Six days ago, Temple Football left Lincoln Financial Field with its third win of the season, an 18-15 overtime victory after kicker Maddux Trujillo’s 39-yard game-winning field goal.
Tonight, the Owls (3-9, 2-6 American Athletic Conference) will take the field in San Antonio against UTSA (5-5, 3-3 AAC) without their original head coach.
Stan Drayton’s departure brought some slight changes to Temple’s staff for the final two games of the year. Defensive coordinator Everett Withers became the Owls’ interim head coach and linebackers coach Chris Woods will be the defensive coordinator.
However, Withers wants Friday’s game to be business as usual despite Sunday’s news.
“I think they’re doing remarkably well,” Withers said about his players in his weekly press conference on Monday. “We’ve got some kids that are very mature on this football team. We’ve got some young kids, but we’ve got mature kids. They understand this is a great sport but a tough business–that’s what it is, it’s a business. They’re part of that now because of the transfer portal.”
Temple will have to play remarkably well against a UTSA team on the cusp of its sixth bowl appearance in its 13th season. Head coach Jeff Traylor’s team averages the second-most yards per game in the conference and holds wins over 9-2 Memphis and 5-5 North Texas in the last month.
Here’s everything to know before the Owls and Roadrunners kick off at 7 p.m. (ESPN 2).
When Temple is on offense
The Owls did not fare well last week against a lackluster Florida Atlantic defense. They finished with 348 yards of total offense but didn’t reach the endzone until the third quarter.
Wide receiver Dante Wright finished with the second-most receptions in the program’s FBS history in his return from injury, hauling in 14 catches for 147 yards. Receiver Ashton Allen had the next-highest yardage with 20.
Temple had three rushers with more than 30 yards on the ground for just the second time all year and the first since beating Utah State 45-29 on Sep. 21.
The Roadrunners give up the second-fewest rushing yards in the AAC. Opponents average about 100 yards on the ground but nearly 300 yards through the air. However, they do tend to get to the quarterback, leading the AAC and ranking 13th in the country with 30 sacks in 10 games.
Temple has dealt with injuries to its offensive line all season, particularly to center Graison Mains, and gives up nearly three sacks per game.
Evan Simon’s ability to distribute to playmakers has been Temple’s best formula for success this season. Temple is 3-3 in games where Simon has more than 200 yards passing and 0-6 when he doesn’t. However, dropping back to pass so many times leaves Simon vulnerable to the UTSA pass rush, especially if the Owls can’t run the ball.
Tight end James Della Pesca believes the Owls match up well against UTSA's pass defense.
“They’re a veteran crew,” Della Pesca said. “They’re good. They’re a chippy defense for sure. I think we can definitely attack their backend for sure.”
UTSA’s opponents have averaged 32 points against the Roadrunners this year. But, Temple has only scored 30 points in two games: against Utah State and later in its 56-34 loss to East Carolina on Oct. 26.
Temple will need a similar performance to hang in with UTSA’s offense.
When Temple is on defense
Single-digit linebacker D.J. Woodbury already went through a coaching change at Temple. He joined the program in 2020 and played two seasons under Rod Carey before Drayton took the helm after the 2021 season.
However, the senior had yet to experience a mid-season firing. No Temple team had.
Woodbury told reporters in his media availability on Tuesday that he was helping the younger players “move forward” through the rest of the season. And he found it easier to try moving forward with his position coach, Woods, as his defensive coordinator.
“I think Coach Woods is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” Woodbury said. “His smartness that he leads the player [with] is incredible. Now that the whole defense gets to see it, it is just going to make him shine more. He’s one of the best coaches.”
Woods has a tough first assignment as coordinator this week. UTSA is second in the AAC in yards per game at more than 450 and averages 31 points compared to Temple’s 19.
Quarterback Owen McCown, son of 18-year NFL veteran and Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach Josh McCown, leads the conference with about 330 passing yards per game and 27 touchdowns. He also leads the AAC with 12 interceptions.
The Roadrunners have three players among the 25 receivers with the most yards in the conference: Willie McCoy (11th), Chris Carpenter (20th) and Houston Thomas (23rd). Each averages more than 40 yards per game.
The Owls’ defense lets up about 400 yards per game but ranks fourth in fewest passing yards allowed in the AAC. Temple’s secondary will need to step up against UTSA to keep within reach.
Despite the news this week and the Roadrunners’ success this year, Woodbury said the team’s mentality hasn’t changed. The Owls are determined to make a statement Friday night.
“Our job is just to win,” Woodbury said. “That’s been the mindset all week. No matter who we play, no matter where it’s at, we just want to win. We’re coming into their house; we want to get a win on the road. We’re just coming to win.”
Special Teams
Trujillo’s game-winner was his sixth attempt against FAU, which broke the program record for most tries in a game. He hit from 39, 47, 50 and 54 yards Saturday night.
However, he also missed from 26 in the second quarter and 51 in the third. He is 13-18 on the year and ranked 36th in the country in field goals per game.
UTSA kickers Tate Sandell and Chase Allen are a combined 17-24 on field goals this year. Sandell is 13-16 while Allen is 4-8.
Temple punter Dante Atton averages less than 39 yards per punt, which is 12th in the AAC. UTSA punter Caile Hogan has about a yard more on the season.
