The time has almost come for the Halloween night showdown between #21 Temple and #9 Notre Dame. Temple coach Matt Rhule made his coaching debut against Notre Dame in South Bend and the Fighting Irish took that game 28-6 in the only ever meeting between the two programs. 22 players from that Temple team who lost at South Bend are still with the team and have a chance for redemption. Temple is coming off an impressive come from behind road win against East Carolina and Notre Dame took care of long-time rival USC. The biggest key for Temple is for their offense to get off to a fast start because Notre Dame has the capability to score at will.
Game Details
Location- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
Time- 8:00 PM(EST)
Opponent- Notre Dame(6-1)
Last meeting- 26-8 Notre Dame(2013)
Favorite- Notre Dame is a 10.5 favorite
Prediction
I based my prediction off the stats of both defenses because they are going to be one of the keys in this game for both teams. Notre Dame’s defense has allowed 370 yards per game and have allowed 22.6 points per game which will work into Temple’s favor. A lot of people underestimate Temple’s offense because it sometimes gets off to a slow start and aren’t highly ranked in some categories. However, Temple’s offense has shown they are able to abuse weak defenses and put up a lot of points. Lets not forget Temple’s offense revolves around getting the run game going to open the passing game. Lucky for the Owls, Notre Dame’s defense has allowed 175.9 rushing yards per game so expect Jahad Thomas to have a productive night. If Temple can get the ground game going, it will take some pressure off PJ Walker, who has been able to step up in the crucial moments this season. The defense of Temple will be facing their toughest test of the year with this high scoring Notre Dame offense, who averages 38 points per game. The one thing that worries me about this matchup is Notre Dame’s speed because Temple’s linebackers aren’t very fleet of foot and we’ve seen that weakness exploited a couple of times throughout the season. Tyler Matakevich will have a big game for Temple and he will need to make plays all over the field in order to stop the Fighting Irish’s offense. Temple needs to stifle Notre Dame early and need to make sure they win the turnover battle as well. I will leave you with this, Notre Dame hasn’t won on College Gameday since November 24th, 2012 and is 0-4 since. My prediction for the game is a 23-14 win for Temple.
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