Two AAC big dogs in the Memphis Tigers and the Temple Owls look to pick up the pieces this coming Saturday, when they meet each other at Lincoln Financial Field. The Tigers fell further behind Houston and Navy in the race to the top of the AAC West after taking a hard-to-swallow defeat to the Cougars. The Owls, meanwhile, got clipped for the second time this season and although they’re bound to exit the Top 25 rankings, they still need to get wins in order to secure the top spot in the AAC East.
Read on for more about this showdown. Meanwhile, you can click here for a breakdown of the matchup between Mississippi State and Arkansas.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Memphis Tigers vs. Temple Owls Preview
Where: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
When: Saturday, November 21, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Memphis Tigers vs. Temple Owls– view all NCAA Football lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Memphis Tigers (8-2, 4-1 AAC)
Memphis looked like it was on track to making a return in the win column on Saturday, but Houston had other things on mind, as the Cougars beat the Tigers in a pulsating matchup of undefeated AAC teams, 35-34. Memphis has now lost its last two games and will be looking to end the skid next Saturday against Temple. The Tigers are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Memphis had its offense humming for most of the game, but a couple of turnovers, and a lax defense spelled the Tigers’ collapse. Quarterback Paxton Lynch, who began the day as the AAC’s passing leader,
led Memphis’ aerial attack with 278 passing yards and two touchdowns with an interception, while running back Doroland Dorceus had 116 rushing yards on 26 carries.
Memphis is tops in the AAC in scoring offense (43.7 points per game) and second in total offense (541 total yards per game), but the Tigers would be hard pressed to meet those numbers against Temple’s rugged defense that allows just 357.4 total yards per contest.
Defensively, Memphis must be able to handle better Temple’s attack than that of Houston. After all, Temple’s offense doesn’t have the same bite as that of Houston, which ranks second in the conference with 44.4 PPG. Temple, on the other hand, averages just 34.0 on only 361.3 total yards per contest, ninth in the conference.
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Betting on the Temple Owls (8-2, AAC 5-1)
Like Memphis, the Owls also had a bad Saturday, as Temple was crushed by South Florida, 44-23. The loss was a big slap to the face of Temple’s vaunted defense that ranks first in the AAC in scoring defense and total defense.
South Florida quarterback Quinton Flowers had a field day picking apart Temple’s defense, as he passed for 230 yards and two touchdowns without an interception on 15 of 22 completions. Temple’s secondary remains one of the best in the AAC despite not getting a pick off Flowers, but the unit will have to do a much better job against Memphis. Tigers quarterback Paxton Lynch is no joke, so the worst thing Temple’s defense could do is show up just as loose as it did in the South Florida game. So far this season, Temple is second in the AAC against the pass with 225.2 passing yards allowed per game.
The Owls should also fix the holes on their run defense that allowed the Bulls go wild for 326 rushing yards.
On the other side of the ball, Temple’s Jahad Thomas is expected to be a headache for Memphis. Thomas, who had 65 rushing yards and a touchdown against South Florida, leads the conference with 1,035 yards on the ground to go along with 15 rushing scores.
Thomas, of course, needs P.J. Thomas and Temple’s passing attack to make plays to keep Memphis’ from focusing too much on him. Walker, who passed for 259 yards and a touchdown against the Bulls, is going to face a Memphis defense that is allowing 300.3 passing yards per game.
Temple is 3-1 ATS in its last four games as the home team.
Writer’s Prediction
Temple wins, 35-28.
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