Owls (3-2, 1-0 AAC) travel to meet the No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats (4-0, 0-0) Friday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Temple vs. Cincinnati odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
The Owls opened the season on the wrong side of a 61-14 beatdown from Rutgers Sept. 4, and after a 28-3 loss at home to Boston College, it looked like it might be a long season. But the Owls turned it around with a 41-7 win over FCS Wagner and an even more impressive 34-31 win over Memphis as 11-point underdogs last weekend.
Speaking of impressive, the Bearcats went to South Bend and topped Notre Dame 24-13 in a battle of top-10 teams. It was the second straight win on the road against a Power 5 team for Cincinnati, which is 3-1 against the spread overall.
Rankings according to the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Temple at Cincinnati odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:28 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Temple +1300 (bet $100 to win $1,300) | Cincinnati -5000 (bet $5,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Temple +29.5 (-107) | Cincinnati -29.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 54.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Temple at Cincinnati odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Cincinnati 45, Temple 17
Money line
Cincinnati (-5000) will cost you 50 times your potential return, or a $2 profit on a $100 wager. That’s amateur hour and not a good long-term betting strategy, even in a multiple-team parlay.
AVOID and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
Play CINCINNATI -29.5 (-107) in its first AAC game of the season. The only concern with playing the Bearcats at home is the potential of a letdown after their monumental win at Notre Dame last weekend.
Temple won’t sniff an upset, but it should be able to grab the backdoor cover.
Over/Under
The OVER 54.5 (-108) is way to go. Temple has hit the Over in three of four games against FBS opponents this season, and the Owls are allowing 30.2 points per game (PPG) overall. That’s not good when facing a Bearcats offense tossing up 38.3 PPG.
Yes, Cincinnati’s defense has had it on lockdown this season, but the Owls should be able to grab at least a touchdown in the first half, and perhaps some points in garbage time when the Bearcats take their foot off the gas a little.
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