Who is favored in Temple Owls at South Florida Bulls?

South Florida Bulls are favored on the moneyline.

Temple Owls at South Florida Bulls

Oct 3, 2026·6:30 PM CT·Tampa, FL

By JR·2 min read

TEM(1-3)

USF(4-0)

6:30 PM

TLDR: Temple has spent September losing football games by a field goal or less against anybody not named Penn State. Saturday, October 3 in Tampa, the Owls get a South Florida team that has made a habit of winning those same games.

Week 5 · SAT OCT 3, 6:30 PM CT

Temple

(1-3)

LLLW

South Florida

(4-0)

WWWW

Kickoff80°10 mph

South Florida hosts Temple in an American Conference game at Raymond James Stadium, with the Bulls favored at home after a 3-0 start before their Bowling Green trip. Temple is 1-3, but its losses to Toledo and Army came by a combined 5 points, and the one team both clubs have played, Army, lost to USF by 4 and beat Temple by 4. An extra day of rest for the Owls and a wet early forecast are the variables to watch.

Temple Owls

Last 2 losses by 5 combined points
Extra day of rest after a Friday game
Offense put up 48 at Toledo
Gave up 49 to Toledo
Lost to Army, whom USF beat
0 FBS wins so far this season

South Florida Bulls

Beat Army 28-24, a team that beat Temple
2-0 at Raymond James this season
Won ugly, 19-9 over FIU
Short week after road trip to Bowling Green
Army win came by only 4

This is Year 2 of K.C. Keeler in Philadelphia, and the Owls have played their FBS schedule tight. They opened with a 38-14 handling of FCS Rhode Island, then lost 27-9 to Penn State, 49-48 in overtime at Toledo and 21-17 to Army in the American opener. That is 1-3 as of today, 0-1 in the league, with the last 2 losses decided by 5 combined points. The Army game was also Keeler's 400th as a college head coach, a milestone that came with a loss attached.

South Florida went the other way in September. The Bulls beat FIU 19-9 and Delaware State 59-17 at Raymond James, and in between they won 28-24 over Army. That Army result is the one line on both teams' schedules: USF won it by 4, Temple lost it by 4. USF was 3-0 heading into its September 26 trip to Bowling Green, chasing the program's first 4-0 start since 2018, and the board has the Bulls laying close to a touchdown at home.

The Toledo shootout says Temple's offense can keep up when a game gets loose, and it says just as clearly that the defense can be had. Giving up 49 to a MAC team is not a stat you want to carry into a road game against a club that just dropped 59 on somebody, even if that somebody was an FCS opponent. USF's 19-9 win over FIU leans the other way, though: this team can grind one out when the offense isn't flowing.

The schedule helps Temple a little. The Owls played Army on Friday, September 25, and USF played at Bowling Green on Saturday the 26th, so Temple gets an extra day to get ready. It also opens a stretch of 3 straight games out of Philadelphia before UConn and Charlotte come to the Linc. The early forecast for Tampa is 80 degrees with drizzle and a 61% chance of rain, which is worth checking again later in the week. A wet ball in a game both teams would like to turn into a track meet can change it.

It comes down to whether Temple's close losses mean the Owls are about to break through or that they just keep coming up short. They've been in every FBS game except the Penn State one, but they haven't won any of them. USF has the better record, home field and the better result against Army. For the Bulls, the job is simple: don't let Temple hang around in the 4th quarter, because the Owls have shown for 3 straight weeks they will.

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