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Justin Lynch continues to learn on the job

With 8 minutes and 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Temple’s game against No. 17 Houston Saturday, freshman quarterback Justin Lynch threw an interception to Cougars safety Gervarrius Owens, who returned the ball for 28 yards to Temple’s 42 yard line.

It came on second-and-7 with sixth-year wide receiver Randle Jones creating separation on his route, but Lynch delivered an underthrown pass from the pocket.

While it wasn’t the only thing that went wrong for Temple Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field, inconsistent quarterback play did contribute to the Owls 37-8 loss, their fifth in a row that dropped them to 3-7 and without a chance of becoming bowl eligible this season.

Lynch made two previous starts against Akron and Boston College in replace of D’Wan Mathis earlier this season. Against Akron on Sept.11, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound product of Chicago’s Mount Carmel High School, tossed two touchdowns and gained 255 yards through the air in a 45-24 win.

But remember, Akron is 2-8 on the season, and the Zips’ defense allows opponents to score 38.7 points per game. The following week against the Eagles, he struggled against an improved defense and finished with zero touchdowns and 161 yards passing.

But Saturday was another step in the wrong direction for the 18-year-old freshman, at least when it came to throwing the ball. He went 11 of 24 passing for 119 yards and two interceptions.

On the plus side, the quarterback gained 80 yards rushing on 14 carries. Lynch is capable of maneuvering around the pocket and escaping to make plays. But in the end, Lynch did not execute enough on offense for Temple to pull off the upset.

Third-year Temple head coach Rod Carey, who coached Lynch’s older brother Jordan at Northern Illinois, preached patience when it came to talking about Justin Lynch after Saturday’s game.

“He’s 18,” Carey said. “I don’t know what you guys were like at 18. But this is his third start as a true freshman. Last year, he was in high school. He is playing spring football because of COVID. So we need to keep working with him to get through those nerves earlier.”

The Owls’ play calls were designed to help Lynch settle down, Carey said.

Offensive coordinator Mike Uremovich dialed up 23 runs and 25 passes to offer balance. The game plan obviously failed Saturday, but with an inexperienced quarterback under center, the coaching staff believed this pass/ run ratio maximized Lynch’s abilities..

Lynch missed open wide receivers down the field and made mistakes in all four quarters, which hurt Temple’s chances of winning. With time, Carey believes Lynch can develop into a quality starter.

“I think Justin had some throws today that were outstanding,” Carey said. “I think he missed some throws physically, and I think he missed some throws mentally today. But, he is 18 years old, and he is going to be a really good football player here. I think he calmed down somewhere in the middle of the second quarter or late in the first. Then started throwing the ball a little bit, but certainly had some misses physically and mentally."

Before this game, Houston (9-1) came in giving up 22.22 points per game. The Cougars are ranked 17th nationally and hold the top spot in the American Athletic Conference standings. Lynch’s lack of experience did not bode well against a talented Cougars’ defense.

The Owls’ offense, save for its 34-31 win over Memphis back on Oct. 2, has struggled since the opening snap of the 61-14 loss against Rutgers on Sept.4. All three phases have disappointed and contributed to an offense that ranks 10th out of 11 teams in the conference in scoring offense at 17.2 points per game.

Last week, Mathis suffered what appeared to be an injury against ECU, clearing the way for Lynch’s start Saturday. It’s not clear when Mathis will return, and even with him at quarterback, the Owls’ offense scored a mere 27 points in the previous four games. The unit is averaging just 297.2 yards per game and ranks 10th in the conference in yards per game and touchdowns.

Lynch's surrounding cast did not step up to the plate Saturday and is now without three-year starting wide receiver Jadan Blue, who entered the transfer portal earlier in the week. In 2019, Blue finished with 95 catches for 1,067 yards and four touchdowns, which set a school record for the first wide receiver to break 1,000 yards in a season.

And while his play did decline statistically with 30 catches for just 185 yards and one touchdown this season, his departure still impacts the wide receiver room. In place of Blue, wide receivers Kadas Reams and Jose Barbon did not execute. Reams grabbed two catches for 16 yards and Barbon hauled in one catch for four yards. Lynch’s only consistent target was Jones, who brought in five catches for 36 yards.

The run game is also failing. Edward Saydee finished with seven carries for 20 yards, and Ra’Von Bonner received one attempt for three yards.

Also, the offensive line continues to disappoint. On the stat sheet, the numbers do not look bad with one sack allowed. But in reality, Lynch scrambled around and avoided a few pressures. He often did not have a clean pocket to throw from.

“When you are struggling offensively. You can look at both of it, right?” Carey said. “Like, play calling is bad. The execution is bad, back-and-forth. It’s all bad, it’s all right. It’s not one thing. We as coaches have to get this figured out.”

Bottom line: Lynch could be in line to be Temple’s starter at some point, depending upon what happens in the future. He could start again next Saturday at Tulsa depending upon how things go with Mathis, and he’s unfortunately trying to learn and refine his game as an 18-year-old true freshman while the rest of the offense and the team as a whole isn’t playing well.

For now, Lynch’s ability to learn and forget will be key to his long-term success.


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