Cincinnati-Temple OVER 53.5
After being held to an average of just 18 points in its previous four games, Cincinnati started former top recruit Gunner Kiel at quarterback last week against East Carolina. Many Bearcat loyalists had openly questioned why head coach Tommy Tuberville had not called on Kiel earlier, causing the faithful to scratch their collective heads.
Tuberville actually made the switch after team leaders approached him asking to give Kiel a chance to be the starter. Kiel responded favorably to the starting nod, completing 23-of-40 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-19 victory over the Pirates. The 31 points scored by Cincinnati was not earth shattering, but did represent the Bearcats’ second highest output of the 2016 season.
After leaning on a rock solid defense the past two seasons, Temple has actually relied more heavily on its offense this year. Guided by quarterback Phillip Walker, the Owls have averaged 38.4 points over their past five games, while allowing a norm of 25.8 points over the same time frame.The total in this AAC matchup closed at 57 two years ago and 55 last year, so there is some value in this year’s slightly lower number.
Take Saturday’s Cincinnati-Temple game in Philadelphia to go over the total of 53.5.
Paul Stone has over two decades of experience as a bettor and handicapper. He is a winner of multiple Las Vegas handicapping contests and his work has appeared in various media outlets including the Las Vegas-Review Journal and ESPN Insider.
Follow Paul on Twitter@paulstonesports or e-mail him at Paulstonesports@gmail.com.
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