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The one-loss Temple Owls will hit the road for a Thursday night matchup with East Carolina. The Pirates are 3-2 but enter this game as big home dogs.
Temple’s defense has been incredible. Aside from one game where they gave up 38 points to Buffalo, the Owls have allowed under 20 points in every game. Their most recent game was a 24-2 win over Georgia Tech. Their defense finished with three sacks and an interception while pitching a shutout. Georgia Tech got their two points on a safety.
East Carolina won their second in a row last time out after alternating between wins and losses in their first three. It was a hard-fought 24-21 win over Old Dominion. None of the offensive numbers jumped off the page for the Pirates. Holton Ahlers completed just eight passes and threw two interceptions. Their leading rusher finished with just 54 yards but a win is a win, especially on the road.
The Pirates will try and pull off a big upset at home when they welcome T emple to town.
Temple vs. East Carolina Preview
East Carolina is a big run-pass option team. They have a quarterback in Ahlers who can use his legs to make plays and makes god decisions. They will be tested this week against Temple.
The Owls faced an RPO offense in Maryland earlier in the season. Maryland was averaging the most points in the nation when they visited Temple and could only muster 17 points in that game. All offenses run their schemes differently but Temple’s success against Maryland can not be forgotten heading into this matchup. Temple head coach Rod Carey says his team is taking nothing for granted.
“It is two different offenses. I don’t know that any coach going into any game is full of confidence. I think we’re full of worry more so than we’re full of confidence,” Carey said. “You’ve got to keep your eyes when you’re facing offenses like this. Certainly we’ve done that so far. Now we’ve got to go do it again.”
This is a measuring stick game for East Carolina. This is the first time they will enter a game above .500 since 2016. Now, they will host a nationally televised game against an extremely tough defense.
“When you think of Temple football, and this is my first time facing them, when you think of them traditionally that’s what you think of,” East Carolina head coach Mike Houston said. “They’re very much a blue collar team. That’s very much what we want to be. So that’ll be a great matchup there.”
Temple vs. East Carolina Score & Prediction
There is an 11.5-point spread in this game favoring the road team. Temple is starting to get some respect around the country. This is a game that they should win but the home dog is always an attractive dog in the fight.
It will come down to if East Carolina can get the ball in the end zone. Temple will, can the Pirates? This will be a low scoring game which favors Temple. Again, the home dog will always have a flashing light reading “Take me!” next to it, but not this time. Temple covers.
PICK: Temple -11.5
UNDER: 47.5
SCORE PREDICTION: Temple 27, East Carolina 10