Coming off a brutal 48-point defeat to No.15 Oklahoma, Temple Football hoped to muster some form of offensive production in its first conference game against Navy. The Owls’ offense was lifeless in Norman, but a matchup against a lesser opponent could have been the kickstart they needed for things to change.
Temple’s offense instead stayed stagnant, picking up just six total yards in the first quarter. Navy’s early defensive performance set the tone for the remainder of the game. Quarterback Forrest Brock allowed a snap to get by him midway through the first half, and it rolled into his own endzone where he was swamped by Navy defenders for a safety.
Temple completely spiraled on both sides of the ball from that point on. Navy scored touchdowns on its next three drives, including two one-play touchdowns to suck the life out of the Owls. Temple remained unable to get anything going, and they were rolled over for a second straight week.
Temple (0-2, 0-1 American Athletic Conference) was blown out by Navy (2-0, 1-0 AAC) 38-11 Saturday afternoon at Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium. Head coach Stan Drayton falls to 0-12 on the road as headman of the Owls and Temple hasn’t won a road conference game since Nov. 30, 2019.
“I am not giving up on this football team,” Drayton said. “I believe that we have the right stuff in place and we just need to put it to execution. That’s going to be on the coaches and the players and we will grow with the season.”
The silver lining in the blowout loss to Oklahoma was Temple’s new and improved defense.
The performance drew praise from Navy head coach Brian Newberry, who said during the week that Temple’s defense “looked like they belonged” against Oklahoma. Temple proved his statement true during Navy’s first two drives of the game.
The Owls forced two punts and were not letting Navy move the ball comfortably. However, Navy’s defense was playing just as well and was helped out by punter Riley Rietchman, who pinned Temple inside their own 10-yard line twice.
Navy put their new hybrid Wing-T offense into full effect following the safety by Brock. Once the Midshipman clicked, it was game over for the visiting Owls.
Navy drove down following the free kick and scored the game’s opening touchdown. The Midshipmen’s next two offensive drives each resulted in one play scores — a 62-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Blake Horvath and a 65-yard rushing touchdown by fullback Alex Tecza.
“They did a phenomenal job of putting together an offense in the off-season and they got it working at a high level right now,” Drayton said. “Some of it was un-scouted looks but there were some issues with our eye discipline and a couple of missed tackles that took place as well. It was not all brand new.”
The Owls offense finally found life in the second quarter, but self-inflicted wounds plagued each drive. Brock threw an interception right after Temple got into Navy territory for the first time. The next drive, Temple again found a groove but a pass interference penalty set them back 15 yards, snapping the momentum and forcing a punt.
Temple managed to drive down and kick a field goal at the end of the first half, but still found themselves in a 20-point hole when the dust settled.
“When adversity hits you are supposed to get stronger,” Drayton said. “Adversity hit early and I did not like the look in some of the guys’ eyes.”
The Owls’ offense finally managed to get in the endzone in the fourth quarter after Brock found wide receiver Dante Wright for a 23-yard touchdown. Wright was the lone bright spot for a dim offensive performance, reeling in 11 receptions for 101 yards and a score.
Temple’s offense managed to gain 312 yards of total offense, but much of that came after the outcome was already decided. Brock was forced to throw the ball 46 times due to the deficit, completing 30 of those passes for 277 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Brock once again struggled to start the offensive engine in his second career start.
Temple’s defense collapsed as the second half rolled around, giving up an opening drive Navy touchdown. The Owls allowed 15 points in the second half and 409 total yards were gained by the Midshipmen.
“It was a lot of moving parts,” said defensive tackle Latrell Jean. “It comes down to discipline and our eyes. We just have to handle our assignment. It was not too difficult, it comes down to discipline. We have to handle our assignments a lot better than we did today.”
Horvath led the charge for the Midshipmen on offense, rushing for more than 100 yards and two scores. He also utilized the increased passing attack to throw for 112 yards and a touchdown, keeping Temple’s defense off balance.
Temple will go back to the drawing board and look for its first win of the season when they take on Coastal Carolina (2-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) on Sept. 14, at 2 p.m.
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