Thursday night College football and we will see the Temple Owls travel to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. The game has a start time of 9:15 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on the SEC Network. Current Vegas odds have Vanderbilt listed as 13.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 50.
Analysis: From 2009 – 2011 the Temple Owls had resurrected their program, going 26-12 over that stretch, but the last 2 years they have taken a step back, going 6-17, including a miserable 2-10 last year. The offense last year was pretty average as they averaged 24.8 ppg, but when PJ Walker took over at the QB spot halfway through October, the Owls offense improved greatly as they averaged 33.3 ppg in their last 6 games of the year. This year he does lose his top two targets from last year, but Jalen Fitzpatrick and John Christopher have the talent to step up and do a great job, while the running game will be solid with their top 2 backs returning. OL could be an issue with all 5 starters gone. Temple has 8 starters back on defense and look to improve over last year unit that allowed 29.8 ppg and 474 ypg. The LB corps will be one of the best in the league, but they do have problems along the line, especially in getting to the quarterback, plus the secondary that allowed 299 ypg through the air last year will have to step up their play as well.
The Vanderbilt Commodores have now had back to back 9-4 season, winning their bowl game in each year, but they better treasure those memories as this year looks like a rebuilding year with just 10 starters back and the worst recruiting class in the SEC. Gone is Austin Carta-Samuels, who helped the Commodores average 30 ppg in each of the last two year. Taking his spot will be redshirt freshman Johnny McCrary, who has a big arm. But the WR corps is very thin with no one back who had more than 126 yards receiving last year. Jerron Seymour is solid at RB after rushing for 716 yards and 14 TDs last year, while the OL has 4 starters back but there is little depth in the unit. The defense was solid last year as they allowed 24.6 ppg, but they have just 4 starters back this year. The LB corps has a couple of playmakers on it, including Caleb Azubike and Kyle Woestmann, who combined for 10 sacks and 6.5 TFL last year, but really not much else to get excited about this defense.
Pick: Going with the Owls here. Experience is a huge factor early in the season and the Owls have it as the Commodores are ranked 124th in the nation in experience. Vandy will be breaking in a new QB, while The Owls have PJ Walker back after he ignited their offense in the 2nd half of last year, helping them average 33.3 ppg in their last 6 games. The Owls also have a pair of solid backs and a group of WR’s that will be much better this ear with PJ in their the whole time. The commodores not only lost their QB, but their top 2 WRs as well. On defense the Commodores bring back just 4 starters, while the Owls have 8 back on that side of the ball. Temple will be an improved team this year, especially on offense with PJ Walker being in there for the whole year. The Owls also have a big edge in experience and the commodores have gone through a coaching change. Look for the Owls offense to put up enough points to keep this one close. KEY TREND: Temple is 6-0-1 ATS their last 7 games in August.
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