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Published Sep 9, 2023
Gameday preview: Rutgers
Zachary Silverstein
OwlScoop.com Staff Reporter

Temple won its season opener last Saturday when it defeated Akron 24-21 and will now look to start 2-0 for the first time since 2019 when the Owls travel to Rutgers Saturday.

Kickoff at SHI Stadium is set for 7:30 p.m., and the game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

The Owls struggled to find a rhythm in the first half against Akron, scoring just 10 points, all of which came in the second quarter. Sophomore quarterback and reigning American Athletic Conference rookie of the year E.J. Warner threw for 138 yards in the half but missed multiple open receivers.

The game changed in the second half after Temple second-year head coach Stan Drayton dug into his players, hoping to light a spark. It's safe to say his halftime speech worked, as the offense scored 14 points and the defense held the Zips scoreless and iced the game with an interception by Colorado State graduate transfer safety Tywan Francis with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left to play.

As for the Scarlet Knights, they're coming off a 24-7 win at home against Northwestern. However, the Wildcats are a program in shambles after firing head coach Pat Fitzgerald in July due to reports of hazing on the team.

Rutgers was able to capitalize off the rebuilding program, holding Northwestern to just 12 rushing yards on 22 carries and 189 passing yards by three Wildcats. Sixth-year quarterback Ben Bryant, a Cincinnati transfer, was 20-of-36 for 169 yards, junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan was 3-of-4 for 13 yards, and senior punter Hunter Renner completed a seven-yard pass. The Scarlet Knights’ defense played shutout football until 19 seconds remained in the game.

WHEN TEMPLE IS ON OFFENSE

Temple started slow against Akron but turned things around in the second half after Warner settled in and graduate running back Edward Saydee found the end zone twice on a pair of touchdown catches.

Warner had a modest 138 passing yards in the first half but could've had more if not for some inaccuracy and a dropped pass on throws over 10 yards.

Warner had graduate wide receiver Amad Anderson Jr. open with a little more than five minutes left in the first quarter and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Zae Baines open in space with a little more than a minute to go before halftime on routes that would have netted about 25 yards and 40 yards, respectively, but was not able to hit them in stride, resulting in incompletions. Warner also had graduate tight end and single-digit David Martin-Robinson open around the halfway mark of the first quarter for what would have been a gain of 18 yards, but the pass was dropped. The pass was elevated but one the experienced tight end should've been able to haul in.

Warner threw for 154 yards in the second half, bringing his game total to 292 and led the offense to three lengthy drives to open the second half. Warner and the Owls came away with 14 points on those three drives, which lasted eight plays, 11 plays and nine plays, respectively.

Drayton said after the game that Warner, who averaged 275 passing yards per game in 2022, needs to be better. He has very high expectations for the 19-year-old quarterback, who was the only FBS player with 400-plus passing yards in multiple games in 2022.

The Owls running backs had a lackluster performance against the Zips, finishing with just 61 rushing yards on 28 carries. They’ll have to face a stout group of linemen and linebackers that allowed just 12 rushing yards against the Wildcats, the fewest they've allowed all-time against a Big Ten opponent.

The Scarlet Knights’ two leading tacklers on Sunday were linebackers Deion Jennings and Tyreem Powell with nine and eight, respectively. They could cause trouble for a Temple running back group that was inconsistent running through contact.

Redshirt sophomore Darvon Hubbard was the leading rusher for the Owls against Akron with 35 yards, while Saydee was second on the team with 18 yards. Drayton said he wants more out of his running backs despite them playing behind a young offensive line, one that had a pair of guards - true freshman Luke Watson and redshirt freshman Jackson Pruitt - making their first career starts. The return of 6-foot-3, 305-pound graduate offensive guard Wisdom Quarshie should be a good thing for the Owls Saturday, as Watson struggled early last Saturday against Akron, which could be expected for a true freshman who hasn’t had the benefit of a college offseason program yet.

Temple’s receivers, on the other hand, had a productive day against Akron. Their leading receiver was redshirt junior wide receiver Dante Wright, who had seven catches for 71 yards. The longest reception of the day belonged to Baines for 31 yards. Right behind him were Martin-Robinson (four catches, 51 yards), graduate wide receiver Anderson Jr. (four catches, 65 yards) and graduate tight end Jordan Smith (one catch, 20 yards).

Temple’s receivers will have to face some ballhawks from a Rutgers secondary that picked off Bryant twice. Junior cornerback Robert Longerbeam, who initially issued a verbal commitment to Temple before flipping to Rutgers, got his third career interception, while fellow junior cornerback Max Melton logged his sixth.

WHEN TEMPLE IS ON DEFENSE

Just like the offense, Temple's defense also started slowly in the first half but then settled in during the second half, allowing just 41 yards and no points in the second half.

Temple’s two sacks last weekend came from their linebacking corps. Layton Jordan, who was named a 2022 second-team all-AAC selection, got the Owls’ first sack of the season, while junior Diwun Black, a Florida transfer, and redshirt freshman Corey Yeoman combined for another.

Rutgers starting quarterback Gavin Wimsatt, a former 4-star recruit out of Kentucky’s Owensboro High School who is entering his third season, has been sacked 15 times in 13 career games (once in 2021 and 14 times last fall.) Northwestern’s defense was unable to bring him down in Rutgers’ 24-7 season-opening win.

But Wimsat will be seeing a better defense this week, one that relies upon simulated pressures and brings pass rushers from multiple spots on the field, as evidenced by the pressure generated by players like Jordan, Black and Yeoman. The Owls specialize at getting to the quarterback, finishing tied for ninth and tied for sixth in the FBS in sacks per game (2.7) and total sacks (38), respectively, in 2022. With the exception of Darian Varner, who didn’t play last weekend with his new program, Wisconsin, Temple has most of its key contributors back from that pass rush.

If the Owls want to win on the road Saturday in a Big Ten environment, they can start by disrupting the rhythm of Wimsatt, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. Although Rutgers did dominate Northwestern on both sides of the ball last weekend, the Scarlet Knights didn’t really do so with any explosive plays. Wimsatt averaged just 5.62 yards per attempt, and Rutgers averaged just 2.8 yards per carry.

Rutgers will also have to deal with Temple graduate linebacker Yvandy Rigby, who was named the American Athletic Conference defensive player of the week after collecting 14 total tackles against Akron. Of those 14 tackles, 11 of them were solo, which puts him at the top of the FBS in that category.

The Owls’ defensive linemen and linebackers could take advantage of a Scarlet Knights offensive line that got a passing grade against Northwestern from head coach Greg Schiano, but “needs to play better,” according to their coach. Senior guard Curtis Dunlap (6-5, 330) and senior right tackle Hollin Pierce (6-8, 345) were both named to the Senior Bowl watch list and remain Rutgers’ best offensive lineman, but Gus Zilinskas (6-2, 300, one start at center last season), Tyler Needham (6-4, 300) and sophomore Kwabena Asamoah (6-2, 325, three starts at left guard last season) are lighter on experience. Last week, Rutgers started Pierce at left tackle, Dunlap at left guard, Zilinskas at center, Asamoah at right guard and Needham at right tackle. Zilinskas got the start over senior Ireland Brown, who started 11 games in 2022 at center and six games in 2021 at left guard.

Behind that offensive line, Rutgers rushed for 128 yards on 43 carries. Junior running back Kyle Monangai rushed for 49 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries while freshman running back Ja’Shon Benjamin rushed for 46 yards on 20 carries. The remaining 33 yards came from Wimsatt, who ran the ball nine times while also picking up a touchdown.

The Scarlet Knights were without two running backs due to injury – sophomore Samuel Brown V, who rushed for 374 yards and three touchdowns in seven games in 2022, and senior running back Aaron Young, who has rushed for 492 yards and six touchdowns throughout 38 collegiate games. Schiano said that both are “going to be OK” but “they just weren't ready.”

Temple’s defensive backs will be covering a Rutgers receiving corps that didn't have a single receiver account for more than 40 yards against Northwestern. The leading receiver for the Scarlet Knights was senior wide receiver Isaiah Washington with 36 yards on four catches, and his four catches also led the team.

Temple's secondary is led by redshirt sophomore cornerback Jalen McMurray, who was named a single-digit for the second straight season, as well as Colorado State graduate transfer safety Tywan Francis, who was named an honorary single-digit before the game. McMurray had four total tackles and Francis had five total tackles and one tackle for loss. Francis iced the game with his first career interception with 2:31 remaining in the game.

The defensive backs for Temple should look to prevent Rutgers from having an explosive play like the one Akron had on its 77-yard passing touchdown from redshirt senior quarterback DJ Irons to redshirt senior running back Lorenzo Lingard on the second play of the game. The pass only traveled about 15 yards through the air, but Lingard was able to find a hole in the secondary and accelerate for the score.

WHEN TEMPLE IS ON SPECIAL TEAMS

The Owls allowed 79 return yards in the season opener against Akron (49 yards on three kick returns and 30 yards on three punt returns). The Zips were never able to establish advantageous field position from a return, which made the life of Temple’s defense much easier.

Temple’s Sam Martin, a redshirt freshman safety, totaled 51 yards on three kick returns, good for an average of 17 yards per return.

Temple wide receiver Dante Wright, who led the team with seven receptions and 71 receiving yards, was also used for punt return duty. He had an unproductive day, however, finishing with -1 yard on two returns.

Temple kicker Camden Price, who is in his sixth year after transferring to Temple last season after four seasons at Miami, was 1-of-2 on field goals and 1-of-1 on extra points. He drilled a 40-yard field goal to make the score 21-10 Akron entering halftime, but then he surprisingly missed a 30-yard chip shot in the third quarter, which would have closed the deficit to 21-19 for Temple at that time.

Rutgers placekicker Jai Patel also experienced mixed results last week, hitting a 32-yard field goal with 7:42 left in the second quarter but missing from 38 yards with nine seconds to go before halftime. Kickoff specialist Jude McAtamney had five of his kickoffs go for touchbacks, so Temple may not be in a position to make much happen in the return game Saturday. Punter Flynn Appleby averaged 39.4 yards per punt and dropped four of them inside the 20-yard line last week against Northwestern.

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