The Temple Owls host the Navy Midshipmen for a Week 7 College Football matchup. This pair of American Conference opponents are both trending in the right direction as programs and have exceeded expectations in the early part of this season. The two teams enter with a collective 8-2 record so far.
These two programs have faced off 19 times in their history, with Navy producing 10 wins and Temple coming out victorious on nine occasions. Navy produced a commanding 38-11 victory last year and has won four of the last five games between these two opponents.
Looking at the odds for this year’s matchup, Navy enters as 10-point favorites and holds -360 odds on winning on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. Temple holds +285 odds of pulling off the outright upset, with the game total set at 52.5 points for the matchup.
This article will give a preview of both teams and a pick for the Week 7 matchup.
Temple vs. Navy prediction, preview
Navy Midshipmen
The Midshipmen enter with a perfect 5-0 record, but are 2-3 against the spread to start this season. Their victories have come over VMI, UAB, Tulsa, Rice, and Air Force. Navy has a chance to be in play for earning the Group of Five bid in the College Football Playoff if this early level of play proves to be sustainable. They sit just outside the Top 25 and received four votes to crack this in the most recent AP Poll.
Blake Horvath headlines their unique run-oriented style of offense. Through the first five games, he has completed 71.9% of his pass attempts for 839 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions while adding a team-high 485 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Alex Tecza has added 379 rushing yards and four scores of his own, with Eli Heidenreich being the other notable playmaker on offense. Heidenreich has tallied 232 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns as well as 413 receiving yards and four scores through the air. No other pass catcher has more than 104 receiving yards.
Navy is averaging 37.4 points per game, which ranks 23rd in the country, and 490.4 total yards of offense. 317.4 of these yards per game are coming in the rushing attack. Defensively, the Midshipmen have held opponents to 19.6 points per game, which ranks 37th among D1 programs. They have been vulnerable against the pass, however, giving up 267.5 passing yards per game, which ranks 124th. The 31 points that Air Force scored last week are the most Navy have allowed this year.
Temple Owls preview
The outlook for Temple football has been bleak in recent years, but that changed when K.C. Keeler took control of the program this year. The Owls are off to a 3-2 start to the season with victories over Massachusetts, Howard, and UTSA. They have dropped their pair of ranked matchups against Oklahoma and Georgia Tech. Temple is 4-1 against the spread thus far.
Evan Simon headlines the quarterback production. He has completed 58.6% of his pass attempts for 804 yards with 12 touchdowns and has not registered an interception. Simon has also added 137 rushing yards. Tight end Peter Clarke is the team’s leading receiver with 229 yards through the air and three touchdowns. JoJo Bermudez adds three receiving touchdowns at the wide receiver position, along with 192 yards through the air. Jay Ducker is the team’s leading running back with 349 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Hunter Smith has 200 rushing yards and two scores of his own.
Temple is averaging 30.3 points per game, which ranks 59th among D1 teams, and is producing 353.6 total yards of offense. They have had a balanced attack with 181.8 passing yards and 171.8 rushing yards being produced per game. On the defensive side, the Owls are allowing 25.0 points per game and 342.0 total yards of offense. They held their first two opponents to 10 points or fewer but have allowed 40+ to Georgia Tech and Oklahoma, as well as 27 points to UTSA in their most recent matchup.
Temple vs. Navy pick, best bet
Navy looks to be the real deal, and this will be a significant test for Temple. I give the Owls more of a chance than what seems to be the consensus, and my lean would be them covering the +10 spread.
But rather than take a side, I am backing the over of 52.5 total points. Don’t let the Navy’s run-oriented style of play confuse you for a lack of offense. They are putting up 37.4 points per game and have not been held below 21 points yet this year. Temple has not been strong against the run, giving up 158.0 rushing yards per game and allowing 535 combined rushing yards to Oklahoma and Georgia Tech alone.
Temple’s offensive numbers are a bit inflated by some vulnerable opponents in the early weeks. But Evan Simon has shown some intriguing flashes with his arm this year, and Navy has been vulnerable against the pass. Oklahoma held to Owls to just three points, but Temple has scored 24+ in every other game. Expect Simons to have some flashes through the air and provide the pathway to Temple putting up points.
Five straight matchups between these two teams have gone over this total, and the total has gone over in four of Navy’s five games this year. Expect this battle to be between the Navy’s rushing offense and Temple’s passing game as these teams record over 53 points for the sixth straight matchup between the pair.
