Game Prediction, UCF at Temple

It’s time to discuss who wins when UCF travels to Temple for Saturday’s game.

Brian Smith | Oct 29, 2021

ORLANDO - Can the Temple defense turn things around after a bad loss to USF? Can the Knights capitalize on the momentum they generated against the Tigers last Friday and move forward with it against the Owls? Will a certain talented wide receiver be back in the lineup for UCF?

There are many categories to discuss coming into this Saturday’s game, but three of them likely hold the most importance.

Run the Football

The old adage that the team that runs the football the best will likely win may not hold the same advantage it once did because of spread passing attacks. Still, it certainly helps to be able to pound the rock. As noted in yesterday’s article about the running game, Temple’s rush defense is just bad.

Allowing 1,550 yards rushing so far this season, as well as 19 touchdowns on the ground, the Owls simply do not stop the run. After accumulating 1,440 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns so far in 2021, UCF holds a big advantage for running the football against Temple. That’s also a prime reason that UCF holds momentum and Temple does not.

Momentum

After being bludgeoned by hapless USF last Saturday, there could be carryover into the UCF game by Temple. Additionally, the Owls did not just lose by playing poorly to USF, it’s been a fairly bad team for most of the season. Temple scored three points against each of the two toughest opponents it faced, Boston College and Cincinnati, which gives one pause about believing Temple will defeat a UCF team that’s finally beginning to get healthy and coming off a 17 point margin of victory.

Ryan O'Keefe found a way to get into the endzone against Memphis despite the passing game struggling / UCF Athletics

Further, UCF’s offense found a way to generate 24 points despite throwing for just 80 yards last Friday. It’s almost a foregone conclusion that the Knights will improve those passing numbers against Temple, especially if No. 1 comes back into the lineup.

Adding a Playmaker

Few college football players possess the speed, athleticism, and natural hands of UCF wide receiver Jaylon Robinson. Even if he is only capable of playing a handful of snaps for each series that he’s in the game, he adds another weapon for quarterback Mikey Keene to throw passes, as well as opening up better opportunities for wide receiver Ryan O’Keefe and the rest of the skill position players. That’s not all Robinson will be capable of doing.

Just his presence at wide receiver will change defensive coverages and likely keep the Owls from stacking the box to stop the UCF rushing attack with Isaiah Bowser and Johnny Richardson. As a pass catcher, he does not need to do much either.

Even though Keene struggled as the starting quarterback, if he can hook up with Robinson for just one play like a short slant pass, it could end up being a long touchdown.

Those explosive moments are not nearly as likely to happen for Temple. Big advantage for the Knights.

Final Thoughts

There’s certainly a chance that Temple could circle the wagons and play good enough to beat UCF. College football can be crazy! The odds of that happening do seem slim, however, and the likelihood that UCF wins this game going away seems to be pretty high based on recent games and the (hopeful) return of Robinson to the lineup.

UCF 31 Temple 14

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