The Navy Midshipmen and the Temple Owls meet in week 7 college football action from Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Navy Midshipmen vs. Temple Owls prediction.
Navy Midshipmen Recap
The Navy Midshipmen come into this game looking to add on to their 34-31 win over Air Force last time out to improve to 5-0 on the year. After this game, Navy will have a bye before heading home for a game against FAU.
Midshipmen Looking To Stay Unbeaten
Blake Horvath has thrown for 839 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions on 71.9% passing while also rushing for a team-high 485 yards and 6 touchdowns. Alex Tecza has 379 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns and Eli Heidenreich has 232 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Three more Navy rushers have 100+ rushing yards as well this season. Heidenrich leads the Middies in receiving with 20 catches for 413 yards and 4 touchdowns while Luke Hutchison has 104 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. On defense, MarcAnthony Parker leads the Midshipmen with 40 total tackles and Landon Robinson has a team-high 5 sacks. As a unit, Navy’s defense has combined for 13 sacks and 3 interceptions so far this season.
Why the Navy Midshipmen will win
- Navy has won each of its last eight games.
- Temple has lost 12 of its last 13 October games as an underdog.
- Navy has covered the spread in each of its last five road games in October.
Temple Owls Recap
The Temple Owls come into this game looking to add on to their 27-21 win over UTSA last time out to sit at 3-2 this season. After this game, Temple will head on the road for a game against Charlotte.
Owls Snap Two-Game Skid
Evan Simon has thrown for 804 yards and 12 touchdowns on 58.6% passing while Jay Ducker leads the Owls in rushing with 349 yards and 2 touchdowns so far this season. Hunter Smith has 200 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns as well on the year. Peter Clarke leads Temple in receiving with 229 receiving yards along with 3 touchdowns while JoJo Bermudez has 192 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Two more Owls have 100+ receiving yards as well on the year. On defense, Avery Powell has a team-high 25 total tackles including 17 solo tackles while Cam’Ron Stewart has a team-high 4 sacks and Sekou Kromah has 3 sacks. As a unit, Temple’s defense has combined for 11 sacks and 5 interceptions so far this season.
Why the Temple Owls will win
- Temple has won three of its last four games as a home underdog against teams from Maryland.
- Temple has covered the spread in seven of its last eight home games against non-AP-ranked teams.
- Navy has failed to cover the spread in six of its last eight games at Lincoln Financial Field.
Total Points Facts
- Each of Navy’s last seven games as a favorite against teams from Pennsylvania have gone OVER the total points line.
- Each of the last five games between Navy and Temple have gone OVER the total points line.
Navy Midshipmen vs. Temple Owls Prediction
I’m on Navy here. I just think that Navy’s option is going to be too much for a below average Temple run defense to slow down here. Temple is a decent passing team, which can exploit the weakness of Navy’s defense, but I think the Owls won’t be able to go score for score with Navy here and I think the Middies pull away in the second half for the win and cover here. Give me Navy laying the points.