EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Thursday, November 1^st, the (5-3) Temple Owls will be on the road to take on the (7-0) UCF Knights.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of UCF 36.5 – Temple 23.5 with an over/under of 60.0.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of UCF 48 – Temple 14.

Mark is predicting a final score of UCF 37 – Temple 28.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: UCF 276.0 YPG > Temple 239.1 YPG

Rushing offense: UCF 261.1 YPG > Temple 133.8 YPG

Scoring offense: UCF 44.4 PPG > Temple 30.5 PPG

Scoring defense: UCF 18.1 PPG > Temple 21.4 PPG

Passing defense: Temple 147.5 YPG > UCF 212.6 YPG

Rushing defense: UCF 182.9 YPG > Temple 183.0 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: UCF +2.2 > Temple -0.1

Summary:

Temple is (5-3) with wins over Maryland, Tulsa, East Carolina, Navy, and #20 Cincinnati. lone defeat was a 48-45 loss to #19 Texas.  They were defeated by Villanova, Buffalo, and Boston College.  Temple is coming off a 24-17 upset win over #20 Cincinnati in overtime.  The Owls rank 59^th in points per game (30.5) and 30^th in scoring defense (21.4 PPG).  Quarterback Anthony Russo has struggled completing 56% of his passes for 1,410 yards with 9 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.  Obviously, Russo needs to do a better job of protecting the football moving forward.  Running back Ryquell Armstrong has rushed for 626 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Beyond Armstrong, Temple has had virtually no success running the football.  The Owls’ defense ranks 4^th against the pass (147.5 YPG) and 92^nd against the run (183.0 YPG).

UCF is (7-0) with victories over UConn, South Carolina State, Florida Atlantic, Pittsburgh, SMU, Memphis, and East Carolina.  After escaping with a one-point win at Memphis, UCF blew out East Carolina 37-10 last week.  The Knights rank 5^th in points per game (44.4) and 15^th in scoring defense (18.1 PPG).  Quarterback McKenzie Milton has completed 59% of his passes for 1,797 yards with 16 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.  Milton is also a threat on the ground where he has also rushed for 204 yards and 6 touchdowns.  Adrian Killins Jr. leads the team in rushing (429 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Gabriel Davis in receiving (493 yards, 5 touchdowns).  The Knights’ defense ranks 47^th against the pass (212.6 YPG) and 91^st against the run (182.9 YPG).  UCF ranks 3^rd out of 130 teams in turnover margin (+2.2).

Bottom Line:

UCF holds the longest winning streak in college football currently standing at 20 games.  Temple’s pass rush is strong but McKenzie Milton is the best dual threat quarterback they have gone up against.  Milton didn’t play last week in the win over East Carolina and his status for Thursday is up in the air.  UCF is tremendous at forcing takeaways and Anthony Russo has had questionable decision making at times.  I expect Milton will make his long-awaited return and lead the Knights to another victory.

UCF wins 35-23

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