Oklahoma vs. Temple score prediction by expert college football model

What the analytics predict for Oklahoma vs. Temple in this Week 1 college football game.

Oklahoma vs. Temple football game prediction by the expert model that picks winners. / Bryan Terry-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into their debut season as members of the SEC, the Oklahoma Sooners start things off at home in the regular season kickoff against the Temple Owls in college football's Week 1 action on Friday.

Oklahoma returns plenty of experience on a defensive unit that took an important step forward last season following Brent Venables' poor debut the year before, including linebacker Danny Stutsman.

But the Sooners have some work to do replacing all five starters on their offensive line, especially as it embarks on a season protecting young quarterback Jackson Arnold as he finds his way with a group of potentially game-breaking skill players all over this unit.

What can we make of the matchup? For that, let's turn to the SP+ prediction model to get a preview of how Oklahoma and Temple stack up against each other in this Week 1 game.

Oklahoma vs. Temple prediction

The simulations predictably favor a strong debut performance from the Sooners in this game.

SP+ predicts that Oklahoma will defeat Temple by a projected score of 50 to 6 and to win the game by an expected 44.2 point margin.

The model gives the Sooners a perfect 100 percent chance of outright victory.

SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that attempts to predict game outcomes by measuring “the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

Oklahoma vs. Temple game odds

Oklahoma is a 42.5 point favorite against Temple, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook, which set the total at 57.5 points for the game.

If you're using this projection to bet on the game, you should take...

• Oklahoma -42.5
• Bet under 57.5 points

Computer prediction

Other analytic tools also expect Oklahoma to pull out the easy win here.

That includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times and pick winners.

The index forecasts that Oklahoma will win the game outright in 98.7 percent of its simulations, while Temple came out the projected winner in the remaining 1.3 percent of sims.

The model projects that Oklahoma is 34.9 points better than Temple on any field in each team's current composition, not enough to cover this big line.

Oklahoma is projected to win 8.1 games this season by the computer's calculations, placing sixth in the race to win the SEC championship at 4.9 percent.

But the index gives the Sooners a 35.9 percent shot to make the College Football Playoff, making them one of the 12 most likely playoff teams in the country right now.

Temple is expected to win 2.7 games this season by the model's estimates, placing it last among AAC teams and 132nd nationally with a mere 6.1 percent chance to become bowl eligible.

Oklahoma vs. Temple game time, schedule

When: Fri., Aug. 30
Time: 6 p.m. Central
TV: ESPN network

Related: Oklahoma vs. Temple game prediction

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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