Temple Owls vs. Central Florida Knights: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 10/14/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: FBC Mortgage Stadium, Orlando, FL

Where to watch: ESPN

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Temple: 2-3 (0-1 AAC)

UCF: 4-1 (1-0 AAC)

We're about to hit the fun part of college football season where games start getting a little tighter, performances start to become a little more noteworthy, and times at the books are fun for all. You don't believe me? Look at our own Kyle Hunter posting a 25-7-0 run over the last month in college football. That's even with all of the upsets and everything in between. Week 7 is upon us and we're near the point where college football is every day. You want to get back into the swing of things with this? Make sure to follow our Best Bets page and see what our champion handicappers are up to at bigal.com. Who knows? With a little bit of faith in us, you can be like Kyle, or even have as good a run as Sean Murphy at 32-16-1 over the last 30 days. The choices are yours!

Temple: lost 24-3 at Memphis

UCF: won 41-19 vs. SMU

This game has the utmost potential to get very ugly, very quickly. It’s an American Conference matchup that should be, at the very least, a 3-touchdown blowout when the Central Florida Knights look to extend their winning streak to four games when they host the 2-3 Temple Owls who are begging for any form of consistency to come their way.

When I look at a team like Temple, I see a group that is still trying to find its way. They’ve been able to hang close in some games and beat the teams it should beat. But when it comes to playing the higher-ranked teams, the Owls continue to struggle. Case in point, they can put up a 28-0 win at home over lowly UMass, but hit the road the following week with a 24-3 loss at Memphis and it’s like the program goes back to Square 1.

This is a Temple group that has given up just 16.8 points per game but is only finding ways to score 15 a week. That’s not going to get it done. Maybe a bye week may have done Temple some good. Quarterback E.J. Warner completed 18 of 37 for 245 yards but threw three interceptions. The Owls’ running attack also had just 52 yards on 22 carries combined. But here’s the thing with Temple: They had a 3-0 lead at halftime. Against Memphis. In Memphis. They just couldn’t sustain it.

The Owls’ defense actually played very well, forcing Memphis quarterback Seth Henigan to complete just 24 of 45 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. They just ran out of gas at the wrong time and failed to capitalize on a rough night that could’ve been a program-defining win for Temple. Alas, it must wait another week. It just won’t happen against this UCF club that has been red-hot as of late.

Something about that 20-14 loss to Louisville on Sept. 9 lit something under the collective fire of UCF. The Knights have put up at least 40 points in two of the last three weeks and have held their last three opponents to under 20 points, including – a mild surprise – beating SMU 41-19 the way they did on Oct. 5.

UCF trailed 13-10 but scored 31 unanswered points for what’s likely its most impressive win to this point. After a rough game against Georgia Tech two weeks ago, John Rhys Plumlee responded in a big way by throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns on 20 of 29 passing. Javon Baker caught six of those passes for 138 of those yards. More importantly, UCF did not turn the ball over once and held the time of possession battle by seven more minutes. Even when trailing, the Knights didn’t falter.

There’s still a lot of football to be played, but if you’re not paying attention to what’s going on in the AAC, you’re missing out. Cincinnati has regained its dominance, is back in the top 25, and is the likely favorite to win the conference again. But right behind them is the shocking Tulane Green Wave, and UCF is also right there. If you imagined those three for a three-team race, I’m sure you could’ve picked some lottery numbers.

It’s going to be a long day for Temple. If the Owls crack 14 points, it might be considered a moral victory. This UCF defense is playing lights out and should continue to feast on the competition with conference play revving up. UCF by 27

Temple has covered ATS in three of its last four.

The under has hit Temple in four of its last five.

UCF has alternated ATS wins and losses in its last five.

UCF has seen the under hit in six of its last seven.

Passing: E.J. Warner -- 806 yards, 5 TD, 6 INT

Rushing: Darvon Hubbard -- 125 yards, 1 TD

Receiving: Jose Barbon -- 317 yards

Passing: John Rhys Plumlee-- 1,143 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT

Rushing: John Rhys Plumlee -- 431 yards, 4 TD

Receiving: Javon Baker -- 395 yards, 2 TD