Gameday preview: SMU
At a Glance
SMU at Temple
Saturday, Nov. 7
Noon., Lincoln Financial Field
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Head Coaches
Temple - Rod Carey
Career Record: 61-38 (second season at Temple)
SMU - Sonny Dykes
Career Record: 62-57 (third season at SMU)
Key Players
Temple
QB Trad Beatty
QB Re-al Mitchell
RB Tayvon Ruley
WR Jadan Blue
WR Branden Mack
DT Dan Archibong
DE Arnold Ebiketie
CB Christain Braswell
SMU
QB Shane Buechele
RB Ulysses Bentley IV
WR Rashee Rice
WR Danny Gray
LB Delano Robinson
LB Richard McBryde
CB Brandon Stephens
WHEN TEMPLE IS ON OFFENSE
Minus Anthony Russo, Temple’s offense came to a screeching halt in its 38-3 loss at Tulane last week.
The Owls put a two-quarterback game plan into action against the Green Wave, rotating Trad Beatty and Re-al Micthell nearly every drive. Neither redshirt sophomore quarterback could get into a rhythm and Temple’s offense sputtered because of it. Beatty completed 11 of 18 passes for 122 yards and an interception, while Mitchell completed just 5 of 8 passes for 23 yards, he also had seven carries for 37 yards.
With Russo sidelined for the second straight week due to an injury associated with his AC joint in his right shoulder, Temple will execute a similar game plan against the Mustangs. Beatty will start under center, with Mitchell spelling him until one can catch fire and command the offense, something neither could do in last Saturday’s loss.
In the backfield, Tayvon Ruley will assume the starting role with Re’Mahn Davis officially entering the transfer portal and opting out of the 2020 season on Wednesday. Ruley has rushed for 102 yards on 21 carries and averaged 4.9 yards per carry. He also has a season-long run of 30 yards that came against Navy in the season opener. Ruley will likely split carries with redshirt freshman Edward Saydee.
Blocking in front of them, Temple could get a boost with Adam Klein returning to the fold. The Owls offensive line struggled to contain Tulane’s defensive front, which led to Temple head coach Rod Carey being extremely critical of his team’s play in the trenches. Klein’s return would likely push Vincent Picozzi back out to left tackle with Isaac Moore returning to the sideline.
As prolific as SMU’s offense is, its defense leaves a lot to be desired. The Mustangs are ranked No. 61 in the nation in total defense while allowing their opponents to score 29.4 points per game. Relatively speaking, SMU’s offense has been its best source of defense. Excluding a 50-7 win over Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 26, the Mustangs have allowed at least 24 points per game to their remaining five opponents.
Where Temple can take advantage of SMU is on the ground, where the Mustangs are allowing opposing rushers to rush for 193.7 yards per game, as they have the nation’s 74th-ranked rushing defense. In turn, SMU’s passing defense is better, but it’s allowing 221.4 yards per game, which is 41st in the nation and fifth in the conference.
The strong suit of SMU’s defense is its ability to force opposing offenses into mistakes. The Mustangs 13 takeaways (six interceptions and seven fumble recoveries) rank third nationally, with the seven fumble recoveries ranking fourth.
“Obviously, I’m very familiar with their [defensive coordinator] Kevin Kane,” Temple second-year head coach Rod Carey said Monday. “He worked for me for a number of years and a couple of years as my DC. They stress you defensively. They do a lot of different things and they got players who are running around, flying and being physical.”
WHEN TEMPLE IS ON DEFENSE
Against Tulane, Temple’s defense was exposed, particularly on the ground. The Owls' front seven allowed the Green Wave to rush for 284 yards on the afternoon, while their passing defense didn’t offer much better.
SMU has the No. 13 scoring offense in the nation, averaging 39.6 points per game. As for Temple, it's allowing 36.8 points per game, which is 83rd in the nation. Temple has allowed at least 31 points in every game its played this season.
In terms of total offense, SMU is averaging 523 yards per game, which is seventh in the nation and second in the conference. Most of those yards are coming through the air, as the Mustangs are averaging 330.1 passing yards per game.
Former Texas quarterback Shane Buechele has been operating at a high level since arriving in the American Athletic Conference. He enters Saturday’s contest ranked second nationally in passing yards (2,226), ninth in passing touchdowns (16) and passing yards per game (318.0). He now has multiple touchdowns in 16 of the last 19 games. Buechele has been named to The American’s weekly honor roll four times already this season.
An X-factor for Temple on Saturday will be in the secondary. Christain Braswell and Freddie Johnson were forced to play nearly every phase of last Saturday’s loss, with true freshmen Garrett Williams and Daiyaan Hawkins forced into the mix. The Owls were without Elijah Clark, Kimere Brown and Linwood Crump against Tulane due to contact tracing, opt-outs and injuries. Temple’s ability to stop the pass will be reliant upon who’s available in its secondary, which has been inconsistent, to say the least, through four games.
“Offensively, I know they’re down their big wide receiver (Reggie Roberson), but they have another guy (Rashee Rice) who might be just as fast as he was,” Carey said. “As for their running backs, I know they have a backup out, but their top line guy is really good and the whole line is back. It’s a complete team that is certainly led by the quarterback.”
Even with both Roberson and T.J. McDaniel down for the season, the next man up mentality has applied to SMU’s skill players. Replacing McDaniel in the backfield for the Mustangs is Ulysses Bentley IV, who leads the way with 10 touchdowns, which ties the program’s single-season freshman record for rushing touchdowns. After putting up 149 yards on 23 carries against Navy, Bentley now leads SMU with 695 rushing yards on the season.
SMU is the only team in the conference that has had four different wide receivers put up 100-yard performances. Rice has done a nice job standing in for Roberson with 34 receptions for 521 yards and four touchdowns. Rice has now gone three straight games with a touchdown, including a multi-touchdown performance in SMU’s 51-37 win over Navy.
Redshirt freshman BUBO Yvandy Rigby (ankle) is likely to return for Saturday’s game, but it might not be enough to move the needle for the Owls in a likely shootout.
OWL-THER NOTES
Temple is the only team in the country that has played at least four games and has yet to record a punt return...Branden Mack needs 23 receiving yards to move into seventh-place all-time in Temple history...Jadan Blue needs two catches to move into top-five all-time in program history...In the last four matchups between these two sides, the winning team has scored at least 45 points with an average of 84.75 total points per game over that span.