Coming off a 61-14 blowout loss at Rutgers in week one, Temple is looking to bounce back against Akron on the road at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPN +.
The Zips also suffered a brutal defeat to a Power 5 opponent in week one, as they were ousted 60-10 at Auburn. Temple should have the advantage in this game, as the Zips finished with a combined record of 1-17 between the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Here is how Temple matchups up with Akron in all three phases of the game.
WHEN TEMPLE IS ON OFFENSE
The big question for the Owls’ offense is who will be under center when the game kicks off. Starting quarterback D’Wan Mathis was injured in the third quarter of the Rutgers game and was listed as “week to week” by head coach Rod Carey.
If Mathis is unable to play, true freshman Justin Lynch, who filled in for Mathis after he was injured against Rutgers, will start in his place with Mariano Valenti serving as the backup.
Regardless of who starts against the Zips, Temple will need improved play from its quarterbacks if it wants to win its first game of the season. Mathis, who was playing with a limp before he ultimately left the game with an injury, struggled against Rutgers, going 8 of 24 passing for 148 yards and one interception to go with a 3-yard touchdown run.
Lynch’s sample size is smaller, but he completed zero passes on three attempts, threw a pick-six on his first career attempt, and fumbled late in the fourth quarter. Lynch was put in a tough spot, but he did not look remotely ready to play last Saturday.
Still, Carey is confident in the young signal-caller.
“Justin has done a good job in camp,” Carey said. “You know, he won the No. 2 job as a true freshman, and that alone is quite a statement for him to come in and grasp the offense and operate the offense, then execute the offense at a high level to earn the No. 2 job. We got a lot of confidence in him.”
As for the rest of Temple’s offense, they will look to get the ball to playmaking wide receivers Jadan Blue and Randle Jones a little more often this week. The two combined for just two catches and 57 yards against the Scarlet Knights.
The Owls’ running game did have a couple of bright moments against the Scarlet Knights, as Edward Saydee scored Temple's first touchdown with an impressive lateral cut, and ultimately tallied 57 yards on 12 carries before getting injured. His injury was not serious, and Saydee is expected to play Saturday.
In theory, Temple shouldn’t have a problem getting Blue, Jones and Saydee space to work against a Zips defense that allowed 248.2 rushing yards and 211.7 passing yards per game last season and allowed more than 300 rushing yards in last week's loss to Auburn.
Akron’s most noteworthy defender is linebacker Bubba Arslanian, who was named to the 2020 All-MAC preseason second-team and finished the 2020 season with 74 tackles and four tackles for loss.
Sophomore cornerback A.J. Watts also had a strong 2020 season, as he finished second on the team in tackles with 29 and recorded the team’s only two interceptions.
If Temple can limit turnovers and get the ball into their playmaker’s hands early and often, they should have no issue racking up yards against the Zips' front.
WHEN TEMPLE IS ON DEFENSE
The Owls’ defense got thrown to the wolves against Rutgers as the offense and special teams turned the ball over five times, leading to a plethora of short fields for the Scarlet Knights, and eventually a tired defense that gave up 61 points.
However, there were some positives from last Saturday’s game that point to the defense performing much better at Akron.
Temple’s pass defense, led by corners Cameron Ruiz and Keyshawn Paul, performed somewhat well as they gave up just 145 passing yards, with a lot of those yards coming after the catch because of poor tackling. Paul himself was guilty of whiffing on a tackle on Bo Melton's 40-yard catch-and-run score.
The Owls’ defense held the Rutgers offense to just 4.5 yards per play, and during the first half, when they weren’t backed up in their own territory, they forced four Rutgers punts.
Still, they gave up 61 points, and a big reason for that was a lack of pressure on the quarterback. Temple recorded zero sacks and generated just one quarterback hurry in week one. After losing players like Arnold Ebiketie (Penn State), Ifeanyi Maijeh (Rutgers) and Khris Banks (Boston College) to the transfer portal, Saturday's performance did nothing to convince observers that the Owls will be fine without them.
One of Manny Walker, Will Rodgers, Nick Bags or Jerquavion Mahone will have to step on the Owls’ defensive line if they want to keep the Zips in check Saturday.
As for the Zips offense, it struggled to move the ball against Auburn, but Akron got a boost from quarterback D.J. Irons, who came into the game for Kato Nelson and completed all 12 of his passes for 129 yards and one touchdown.
“Nelson, we played against a few years ago (when Carey was the head coach at Northern Illinois), and I don’t think he finished the game,” Carey said. “I think he got injured, but he’s definitely an elusive guy with good arm talent, and then their backup who came in moved the ball quite well on Saturday. I don’t know who will start … but both are capable.”
Outside of Irons’ play on Saturday, Akron’s offense doesn’t have much to hang its hat on. The Zips' leading rusher from last season is no longer on the team, their new starter, Jonzell Norris, rushed for just 22 yards last week, and they averaged just 17.6 points per game in 2020.
WHEN TEMPLE IS ON SPECIAL TEAMS
Temple's special teams continued to struggle last week. Wide receiver De’Von Fox had a fumble on a kickoff return, the Owls had two key special teams penalties, and they allowed Rutgers wide receiver Aron Cruickshank to record 113 return yards, with a long of 57 yards.
On the bright side, the Zips don’t have anyone close to the return threat that Cruickshank was. Their leading returner from last season is no longer on the team, and their new returner, wide receiver Michael Mathison, only averaged 11.5 yards per return against Auburn.
Temple’s return game has been a relative non-factor since Carey took over three years ago, and that continued against Rutgers. Fox averaged just 19 yards per return on kickoffs, and Blue recorded zero punt return yards, as he often just let the ball bounce or immediately called for a fair catch.
In the kicking game, Temple will once again turn to Rory Bell, who made both of his extra-point attempts last Saturday but didn’t attempt a field goal. The Zips will rely on Cory Smigel, who converted a PAT and a 40-yard field goal against Auburn.