2016-17 Football Previews – (AAC) – Owls
Looking for 2016 Temple Owls predictions? The Temple Owls flew under the radar a bit in the AAC. With teams like Houston and Navy to compete with, the Owls really didn’t get any recognition. Temple beat some very quality opponents last year and ended up giving Houston all they could handle in the conference title game.
NCAA Football Gambling Lines
2016-17 College Football Preview – Temple Owls
Head Coach: Matt Rhule
2015 Record:10-4
Temple Owls Odds to win 2017 FBS Championship: 1000/1
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For Today
***More 2016 NCAA Football Team Season Previews***
Now, getting over the hump and grabbing that conference title is the goal heading into 2016.
The Owls had one of the most successful seasons in their program’s history and will look to use that to get over that hump this season and capture an AAC title.
Just 1 conference loss, along with a near upset of Notre Dame highlighted their 2015 campaign.
Temple Owls Predictions: Team Strengths
Returning Stars
Temple’s defense got a lot of the credit last season, but they have plenty of offensive talent that propelled them last season.
PJ Walker and Jahad Thomas return with a vengeance this season.
Walker will be in his 4th season as starting QB for the Owls, as looks to build off the many records he has already broken. Walker had some struggles with his offensive line last season, but that line will be a lot stronger heading into this season.
[dfads params=’groups=220&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
RB Jahad Thomas was the highlight of a run first offense. Thomas was a first team all conference last year, but didn’t really take off until Ryquell Armstead went down with injury.
It’s unclear how both RBs will be used, but having that problem is a good one, as both are very talented.
Defensive Depth
The Owls did lose All American Tyler Matakevich this past offseason, but the good news for them is they have plenty of talent to work with behind him.
Temple has 3 different linebackers who have plenty of game experience and have all started at times, who can fill the void. Corner wise, the Owls look to Sean Chandler, who returns and is arguably this teams most talented player.
Temple Owls Predictions: Team Weaknesses
Too High of Expectations?
After going into their clash with Notre Dame 7-0, the Owls dropped 4 of 7 to close the season out. Did the pressure get to high on them with everyone watching?
After making it to the conference title game last season and giving Houston all they could handle, the Owls have extremely high goals heading into this season.
Check out the free College football picks from Cappers Picks experts today!
With the likes of PJ Walker and Jahad Thomas returning to the offense, anything short of a conference title might be considered a failure this season.
Temple gets an early test on the road at Penn State, a team that is rebuilding some, but is hungry to beat this Owls team that upset them last time the two met.
It will be certainly interesting to see how this team performs with the spotlight on them and a lot of people picking them to win the conference.
Temple Owls 2016 Prediction: 10-2
Temple’s schedule is very favorable.
They get Penn State this season that lost their QB to the draft last season and will get Memphis without Paxton Lynch.
[dfads params=’groups=219&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
Their most crucial games come both at home against Cincinnati and East Carolina, both toward the end of the season.
This Temple team has talent on both sides of the ball and with a very favorable schedule, they should be able to get back to the title game.
It’s likely they’ll get Houston again, with a chance at revenge on their minds throughout the entire season.
This will be a successful season for the Owls, but they’ll consider it a success only if they hoist the AAC trophy.
2016 Temple Owls Football Schedule
- Saturday, September 3 TBD ARMY TBD
- Saturday, September 10 TBD STONY BROOK TBD
- Saturday, September 17 TBD at Penn State TBD
- Saturday, September 24 TBD CHARLOTTE TBD
- Saturday, October 1 TBD SMU TBD
- Thursday, October 6 TBD at Memphis ESPN
- Saturday, October 15 TBD at UCF TBD
- Friday, October 21 TBD USF ESPN
- Saturday, October 29 TBD CINCINNATI TBD
- Friday, November 4 TBD at UConn ESPN2
- Saturday, November 12 ———- BYE ———-
- Saturday, November 19 TBD at Tulane TBD
- Saturday, November 26 TBD EAST CAROLINA TBD
- Saturday, December 3 TBD American Athletic Conference Championship TBD
What do you think about our 2016 Temple Owls predictions? Please leave us a comment below telling us how you think they’ll do in 2016!
The 2016 College futures betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on NCAA football, you are in the best possible place for online betting. CappersPicks.com has NCAAF odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find College football lines up for early games as well.
Check out our Updated College Football Betting Odds.