How to bet the Eagles, Penn State and Temple games this weekend

So, the Eagles won’t go undefeated this year. But they’re still a favorite to win the NFC East.

Penn State’s path to the College Football Playoff is gone, but the Nittany Lions are still ranked 11th in the nation. And Temple, under first-year coach Stan Drayton, is rebuilding.

It all makes up for another interesting weekend for Philadelphia’s football teams, and here’s how we’re betting all of them (odds courtesy of BetMGM and reflective of the time of writing).

The bets: Rutgers +19.5; Over 51 Temple/Cincinnati; Eagles -6.5

Parlay odds: +581 (bet $10, win $58.14)

Not to brag, but I finally hit a Philly Special parlay last week. Let’s see how we can follow that up...

Penn State is going to beat Rutgers Saturday, pretty easily. Let’s get that out of the way. The Nittany Lions are a lot better and have matchup advantages all over the field. Two things are working in Rutgers’ favor to not get blown out by 20 or more: cold weather and its decent defense. Smells like a 30-14 Penn State win.

Over at Lincoln Financial Field, the Owls host No. 22 Cincinnati and are 17-point underdogs. I’m going to stay away from the spread, though I’d lean in the direction of Cincy to cover. But I like both teams to get on the scoreboard enough to top 51 points. The Bearcats have had no problem putting up points against bad teams, and Temple’s offense seems to be finding its way.

As for the Eagles... this line started in the double-digits and dropped down below a touchdown and extra point after the Eagles lost to Washington. You should be licking your chops. The Eagles, banged up or not, have too much talent to not feel confident in them winning by 10 points. Sure, their run defense has been shaky, but they’ve reloaded on the defensive line and will be looking to rebound after suffering their first loss. I’d take the Eagles all the way up to -9.

— Jeff Neiburg

The bets: Under 44.5 Penn State/Rutgers; Cincinnati -17; Eagles -6.5

Parlay odds: +596 (bet $10, win $59.68)

If Penn State has proven anything this season, it has been its reliance on the running game and suffocating front seven of its defense. Both the Nittany Lions and Rutgers love to run the football, which means the game will be shortened on both sides. The Scarlet Knights hung tough against Michigan recently but their defense will suffer a long game with the fantastic duo of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton. This leads me to believe this will be a relatively quick game, with a final score of something like 27-10. Take the under in this one.

Temple hosts Cincinnati, a team that has reemerged as a threat in the AAC after falling to UCF a few weeks ago. While the Owls have played much better recently, especially on offense, I think the Bearcats will come out ready to handle business before setting up a massive showdown with Tulane next weekend. Take Cincinnati with the points at -17 or better. The Bearcats have been in this spot before and want to set up a potential rematch to UCF in the AAC conference championship.

While the Eagles line has moved considerably since opening at -9.5 late Sunday night, the Indianapolis Colts are not going to be as good as they were last Sunday. The Las Vegas Raiders are a bad football organization, and new head coach Jeff Saturday gave Indy a fresh voice in the locker room. Games like that are circumstantial, which is why I think the Eagles win by at least two touchdowns on Sunday. They are the better team, and will be much better defending the run with their latest additions along the defensive line. Expect a big game from A.J. Brown after being held in check Monday Night.

— Devin Jackson

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