Temple lost a winnable game to UAB, 34-24, last Saturday, meaning Owls head coach Stan Drayton will be winless on the road in his first two seasons with the program.

Temple took a 14-10 lead into the half but was outscored 24-10 in the second half, resulting in the 10-point defeat. Sophomore quarterback E.J. Warner threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns, but he did throw an interception as well. Redshirt junior wide receiver Dante Wright caught six passes for 146 yards and one touchdown.

The Owls will look to end the season on a high note with a win against a tough, eight-win Memphis team. A win would give Drayton’s squad one more than they had last season.

Drayton wants to use this last game to honor the seniors and continue to show the resiliency this program possesses.

“Number one, we have our seniors to play for,” Drayton said at his weekly press conference on Monday. “They’ve been through so much and obviously a lot of them have been here their whole career. Just to see the growth that's taken place with them within our culture has left a lasting impression on their coaches as well as their teammates. So they give us a lot of reasons to play at a high level for them and for the legacy that they're leaving behind.”

“The one thing that we really realize is the resiliency that exists within this program, and we’ll fight to protect that,” Drayton said. “We’ll fight to continue to be a team that won’t give up, that won't quit, that shows resilience in tough times and sometimes try to scrap and fight to put yourself in position to be competitive and win some football games.”

Kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field is scheduled for Friday at noon, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

WHEN TEMPLE IS ON OFFENSE

The Owls have scored 30 or more points just three times this season, but the Tigers are allowing 29.73 points per game. The key will be taking care of the football, which is something Temple has struggled to do this season. Last week against UAB, Warner threw an interception while wide receiver Zae Baines and running back Edward Saydee both fumbled, with Baines’ fumble resulting in a turnover.

Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield is very high on Warner, just as UAB head coach Trent Dilfer was. Silverfield believes the Owls are a different offense when Warner is healthy, and that playing Temple is always a tough task no matter what their record is.

“We know how hard it is to play at Temple. I've been a part of a lot of those games,” Silverfield said. “Their quarterback E.J. Warner is number five in the country in passing yards per game, and when he’s healthy, it's a different offense. They're very successful. We also know last year playing them it was a 3-0 ballgame almost going into the fourth quarter, so it's gonna be a tough test for us.”

Warner and the offensive line will have to deal with a very good linebacker in redshirt sophomore Chandler Martin, who is in his first season at Memphis after spending his first two seasons at FCS program East Tennessee State, where he was a 2022 Freshman All-America honoree. He's fifth in The American in total tackles with 81, while also adding two sacks, one interception he returned for a touchdown, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

Temple’s run game was held under 100 yards last Saturday for the eighth time this season. This week, they're facing a defense in Memphis that is allowing 172.6 rushing yards per game, which is 11th of the 14 teams in The American. Although Saydee, Darvon Hubbard and Joquez Smith are facing a favorable matchup, they've struggled against teams that are much worse than Memphis at stopping the run.

It should be expected that Drayton and the Owls will once again rely on the arm of Warner, who is one of just eight quarterbacks in the FBS averaging 300-plus passing yards per game, with the hope of dissecting the secondary. But this will be no easy task, as the Tigers are tied for eighth in the FBS with 10 interceptions. Junior defensive back Cameron Smith leads the team with three interceptions, which also ties him for fourth in the FBS and second in The American.

Sixth-year single-digit tight end David Martin-Robinson, who will be playing in his final game as a Temple Owl, compared last season’s Tigers defense to this season’s.

“They're pretty similar to last season,” Martin-Robinson said at player availability on Monday. “They play a little bit more of a nickel personnel this year than they did last year. I think that's probably just because of personnel changes for them, but it's basically the same structure, just different personnel.”

Speaking of Martin-Robinson, this season, he was always available, never missing a game or a practice. Drayton said he’s been “phenomenal” both on and off the field and has been the person that the younger players look to for guidance.

WHEN TEMPLE IS ON DEFENSE

The Owls will have their hands full on Friday as the Tigers are averaging 39.2 points per game, which is second in The American behind only SMU at 40.3. Considering Temple allows 34.8 points per game, it will likely be a long game for the defense.

Memphis has weapons all over the field, with junior starting quarterback Seth Henigan leading the way. The Week 11 AAC offensive player of the week is eighth in the country and first in The American with 3,266 passing yards, and he's ninth in the country and second in The American with 296.91 passing yards per game, trailing only Warner in the AAC.

His top target is junior wide receiver Roc Taylor, who has 58 receptions for 925 receiving yards (third in The American,) along with four touchdowns. He’ll be a tough test for a struggling Temple secondary that has been exploited all season long. Single-digit cornerback Jalen McMurray, along with Dominick Hill, Alex Odom and Tywan Francis, have been overmatched throughout the season, and are at the forefront of this secondary that has allowed 242.2 passing yards per game through the first 11 games of the season.

The Tigers also have a very strong rushing attack, led by fifth-year running back Blake Watson who is second in The American with 950 rushing on 162 carries. The 5-foot-9-inch, 195-pound transfer from Old Dominion is also tied for fifth in the FBS with 13 rushing touchdowns. Previously in his career, Watson was named to the 2019 Conference USA all-freshman team (as a kick returner), was a 2019 all-Conference USA honorable mention, a 2021 all-Conference USA honorable mention, and a 2022 all-Sun Belt honorable mention,

“They are Memphis as we know it and it starts with that quarterback. He is the real deal,” Drayton said. “They’re explosive. They run a very good system that fits that quarterback; everything starts with him. They're big up front and they are balanced. Even though you see the throwing yards that are consistent every week, they really do have a run attack that is efficient, that keeps them on schedule and keeps defenses off balance that way.”

The Owls unfortunately will be without linebacker Jordan Magee, who sustained a shoulder injury last week. He's first on the team in total tackles (80), tied for first in sacks (3.5), has one forced fumble, and is remarkably tied for second on the team with four passes defended.

WHEN TEMPLE IS ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Against UAB, kicker Camden Price made his only field goal attempt - from 40 yards - and all three of his extra-point attempts.

The Owls had six kick returns, racking up a total of 111 yards. Edward Saydee led the way with 57 yards on three attempts, safety Sam Martin had 36 yards on two attempts, and running back Darvon Hubbard had 18 yards on one attempt.

Memphis kicker Tanner Gillis made both of his field goal attempts against SMU last week (47 yards and 36 yards), but he was only 2-for-3 on extra points. That was his first missed extra point of the season, and he’s now 38-for-39.