Rutgers favored by double digits for season opener vs. Temple

Rutgers begins their season in seven weeks against Temple. The Owls will visit SHI Stadium for the first game in which fans will be allowed to attend in Greg Schiano’s second tenure in Piscataway.

Heading into the 2021 season, there are some expectations of improving for the Scarlet Knights and they have a chance to get off to a good start. For those who miss football in its entirety, spreads and totals have come out for Week 1.

Rutgers and Temple will do battle on Thursday, Sept. 2 to begin their 2021 seasons. The Scarlet Knights opened as an 11.5-point favorite, according to BetOnline. That line has already moved up to 13.5-points and it could continue to grow as the game approaches. The total has not yet been set.

In 2020, Rutgers finished 3-6 overall and 5-4 against-the-spread. They were able to find success on the road going a perfect 4-0 ATS away from home, winning three of those games outright. With fans back in the stands, Rutgers will look to find more success on their home field after going winless last season without them.

All signs are pointing to this being another tough season for Temple. Rod Carey will have to find a way to make this team competitive with a new quarterback under center. Anthony Russo is now with Michigan State and Trad Beatty moved to Georgia Tech. The Owls have lost many players in the transfer portal, including three to Rutgers in Ifeanyi Maijeh, David Nwaogwugwu, and Christian Braswell.

Temple will begin a three-game non-conference stretch for Rutgers at the start of the season. We reviewed them here. These are important games before the Scarlet Knights enter the Big Ten gauntlet. As for the season opener, RU is expected to win it in a big way according to Vegas.