Temple Football showed signs of life for the first time this season against Coastal Carolina on Sept. 14. The Owls held the Chanticleers to just 184 yards on the ground and were one drive away from taking the game into overtime.
Temple was unable to get the job done after quarterback Evan Simon threw his worst pass of the game on fourth down to seal the deal. Now, the Owls enter their final game of non-conference action against Utah State in the midst of their worst start since 2013.
“Looking at the film, there’s a lot of encouraging things,” said head coach Stan Drayton. “We dealt with adversity early in that ball game, and I thought our kids overcame that with some grit.”
Temple’s season could quickly slip away but a win against the Aggies would give them a chance to salvage it. After having their best game of the season against Coastal Carolina, the Owls have a chance to build off the performance on Saturday.
Here is everything you need to know before Temple kicks off against Utah State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
WHO IS UNDER CENTER?
The biggest storyline heading into the Owls’ showdown with the Aggies is who will be lined up under center for Temple. Forrest Brock was the team’s week one starter after a long position battle in the offseason. He struggled in the Owls’ first two games before getting injured in their 38-11 loss against Navy on Sept. 7.
Brock missed last week’s game against Coastal Carolina and Simon took his place. The offensive struggles were somewhat alleviated and the Owls found a groove for the first time all season. The rushing attack also chipped in and dashed for 129 yards — the most since they played North Texas on Oct. 14, 2023.
All eyes will be focused on who starts for the Owls in the next game. Temple averaged seven points with Brock, and nearly tripled it in one game with Simon. The status of QB1 is still up in the air after Drayton reopened the competition following last week’s game.
“We’re going to play the guy that’s ready to play, that has the best week of preparation between the two,” Drayton said. “But right now, Forrest is day to day.”
WAITING FOR THEIR TURN(OVER)
The Owls’ defense left much to be desired following the loss to Navy. Temple was gutted on the ground and folded the second adversity hit. However, the defense looked like a whole new unit against Coastal Carolina. While the scoreboard showed 28 points allowed, the defense truly only gave up 14 points, the rest coming from turnovers from the offense.
Coastal Carolina entered the game averaging more than 40 points per game and were the eighth best rushing offense in the country. The Owls held the Chanticleers to 184 rushing yards and less than 300 total yards.
Linebacker D.J. Woodbury has continued to lead the Temple defense. He racked up a single-game career high 15 total tackles and had a sack late in the fourth quarter on third down to give the Owls the ball back. While Temple’s defense looked improved, the Owls have lacked one crucial aspect — forcing turnovers.
Temple has yet to force a single turnover on defense and own the worst turnover margin in the country. The Owls’ defense has to force turnovers to support an offense that has been hampered by turnover issues of its own.
ON UTAH STATE
Utah State is coming off a tough loss to No.12 Utah, where the Aggies were in the game during the first half before faltering in the second half and ultimately losing 38-21. Similarly to Temple, Utah State has quarterback issues, with starter Spencer Petras missing last week and Bryson Barnes stepping in to fill his shoes.
The Aggies run an up-tempo offense regardless of who is under center. Despite their high-paced attack, the Utah State offense has been relatively unimpressive. They are putting up just 19 points per game, and the results from the quarterback haven’t been ideal.
Petras and Barnes have combined to throw for just five touchdowns and six interceptions. Rahsul Faison has led the Aggies rushing attack, putting up 251 yards on more than six yards per carry this season.
“[Barnes is] a guy that fits that system,” Drayton said. “ He can pull the ball down and run. He can kill you with the run, he can kill you with his feet.”
Defensively, Utah State has also struggled, granted they have played two of the best offenses in the country. Linebacker Clyde Washington has impressed as a transfer, racking up 20 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Safety Jordan Vincent leads the Aggies in tackles with 32.
SPOILER ALERT
Ryan Mack, Sports Editor – “I liked what I saw from Temple last week with Evan Simon in at quarterback. The only problem is there is a chance Simon isn’t the one starting on Saturday. I do trust that the defense will mimic what it was able to do last week and help give the other side of the ball a helping hand. The deciding factor will be if the running backs can get going like they did last week. If that happens, Temple walks away with its first win of the season.”
Temple wins 20-17.
Colin Schofield, Assistant Sports Editor – “It is tough to get a read on Utah State due to their tough opening schedule. The Aggies have been unimpressive on both sides of the ball and also have questions at quarterback. Temple showed major steps on offense behind Evan Simon and the defense looked much better. I think regardless of who starts at quarterback for Temple, the Owls finally pull out their first win of the season.”
Temple wins 24-17.
Sienna Conaghan, Assistant Sports Editor – “Temple looked like a much better team against Coastal Carolina than it did during the first two games. It looked like a much improved offense with Evan Simon as quarterback, I think it will be the same if he starts again this week. The defense also elevated its play so if the Owls continue that trajectory I think they will be able to get their first win of the season.”
Temple wins 24-20.
Jaison Nieves, Sports Social Media Manager – “Temple all around looked better against Coastal Carolina, with a couple of late game setbacks costing them the game. The Owls showed that they can compete with teams and have a dynamic offense under Evan Simon. Assuming Simon is under center, I think this is the week where things finally click for both sides of the ball and Temple finally plays a complete four quarters to earn its first win of the season.”
Temple wins 27-24.
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