Temple vs SMU NCAAF Spread and Game Preview

The #23 ranked Temple Owls (7-1) are heading to Dallas this week for a Friday night matchup against the Southern Methodist University (1-7) Mustangs. The Mustangs are coming off a tough loss to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, having fallen 40-31, while the Owls are coming off a close game against #8 Notre Dame, in which Temple led late but ended up falling, 24-20. It’s only been two years since the Mustangs hung 59 points on Temple in a win, but these Owls are good on both sides of the ball. While SMU can score with anyone – they put up 37 points against #8 TCU on the road – their defense has been awful this year as the time looks to rebuild under new head coach Chad Morris.

#TUFB coming in at No. 22 in the first College Football Playoff ranking of the year. pic.twitter.com/NN02vqUeju

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) November 4, 2015

On the Temple side of the ball, the team will be without center Kyle Friend. Friend was spied limping around wearing a knee brace during practice, and Owls head coach Matt Rhule said that Friend will be out of action “for a while.” As Rhule told CSNPhilly.com, “That’s a significant injury for us. Brendan McGowan got in the game (Saturday) and played well. He’s got 13 starts in his career. We’re very confident in McGowan going in. Friend was injured on a 3^rd-and-2 play in the Owls’ first offense series against Notre Dame, coming up lame after tailback Jahad Thomas was stopped for no game. However, he finished the game. This will end Friend’s streak of 41 consecutive starts, the longest in the school, and 43 consecutive games played, will come to an end on Friday. Quarterback P.J. Walker termed Friend’s absence a major loss for the Owls, but he is confident that McGowan can do the job as a fill-in. McGowan is 6’4” and 300 pounds, and is a redshirt junior. Friend came in with the coaches on Monday night to draw up all of the protection schemes for Rhule, taking a little of the work off him.

Betting Trends

• Temple is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
• Temple is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Temple’s last 10 games
• Temple is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
• Southern Methodist is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
• Southern Methodist is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
• The total has gone OVER in 13 of Southern Methodist’s last 19 games
• Southern Methodist is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games at home

Other Owls who might not play include Jahad Thomas, who hurt his ribs in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame. After the loss to the Irish, Thomas said that he was not quite 100 percent, but that many people aren’t at this point in the season. He told CSNPhilly.com on Tuesday that he felt “a little better, but still banged up.” He’s still trying to get game-ready.  

Other questionable players for the Owls include wide receiver Ventell Bryant, offensive lineman Dion Dawkins, defensive end Nate D. Smith and cornerback Tavon Young. Freshman tight end Kip Patton, who has caught 10 balls this year for 16y0 yards, will not make the trip because of disciplinary and academic reasons. Given the poor record that SMU has posted so far this season, this is a good week for the Owls to take advantage of their depth and let some of these players heal up for the tougher conference games that Temple will face down the stretch.