Boca Raton Bowl 2015: Toledo vs. Temple TV Schedule, Time and Odds
Rising programs led by strong rushing attacks collide Tuesday when the Toledo Rockets encounter the No. 24 Temple Owls in the Boca Raton Bowl.
Temple, led by coach Matt Rhule, stands as one of the nation's better turnaround stories. He's taken the program from a two-win season to a .500 showing to this year's 10-win outburst and national ranking.
Toledo sports nine wins, and while it came up short in the MAC this year, there's a new buzz around coach Jason Candle and a dominant rushing attack on the hunt to play spoiler and seize some national limelight.
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Below, let's take a look at everything to know about the encounter.
Game Details
When: Tuesday, December 22, at 7 p.m. ET
Where: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Florida
Television: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Over/Under: 49.5
Spread: Temple (-2.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Jaylen Coleman | LB | Out for season |
| Jalen Reese | QB | Out for season |
| Adam Kulon | TE | Out for season |
| Jullian Taylor | DL | Out indefinitely |
| Josiah Bronson | DL | Out for season |
Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.
Grounded by Scenario
The Rockets went 2-2 over their final four games, but this is still the same team that started the season on a seven-game tear, including a 16-12 road upset of then-No. 18 Arkansas.
Quarterback Phillip Ely does well enough through the air, as noted by his 2,680 yards and 21 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Tuesday, though, Temple figures to put clamps on his production thanks to a defense that has 33 sacks to its name and allows just 215.5 passing yards on average.
Toledo, of course, is one of those teams that doesn't mind getting a tad one-dimensional. The gaudy list of effective rushers this year says as much:
| Kareem Hunt | 163 | 894 | 5.5 | 10 |
| Terry Swanson | 132 | 870 | 6.6 | 7 |
| Damion Jones-Moore | 80 | 404 | 5.1 | 5 |
| Marc Remy | 29 | 171 | 5.9 | 0 |
| Michael Julian | 6 | 64 | 10.7 | 0 |
For those in the know, Kareem Hunt's numbers stand as a bit eyebrow-raising considering he's missed four games this year due to various reasons.
Hunt's come on at the right time. Temple might tout a strong pass defense, but in the inaugural AAC title game against then-No. 19 Houston, the Owls dropped a 24-13 decision while coughing up 233 yards and a trio of scores on the ground on a 5.8 per-carry average.
Toledo certainly has eyes on that result as inspiration. Should the Rockets execute, Tuesday could offer one of bowl season's more surprising outcomes.
Grounded by Choice
Temple knows a thing or two about running the ball, too.
Star running back Jahad Thomas is the reason the Owls don't mind ignoring the passing game, though it's important to point out the Rockets only allowed 15 passing scores this year.
Still, the main reason goes to Thomas, who has 1,257 rushing yards and an eye-popping 17 scores this year. What's scary, though, is it sounds like the junior thinks the numbers could have been much higher had his 5'10", 180-pound frame held up better.
"I was pretty banged up a lot of the season," Thomas said, according to ESPN.com. "If I felt bruises or pain here and there I knew I couldn't let my team down."
With more time off than usual, Thomas, in theory, should be fresh for a game against what looks like an exploitable defense. In those aforementioned two Rockets losses, the defense gave up 124 rushing yards and a score to Northern Illinois and 148 yards and two scores to Western Michigan.
Thomas might be the most talented player the Rockets have encountered as of late, so look for the Owls to ride him Tuesday.
Prediction
The nudge in this one goes to Temple.
Las Vegas seems to agree, as these Owls have a proven track record and also sport wins over ranked teams such as a 31-12 shellacking of then-No. 21 Memphis in November. A close 24-20 loss to then-No. 9 Notre Dame doesn't hurt, either.
The difference here is the Toledo defense, especially with a sloppy finish to the season down the stretch. Thomas will be able to take the game over and keep the Rockets off the field, putting Toledo in the undesirable position of playing from behind.
Expect Thomas to ride this one out as the Temple program makes a bit of history for itself by finishing among the ranked.
Prediction: Owls 27, Rockets 20
Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.
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