Penn State @ Temple NCAA Football Betting Report

Posted by Alex Murphy on Saturday,September 5, 2015 6:10, EDT in

If you don’t know now, then you should know. Saturday’s Week 1 matchup between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Temple Owls is a virtual lock alert that college football odds fans everywhere should easily cash in on. Here’s why.

How To Bet The Nittany Lions @ Owls NCAA Football Odds & Game Info

When: Saturday, September 5, 3:30 PM ET
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAAF Odds: Penn State -6.5
Over/Under: 40.5

Why Bet on the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State won seven games (7-6 SU) in 2014 in head coach James Franklin’s first season a year ago, but I believe the Nittany Lions could be poised for a nine-win season at the very least in 2015, based mostly on the fact that the young Lions will have a full year of experience in Franklin’s system, not to mention the fact that Penn State has an elite quarterback in Christian Hackenberg.

Hackenberg will enter this affair with one thing on his mind…getting back to playing like the sure-fire NFL prospect he looked like in 2013. Of course, the Nittany Lions will have to do a better job of protecting their talented signal-caller, seeing as how Hackenberg was sacked a whopping 44 times last season. If Penn State halfway protects Hackenberg this season, he could very well contend for the Heisman Trophy.

Why Bet on the Temple Owls

The Temple Owls are (6-6 SU, 6-6 ATS, 4-8 O/U) had a respectable 2014 season as they recorded six victories under head coach Matt Rhule in the second year of his tenure after winning just two games in his debut campaign. The Owls also have a whopping 19 starters returning, giving them hope they can improve on their modest record of a year ago. Heading into this season, the Owls have been picked to finish third in the AAC’s East Division in the league’s preseason poll. Nevertheless, they have a tough task ahead of them in trying to take down a Penn State team they haven’t beaten since I rode the bus to school with Albert Einstein about five decades ago.

An excited Rhule told KYW Newsradio in Philadelphia, “Well it has been a great camp. I’m really proud of our kids. I think they’ve come in here with a really great work ethic. They’ve had a really strong purpose for what they’re doing. We look like a good football team. They’ve put a lot of work in and I’m excited to just finish camp out and get ready for the first game.”

If you didn’t know it, the Owls were one of the stingiest teams in the nation last season, limiting their opponents to just 17.5 points per game to rank fourth in the nation in points allowed .“I’m really pleased with our defense, so far,” Rhule said. “Especially our front seven. Coming off last year, we were fourth in the nation in scoring defense, so I look to our defense. Our defensive front led by (defensive lineman) Matt Ioannidis, (linebacker) Tyler Matakevich, we’ve got a lot of veteran guys up front.

What the Owls will need is a better season than the one they got from junior quarterback P.J. Walker after watching him regress from his freshman season to 13 touchdowns and 15 interceptions as a sophomore last year.

My Expert Game Analysis, Pick & Prediction

Temple has not beaten Penn State since Oct. 18, 1941 and they won’t beat the Lions in this affair as Hackenberg outshines Temple signal-caller P.J. Walker in a matchup that isn’t even fairing my mind. The Nittany Lions man-handled the Owls 30-13 last season to cash in as an 11-point home favorite and move to 2-0 ATS over the last to meetings and 5-3 ATS over the last eight.

Penn State has posted a perfect 6-0 ATS mark in their last half-dozen non-conference games and a robust 8-3 ATS mark in their last 11 games in September. The Temple Owls on the other hand, are just 4-10 ATS in their last 14games against Big Ten ballclubs and a pitiful 2-6 ATS in their last eight games in the month of September. Keep it simple people…Penn State wins and cashes in.

The Pick: Penn State -6 Points