EagleBank Bowl Betting Odds
Opening Line: Bruins -6 / Owls +6 O/U 45
Time: 4:30 PM EST Tuesday December 29, 2009 on ESPN
The Temple Owls make only their 4th bowl appearance in the last 30 years when they take on the UCLA Bruins in the EagleBank Bowl. This season was only the Owls 4th winning season in the past 30 years and they will be taking on a Bruins team that plays in a tougher conference and is no stranger to playing in bowl games. The Bruins are a solid team, but not a high scoring one, as they only rank 103rd in points scored per game while Temple ranks 38th.
This season UCLA was 2-9-1 ATS and Temple was 8-3 ATS.
In their last game UCLA lost to USC 28-7 and Temple lost to Ohio 38-17.
UCLA was only .500 this season, but they ended the season well winning 3 of their last 4 games. They did lose to LA rival USC in their season finale and they were 0-3 against ranked teams this season, but Temple in football? Really? Temple was on a 9-game winning streak until they lost their last game of the season. The Owls played one team that was ranked in the top 25 and in that game they were smoked 31-6 by Penn State.
UCLA has the nation's 88th ranked offense, but their passing offense is legit. They are led by freshman QB Kevin Prince (1,829 yds 6 TD), who will have to play well in this game. He has to help score some points, as the Bruins were held to under 20 points 6 times this season. The UCLA rushing attack is led by Johnathan Franklin (560 yds 5 TD), but Prince may be the key in this game for the Bruins on offense. The Owls' defense, which ranks 37th, is great against the run, ranked 20th, but not great defending the pass (ranked 74th).
The Owls will have to run this ball to win this game. They have the nation's 23rd ranked rushing offense and their main man is Bernard Pierce (1,308 yds 15 TD). Prince has to carry the load on offense for the Owls, as their passing offense only ranks 113th in the nation. UCLA has the nation's 60th ranked rushing defense, so Pierce may have a big game. However, if the Bruins can contain him they will be looking good since the Owls really rely on the run.
The Bruins are 3-6 ATS in their last 9 games and the Owls are 8-3 ATS this season.
Our Selection : We don't think that the Bruins will be motivated playing in this lower level Bowl game. However, UCLA does hold a significant advantage on the defensive side of the ball. Temple's passing game was ranked 112th in the nation, so the Bruins should be able to stack the box against the run. The weather forecast calls for a chilly day with winds gusting up to 25 mph. Take the Under 44.5
Future Betting Odds
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Two top 25 teams face off in a rare Monday night tilt. Boise State Broncos take on the Virginia Tech Hokies in a a huge non-conference game for both teams in week one. The Broncos opened up as a 2.5 favorite but the public money have them as a 2 point dog against the spread at 5Dimes with the betting total line at 51.