Here is everything you need to know, from current college football betting odds to DFS picks and fantasy football players to play included in our Temple vs. UCF prediction.
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Temple vs. UCF Betting Preview
- Spread
UCF (-23.5) - Moneyline
UCF (-2400); Team (+1200) - Over/Under
46.5 points - Game time
7 p.m. ET - Location
“The Bounce House” FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL - Predicted weather at kickoff
79 degrees, cloudy, 6-7 mph winds
Thursday night American Athletic Conference action dots the two-game slate of college football action. UCF’s high-octane offense against Temple’s stout defense brings with it a ton of intriguing matchups. Before the prediction, however, we get to the fantasy plays for this Temple vs. UCF game.
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
- QB John Rhys Plumlee, UCF ($12,500)
- QB E.J. Warner, Temple ($6,400)
- QB D’Wan Mathis, Temple ($5,500)
- RB Isaiah Bowser, UCF ($9,500)
- RB Darvon Hubbard, Temple ($5,800)
- RB RJ Harvey, UCF ($5,700)
- RB Edward Saydee, Temple ($5,500)
- RB Johnny Richardson, UCF ($5,400)
- WR Javon Baker, UCF ($8,500)
- WR Ryan O’Keefe, UCF ($7,800)
- WR Adonicas Sanders, Temple ($6,200)
- WR Jose Barbon, Temple ($5,700)
- WR Kobe Hudson, UCF ($5,500)
- WR Ian Stewart, Temple ($5,200)
- WR Xavier Townsend, UCF ($4,700)
- TE Jordan Smith, Temple ($5,200)
- TE Kemore Gamble, UCF ($5,100)
- TE David Martin-Robinson, Temple ($4,700)
The DFS plays are easy for this game. Don’t play a single player on the Temple offense. A bottom-five unit and one of the handful of offenses who haven’t scored double-digit touchdowns yet, not one of their players have redeeming qualities in terms of a daily fantasy lineup that offers selections from the likes of UCF, Baylor, and West Virginia on Thursday night.
As far as UCF goes, the backfield trio of John Rhys Plumlee, Isaiah Bowser, and Johnny Richardson are always good bets, especially at their current values. Temple’s best feature on offense has been their edge presence this season, but Plumlee has shown that doesn’t matter as he can make throws from any off-platform position. Or he’ll just simply scramble away as he breaks contain.
On the receiving end of Plumlee’s throws, a good bet to continue to lead the Knights in targets is Javon Baker. Ryan O’Keefe is another sound option, but Baker has the higher ceiling of the duo. They’ve both hauled in just two touchdown receptions this season, yet Baker is averaging nearly a full five yards more than O’Keefe on a per-catch basis.
Fill your lineup with Knights in this game, despite the success of Temple’s defense so far this season.
Prediction for Temple vs. UCF
The name of the game for Temple is defense. Even with a 2-3 record, they’re still just seven points away from an even split in terms of points scored and points allowed. No game has really been out of reach for the Owls in 2022, mainly because of their defense.
They sit at 2-3, however, because of their offense. An inept unit by all accounts, the Owls rank 125th nationally in total offense. They are one of just six teams that haven’t scored at least 10 touchdowns this year. And their lone FBS victory came against one of the four teams who have scored fewer touchdowns than they have (UMass).
Facing off against one of the country’s worst offenses is one of the nation’s top movers of the football. UCF ranks 18th in the country in total offense, averaging 482.8 yards per game. The Knights average a whopping 6.21 yards per play, and they go fast — averaging anywhere between 15 seconds to 18 seconds per play.
MORE: College Football Picks and Predictions for Week 7
That’s a lot of speed for this Temple defense to contend with for four quarters. Kobe Wilson and Jordan Magee have proven they can go sideline to sideline at the linebacker spot for the Owls. They can do such a thing because Layton Jordan, Darian Varner, and Tra Thomas have done a great job of getting penetration and setting the edge on the defensive front.
Against UCF, though, that may not matter as Plumlee’s favorite play is the designed QB keeper that incites edge rushers to get upfield quickly so he can run right up the gut. The key for Temple to stop the UCF attack is containing Plumlee, but they seemingly don’t have the power on the interior to penetrate or come downhill in run defense.
Plumlee should have a fabulous day because of this. Isaiah Bowser should have himself a day as well. And ultimately, so should Johnny Richardson as each of the major players in the backfield are a threat to score on the ground against Temple.
Don’t fret if the first half doesn’t go your way. UCF can score, and they can score quickly. Grab the Knights at anything less than (-24) and stay tuned for all four quarters.
Prediction: UCF 35, Temple 10