Preview: Temple Owls vs. USF Bulls
The Temple University Owls fly into Tampa on Saturday to face the University of South Florida Bulls. The 3-3 Owls have wins over Akron, Wagner, and Memphis and lead the all-time series with the Bulls, 5-2. The Bulls are 1-5, still searching for a win over an FBS team after losing a heartbreaker to Tulsa in the final minutes of the game. A similar situation played out between Temple and USF in Philadelphia, last season. The Bulls led by 11 points late in the third quarter, only to have the Owls score three touchdowns late to win the game.
USF Offense
After showing progress in each of their games on a weekly basis against tough competition, the offense seemed to take a step back last week against Tulsa. Bulls’ quarterback, Timmy McClain, passed for just 155 yards, a season low for the team. He has passed for 929 yards for the season, with just one touchdown and two interceptions. The Bulls’ passing offense ranks 107th in the nation.
Xavier Weaver remains the top receiver with 380 yards and one touchdown. Demarcus Gregory is next with 143 yards. Jimmy Horn Jr. rounds out the top three with 124 yards, 102 of which came against SMU.
The Bulls continue the running back-by-committee approach they’ve used all season. Jaraen Mangham is the leader in total yardage (264 yds) and touchdowns (10). Despite scoring just once against Tulsa, Mangham ranks tenth (tied), nationally, in scoring and ninth (tied) in total touchdowns. Brian Battie is #2 rusher, sandwiched between McClain and Mangham with 194 yards. Kelley Joiner (109 yds) and Darrian Felix (88 yds) are also in the mix. USF ranks 83rd in rushing offense, nationally. On special teams, Battie returned a kickoff return 100 yards for a touchdown against Tulsa.
In total offense, the Bulls rank 114th (323 ypg). They rank 108th in scoring offense (22 ppg)
Temple Defense
The Owls defense does a fair job of limiting yards (#51, 355 ypg), but allows a lot of points (110th, 34 ppg). The defense allowed Cincinnati seven trips to the end zone in their last game.
They are led in tackles by safeties, Amir Tyler and M.J. Griffin, who have 47 and 35 tackles, respectively. Linebacker William Kwenkeu leads the team in tackles-for-loss (5.5) and sacks (3). Fellow linebacker, Yvandy Rigby, is third on the team in total tackles, and second with two sacks. Rigby’s first start for the Owls was against the Bulls in 2020. Tyler is expected to miss this game due to injury. Alex Odom and Jalen Ware will get more playing time as a result. Two of the team’s three interceptions came courtesy of defensive lineman, Manny Walker, one of which resulted in a touchdown.
Temple ranks 102nd against the run (188 ypg) and 8th against the pass (167 ypg). They held three of their opponents to less than 150 yards of passing offense, but allowed 305 yards passing to Memphis and 263 to the Bearcats.
Temple Offense
The Owls offense ranks 101st in the nation, scoring just 23 points per game. They scored just three points against Cincinnati. Georgia transfer quarterback, D’Wan Mathis, leads the offense with 882 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Mathis missed games against Akron and Boston College due to injury.
Jose Barbon has been Mathis’ favorite target to date, with 325 receiving yards and a touchdown. Randle Jones (240 yds, 2 TD) and Amad Anderson Jr.(210 yds, 1 TD) round out the top three. Jones had 81 yards receiving against USF, last season. He has missed the past three games due to injury, but is expected to return for this game. Temple ranks 83rd in the nation in passing offense, with 221 yards per game.
The Temple running game may be the most notable item to focus on during this matchup. Their top three running backs, Edward Saydee (191 yds, 1 TD), Tayvon Ruley (152 yds, 1 TD), and Justin Lynch (129 yds, 1 TD), all top the scales at over 200 pounds. Kyle Dobbins, who weighs in at exactly 200 pounds, leads all runners with three touchdowns. The size of these running backs is noteworthy because USF has had a really tough time stopping big running backs.
One factor that may contribute to whether or not Temple is successful in the run game is the absence of offensive tackle, Michael Niese. Niese is day-to-day after getting hurt in the Cincinnati game. Niese has been rated as one of the top run-blocking tackles in the country by Pro Football Focus.
USF Defense
Allowing an average of 503 yards per game, the USF defense ranks 129th in the nation. Only Arkansas State is worse. They also give up 35 points per game, ranking them 120th.
USF’s defense is led by safeties, Vincent Davis and Matthew Hill, each with 39 tackles. Defensive back Daquan Evans and linebackers, Dwayne Boyles and Antonio Grier all have 38 tackles apiece. Boyles leads the team with two interceptions. Grier has just one interception on the season, a pick six against Tulsa, last week. Grier also has one sack and leads the team in tackles-for-loss (3).
The Bulls have been especially poor at stopping the run, particularly when faced with large running backs, like the crew that Temple will be fielding on Saturday. They rank 126th against the run, allowing 227 rushing yards per game.
Expectations
Temple’s offense is going to be a lot better than they were against Cincinnati because of the return of Jones and Jadan Blue in the same game for the first time since game one. Their rotation of big running backs doesn’t bode well for the USF defense, who has struggled with big backs. This offensive success will translate into a lot of points for the Owls, probably in big plays, another thing the Bulls struggle with. On the other side of the field, expect the USF offense to have a better showing than they had at Tulsa. They should have success running or throwing the ball against Temple. This looks like a high scoring affair for both teams.
Summary
The Bulls are favored by 2.5 at press time. Game coverage is available on ESPN+, with kickoff set for 7 PM eastern.
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