Temple vs Oklahoma Prediction, Odds & Picks – 8/30/2024

The Temple Owls will take on the Oklahoma Sooners on August 30, 2024 at 7:00 pm ET. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Sooners are massive 43-point favorites over a Temple team that struggled a season ago. The total for the game, meanwhile, is set at 59. While this is expected to be a one-sided college football matchup, upsets are always possible and Temple will look to spring one on the Sooners in Norman under the lights on Friday night.

Temple Searching For Its Identity In Season Opener

Last season was a nightmare for the Temple Owls, as they went 3-9 and got nowhere close to bowl eligibility. The Owls gave up 40 or more points in half of their games a season ago and they will look to fix things on defense starting with a tough team to defend in the Oklahoma Sooners. Needless to say, it is hard to feel optimistic about their chances of doing so.

Temple is likely to struggle on defense in this game, but their offense will be something to monitor going into this contest. There is a quarterback competition going on for this team and we could see as many as three quarterbacks on the field for the Owls in this season-opening clash. While it will be tough for any of those quarterbacks to find their footing against a ranked opponent on the road, how those players perform in this environment could impact who plays later in the year.

Oklahoma Opens Its First SEC Season

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to the SEC after last season, ditching the Big 12 in pursuit of the almighty dollar. They are heavy favorites in their first game as an SEC team, as they take on a Temple team that could be woefully underprepared to handle what the Sooners have to throw at them. This game is not only the debut of the Sooners in the SEC, but is also the debut of Jackson Arnold as the team's full-time starting quarterback.

Arnold started one game last season, throwing for 361 yards in the team's loss to Arizona in the Valero Alamo Bowl. But he did also throw three interceptions in that game, a figure he needs to cut back on this season if Oklahoma is going to have a realistic shot of climbing the rankings and threatening for a College Football Playoff berth.

Temple vs Oklahoma Best Bet

Our top pick for Friday's Temple vs Oklahoma matchup is for the game to go over its total of 59 points. Temple is expected to be one of the worst teams in all of FBS football this year. And with Oklahoma looking to get its offense humming before the games get tougher, we don't expect them to take their foot off the gas in this contest. We could see Oklahoma get close to this total by themselves and we will happily grab the over in this non-conference matchup.

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