The phrase “one step forward, two steps back” perfectly encapsulates Temple heading into its week three clash against Coastal Carolina.

The Owls’ defense showed promise, despite the 51-3 score, at No. 15 Oklahoma back on Aug. 30 with three sacks. But any momentum was zapped away against Navy last week.

As a result, Temple limps into week three at 0-2 and is looking to avoid its first 0-3 start since the 2013 season.

The Owls have found solace back at home though, considering Lincoln Financial Field is where all six of Temple coach Stan Drayton’s wins have taken place. Drayton and company will have an uphill battle to be able to secure a seventh home victory this week against Coastal Carolina.

“Obviously, it's our first time being home this season, so there's still going to be some first-time experience for our guys in that respect,” Drayton told reporters this week. “We've got to settle in a hurry and try to put out a good performance this week in front of our home crowd.”

Coastal Carolina travels to Philadelphia after routing the 13th-ranked FCS team in William & Mary, 40-21, last week. The matchup provides a reunion of sorts for Drayton, who coached alongside Chanticleers coach Tim Beck for two seasons at Texas when Beck was the Longhorns' offensive coordinator and Drayton was the running backs coach.

Temple had trouble containing Navy’s new hybrid Wing-T offense last week, which consisted of the triple-option the Midshipmen have run for more than two decades. The Chanticleers run a similar style of offense and will look to follow that approach.

Saturday’s kickoff from Lincoln Financial Field is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN+.

To say the Temple offense has taken a step back to start the 2024 season is far from a hot take two games into the season. Quarterback Forrest Brock struggled in his first start and lacked the confidence to air the ball out. Then Brock’s performance against Navy started off as more of the same, as he relied on quick, check-down passes, with 25 of his 46 passes coming with five yards.

Brock began to look more comfortable once the second half hit, but the game was decided by the fourth quarter, where 119 of the Owls' 312 yards were generated. Now in week three, Brock must navigate an offense that has scored just one touchdown against a defense that has held teams to 24 points per game.

The Chanticleers' defense has gotten to the quarterback seven times this season, which is tied for No. 25 in the country. Defensive lineman Will Whiston leads the Chanticleers with 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Linebacker Shane Bruce joins Whiston as the only two of Coastal Carolina’s top five tacklers from last season to return in 2024.

Coastal Carolina gave up 23.8 points per game last season and has started the year with a similar output. Craig Naivar's defense has given up more than 25 points per game in just one of the previous three seasons and looks to continue that trend against the Owls.

Yards through the air have been hard to come by against Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers have given up just two touchdown passes and allowed just 205.5 passing yards per game through the first two weeks.

“They’re a four-line front. They play multiple fronts from time to time,” Drayton said. “They're going to play out of a nickel four-two front. [Whiston] is a D tackle that they have that they can play anywhere.”

Temple’s rushing attack has been non-existent to begin the season, and Saturday would of course be the perfect time for the unit to wake up. The Owls have racked up just 104 rushing yards in two games and averaged an embarrassing 1.9 yards per carry.

Coastal Carolina’s rush defense is middle of the pack, and its 132 yards on the ground per game place the Chanticleers at No. 77 in the country. Temple running back Antwain Littleton found a little bit of energy in the fourth quarter against Navy, but the Maryland transfer will need to perform when the game is not already out of reach this week.

Temple’s defense was a small ray of sunshine in a lopsided blowout against Oklahoma but was the team’s Achilles heel last week. Now the Owls will look to have a bounce-back performance against a Chanticleers unit that has sprinkles of what helped the Midshipmen earn a convincing victory.

Throughout the week leading up to the conference opener, Drayton heavily emphasized how his players would have to use their eyes to minimize the effectiveness of Navy’s triple-option. That didn’t happen, as Temple’s defense crumbled and gave up 297 yards on the ground. Two of Navy's scores came off of one-play drives.

For much of the game, it felt like linebacker D.J. Woodbury Sr. was the only player to get the message. The single digit linebacker had a team-high 10 tackles, but many of them came when the Midshipmen had already gotten to the second level.

Coastal Carolina presents a similar challenge for Temple, as the Chanticleers run a triple-option-esque offense that will keep the Owls on their heels all game. While Coastal Carolina has only played lower-tier opponents this year, they have cruised to 95 points to start the year, which is the No. 13 scoring mark in the nation.

“They're going to be very well-coached,” Drayton said. “They're playing fast and there's a triple option element to what they do. They have speed and athleticism on the perimeter and at the running back [position].”

The job to stop the rush should be a little easier for Temple, as Coastal will kick off without two of its top running backs. Both Jav’vin Simpkins and Braydon Bennett were injured in the first 15 minutes against William & Mary. Despite the key missing pieces, the Chanticleers still boast depth in the room that can give the Owls problems throughout the afternoon.

Running back Christian Washington became the de facto lead back after the injuries and looks to handle most of the carries. Washington leads Coastal with five yards per carry on a team that averages 285 yards on the ground per game. Temple currently allows 257 yards on the ground and has given up 200 rushing yards in each of the last two games. Darren Lloyd has been in a reserve role but will look to get extra carries now due to the running back room being on the mend.

Quarterback Ethan Vasko will look to repeat what Navy quarterback Blake Horvath was able to accomplish against Temple’s defense. Vasko has been a true dual threat under center and is third on the team with 104 rushing yards and a score while also slinging the rock for more than 400 yards and two touchdowns to open up the year. His passing numbers last week, however, were a very pedestrian 8 of 23 for 160 yards.

Vasko sat behind Chanticleer transfer Grayson McCall for half of last season before taking over in the final four games of the season.

After a failing grade trying to stop Navy, Temple has a chance to redeem itself by containing Coastal Carolina’s rushing attack. Safeties Javier Morton and Andreas Keaton have been constants for the Owls, with Keaton sharing the team lead in tackles with 13, including eight solo stops.

But after two weeks, it's long past time for Temple to stop talking about poor eye discipline, self-inflicted wounds and things that are fixable. Another loss and an 0-3 start for the first time in 11 seasons would not be a good look.

Placekicker Maddux Trujillo has looked like Temple's most valuable player so far this season. The Austin Peay transfer has six of the Owls' 14 points on the year and was responsible for Temple’s first points of the season two weeks ago at Oklahoma.

Coastal Carolina kicker Kade Hensley has been almost automatic for his squad and has missed just one of his seven attempted field goals to start the year. He's 2-for-2 from 40 yards and beyond, with a long of 49 yards that came in last week's win.

Temple has to watch out for Washington on kick returns as well. The redshirt-sophomore back is 16th in the country with 123 return yards, and his big-play ability can help give the Chanticleers an advantage in terms of field position.

As for Temple, junior running back Terrez Worthy took over the kickoff return duties last week against Navy and did manage a 23-yard return. Wideout Dante Wright, meanwhile, had 41 punt return yards last week.