College Football Week 10 - Miami Redhawks vs. Temple Owls

Thursday, November 5 - 7:30 PM ET

BetUS NCAA Football Odds: TEMPLE -17, Total 41.5

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• MIA-O has covered four of its last five games
• MIA-O has lost 13 of its last 14 games SU
• MIA-O has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
• MIA-O has covered one of its last seven road games
• MIA-O has lost its last seven road games SU
• TEM has covered six of its last seven games
• TEM has won its last six games SU
• TEM has played four of its last six games OVER the total
• TEM has won six of its last seven home games SU
  

Temple is a program that can definitely claim to be on the upswing. The Owls, who have played better every year since former Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden became the head coach, are having their best year in a while, posting a six-game winning streak (their first in 35 years) that has the Owls in contention for the Mid-American Conference crown, along with six wins in the last seven tries in the NCAA football odds. This is a big improvement from the season opener, when they lost to FCS team Villanova. They've now started to defeat bowl-bound teams with the 27-24 win last week against Navy, holding the Midshipmen to 227 rushing yards.

We admit that Owls' quarterback Vaughn Charlton can't do very much. Charlton has completed just 51% of his passes, and with only 1200 yards he is among the least productive of the starting signal-callers in Division I ball. I'll tell you what Temple has on offense, though - sensational weaponry in the backfield with the gifted Bernard Pierce, who seems to be very much in the argument with Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis, Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams and Oregon's LaMichael James when it comes to discussing the best freshman running back in the country.

Pierce, who didn't come to Philadelphia with a lot of fanfare, has come on very strong in Temple's last couple of games, with 212 yards against Toledo and 267 against Navy, and is now averaging 6.3 yards a carry with eleven touchdowns. Now, you might argue that those were two teams who don't have especially tough defensive front lines. Well, neither does Miami, which has surrendered a steady 4.8 yards a carry and 181 rush yards a game, although despite that, they have covered four of the last five games in the NCAA football odds.

Miami has done a lot of things horribly wrong - they're 117th in rushing, 118th in scoring (13.8 ppg), 102nd in passing efficiency, 104th in sacks, 119th in sacks allowed (42), even 119th in punting and 120th in kickoff returns. The Redhawks will give the ball away too; they lead the nation with 27 giveaways. Unbelievably, Miami scored a win over Toledo last week, but that was a Rocket team that doesn't have a productive running game and saw Aaron Opelt re-injure his shoulder.

This is a Temple team that looks like it is ready to continue with the positive momentum, while Miami may have a little more confidence, but not the right kind of defensive makeup. Look for Pierce to have a big day, and lay the points with the Owls, the 17-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA football odds.

JAY'S PLAY: TEMPLE -17 ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)