Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Predictions, Odds, Picks

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Oct. 8, 2021

Stuart Durst
VI College Football Betting Expert
VegasInsider.com

An AAC matchup is on tap for Friday night as the Temple Owls will travel to Ohio and face the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats. Kick off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET from Nippert Stadium and will air on ESPN.

Score Prediction: Cincinnati 45, Temple 15

Best Bet: Cincinnati -29

Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Predictions

More Free College Football Picks

Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Odds

More Odds | Futures Odds

Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Resources

• Matchup: AAC
• Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
• Venue: Nippert Stadium
• Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
• TV-Time: ESPN - 7:00 p.m. ET

• Line Movements
• Betting Trend Movements
• Weather Report
• College Football Playoff Betting

Temple Owls Betting Analysis

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 3-2
• ATS: 2-3
• O/U: 3-2
• ATS - Home: 1-2
• ATS - Away: 1-1

Temple came into this season with extremely low expectations. They were expected to be at the bottom of their division but they haven't played like it. While a 3-2 start against some fairly weak opponents isn't necessarily a reason to jump up and down, this team is playing with both heart and grit.

They were blown out by Rutgers and Boston College, which was expected, but are now coming off of an impressive come from behind win against Memphis. Memphis was a team I expected to beat Temple badly, but the fight they showed me last week was impressive.

This Temple team is still in the early stages of a rebuild, but I believe they are definitely going in the right direction. Quarterback D’Wan Mathis has been good this season, coming off an 322 yards and three touchdown game where he ran for an additional 53 yards.

This team is definitely going in the right direction, taking care of teams that they should but Cincinnati is a whole different ball game. I cant trust the Owls' offense to get it done against one of the best teams in the country, but I would be optimistic for the future of Temple football.

Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Analysis

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 4-0
• ATS: 3-1
• O/U: 2-2
• ATS - Home: 1-1
• ATS - Away: 2-0

Cincinnati is coming off their biggest win of the season. They took down Notre Dame on the road and now get to return home to take a huge victory lap. With tough wins against Indiana and Notre Dame, this team is dying to blow out a lesser opponent and they might have found that team in Temple. Experts across the industry expect Cincinnati to run the table this year, and it's hard to not believe that it starts with Temple this Friday.

One of the biggest hurdles for Temple going against this Cincinnati team is going to be moving the ball on offense. Cincinnati has caused opposing teams a lot of trouble with that defense. Not only do they have a good defensive line, but their secondary has multiple starters with NFL aspirations. Temple has struggled to move the ball against good teams like Boston College and Rutgers and I think they struggle with the same problem against Cincinnati.

Overall this Cincinnati team is chalk full of NFL talent and there is a reason the spread is almost at 30 points. This game likely won't stay close for long and I trust Cincinnati to both win this game and cover the spread.

The Cincinnati Bearcats have gone UNDER the point total in 12 of their last 17 home games. (AP)

Inside the Stats - Temple Owls

• Record: 3-2
• VI Ranking: 79
• Points Scored: 137
• Points Allowed: 151
• PS/G: 27.4 (80th)
• PA/G: 30.2 (99th)

Inside the Stats - Cincinnati Bearcats

• Record: 4-0
• VI Ranking: 6
• Points Scored: 153
• Points Allowed: 58
• PS/G: 38.2 (17th)
• PA/G: 14.5 (8th)

Key Players to Watch

• TEM: Jose Barbon - WR (21 catches, 280 yards, TD)
• TEM: Randle Jones - WR (14 catches, 240 yards, 2 TD)
• CIN: Desmond Ridder - QB (73/115, 1,045 yards, 9 TD, 2 INT)
• CIN: Alec Pierce - WR (15 catches, 294 yards, TD)

Injuries

• TEM: Randle Jones - WR (Knee-Questionable)
• TEM: Jadan Blue - WR (Upper Body-Questionable)
• TEM: Trey Blair - S (Undisclosed-Questionable)
• TEM: DaeSean Winston - S (Undisclosed-Questionable)
• TEM: Iverson Clement - RB (Left Team-Out)
• TEM: Adam Klein - OL (Undisclosed-Questionable)

Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Conclusion

This game has a near 30-point spread for a reason. I think Cincinnati takes care of business against a Temple team that fights surprisingly hard. For player props, I would advise you to stay away. In games that are likely to blow out, teams often rest the best players meaning a player needs to cover their number within a three quarter span of time.

Temple Owls vs. Cincinnati Bearcats Betting Trends

• Cincinnati has gone UNDER the point total in 12 of its last 17 home games.
• Cincinnati has covered the spread in four of its last five games.
• Cincinnati has won 24 of its last 25 home games.
• Temple has lost six of its last seven road games.

VegasInsider Staff

More from VegasInsider Staff