If one wanted a glimpse of how Temple head coach Stan Drayton thought his team fared against conference foe Army on Thursday, his press conference after the game instantly gave it away. Drayton walked to the podium in a huff and threw his notebook down before answering questions from reporters in front of him.
There was plenty for Drayton to be upset about. The Owls (1-4, 0-2 American Athletic Conference) were throttled by the Black Knights (4-0, 3-0 AAC) and were unable to stop their potent rushing attack. Army made Lincoln Financial Field its personal playground, rushing for 417 yards — the most Temple since Oct. 23, 2021 when they gave up 421 against USF.
The Owls went into the game trying to build on the momentum they gained during the last two weeks. Temple scored 65 points in its last two games and a repeat performance was possible against Army.
Instead, they took a step back and looked like the Owls of old. The sixth-best scoring defense in the nation had its way against quarterback Evan Simon, sacking the Rutgers transfer seven times. Temple was unable to consistently move the ball downfield and it reflected on the scoreboard — a 42-14 loss.
“We did everything out there that warrants losing the ballgame,” Drayton said. “Just didn’t protect the quarterback very well today, got to figure that out. A lot of miscommunication going on out there.”
The Owls, who looked like they had a chance to turn their season around, now sit at 1-4 on the year. The season is far from over, but they are still searching for their first conference win of the year and their chances at their first bowl game since 2019 are seemingly hanging by a thread.
Simon and company showed flashes that Temple could hang with Army, but mental errors soured most chances the offense had to create a groove. Temple nearly scored on its first drive of the game when Simon found wide receiver Antonio Jones for what appeared to be a 49-yard touchdown haul. However, it was negated when left tackle Diego Barajas was called for a holding penalty.
The Owls had to settle for a punt and finished the first quarter with zero points. Temple’s trend of being unable to finish drives continued for the rest of the first half. Punter Dante Atton had his number called each Temple drive during the first 30 minutes.
Simon was able to show his connection with the AAC’s leading receiver Dante Wright for the third week in a row. Wright secured his fourth consecutive game with 90 yards or more with 98 against the Black Knights.
“I think we showed a couple plays that we can get behind them,” Wright said. “They were going to be in that zone look pretty much all day. We did show a couple times that we could go by their defenders.”
Simon finished the game with 224 passing yards and looked composed under a swarming Black Knights defense. He tossed two touchdown passes but didn’t have the run support he did in his previous two games, as Temple ran in place all game with negative five yards on the night.
While Temple couldn’t get the run going, it was Army’s bread and butter. The Owls faced triple-option offenses already this season against Navy and Coastal Carolina, but the team especially fell victim to the Army duo of quarterback Bryson Daily and running back Kanye Udoh. The pair ran circles around the Owls’ defense for 280 yards combined.
Army scored on the first two drives of the game but was relatively held in check the rest of the first half. Temple only trailed by 14 points heading into the locker room despite being outgained by 133 yards, remaining in striking distance.
“Army had a great game plan,” said linebacker D.J. Woodbury Sr. “They executed at a high level. We wish we got some runs back, but we’ll go watch film tomorrow and see what we can get fixed.”
The defense completely crumbled in the second half and Army blew the doors open. The score ballooned to 28 in a flash behind Daily and Udoh’s continued dominance on the ground. Simon orchestrated two straight touchdown drives, but Daily secured a hat trick with his third rushing touchdown to make the lead insurmountable.
The defense has been a bright spot for Temple for most of the season, but the Army loss was the worst game of the season for the unit. Now, Temple heads back to the drawing board hoping to get back on track before the season slips away.
“We’re just going to continue to trust the staff and do what they tell us,” Simon said. “At the end of the day, it’s the players. It’s not the coaches. It’s the little details that we’re not able to do all the time, that’s leading us to losing by four scores.”
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