Make New York Post a Preferred Source Army Black Knights wide receiver Zach Mundell. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Army will visit Temple in a rare Friday afternoon college football game.
The Black Knights (1-1) are 3.5-point favorites over the Owls (1-2) in this AAC clash.
The total is sitting at 48.5 points and is likely being buoyed by the fact that Temple just lost a 49-48 OT thriller against Toledo in Week 3.
Is another barnburner on tap at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Friday?
No matter the opponent, no matter the stakes, no matter the venue, the Black Knights are going to show up and try to run the ball down your throat with their triple-option attack.
Army has run the ball on 81 percent of its plays in 2026, which is easily the top mark in the country in that category, and it is the second-slowest offense in FBS, ahead of only UMass.
None of this is new. None of it is surprising. Army is always near the top of the list in those categories.
What is surprising is that Temple is not far behind in either metric.
K.C. Keeler’s Owls currently rank 117th in seconds per play (29.8) and 16th in rush rate (63.1 percent).
Temple Owls’ Ajani Sheppard. Getty Images While their pace hasn’t slowed too much from last year, they are keeping the ball on the ground a lot more compared to 2025, when they had nearly a 50/50 split between throws and runs.
Part of that is personnel-related, as Ajani Sheppard took over under center last game after Jaxon Smolik got hurt, but it seemed to work.
The Owls ran the ball for 261 yards against Toledo, and three different players registered at least 15 carries.
Granted, neither defense has set the world alight, but the clock will be moving for this entire game, and we could see a pace of two plays per minute no matter who has the ball.
If both these teams hold true to form, I have a tough time seeing how this game will get to 49 points.
The Play: Under 48.5 points (-110, bet365)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
