Owls feel Anthony Russo's absence in Tulane loss
With Anthony Russo missing a full week of practice due to a shoulder injury, Temple’s offense had to pivot to a two-quarterback scheme Saturday at Tulane.
Head coach Rod Carey made the decision Wednesday, assuming Russo would be officially ruled out before kickoff, that Trad Beatty and Re-al Mitchell would both see the field against Tulane.
Beatty ultimately got the nod to start the game in place of Russo, who was out with a “banged up” right throwing shoulder. Mitchell replaced him after the first drive of the game and the two redshirt sophomore quarterbacks alternated drives from there on out.
“It was to see if somebody got hot and stick with them,” Carey said postgame of his plan to play both backups. “But nobody got hot.”
The drop-off in quarterback play was one of the many storylines in Temple's 38-3 blowout loss that dropped the Owls to 1-3.
Russo, a third-year starter who had started each game up to this point in the season, was listed as a game-time decision but never even put on his pads. Carey said he wasn’t anywhere close to being able to play and couldn’t give an accurate timeline for his return, although he did say he didn't believe the injury to be a long-term thing.
Perhaps the most successful offensive possession of the day came on the opening drive, with Beatty marching Temple 54 yards on eight plays but ultimately settling for a 22-yard Rory Bell field goal, the Owls' only points of the day.
Following that drive, Temple’s offense often opted for quick slants or questionable run play calls while trying to overcome the struggles of the offensive line. With 16 opportunities to convert on third down, the Owls put the ball on the ground for seven of them. It was evident in the team’s play calling that the plan was to be conservative with Beatty and Mitchell seeing their first significant snaps in a Temple uniform.
Saturday’s loss was a day of firsts for Beatty, who got his first start, threw his first pass and his first interception.
He did, however, find more success in the air comparatively, completing 11 of his 18 pass attempts for 122 yards, including a 41-yard completion to Branden Mack and a 35-yard completion to Jadan Blue. They represented Temple’s two longest offensive plays of the day.
The 6-foot-5 quarterback’s one interception went to Tulane redshirt junior cornerback Willie Lingham ,who jumped a ball intended for Mack. Mack came back to poke the ball out of Lingham’s grip, but it was knocked out of bounds leading to Temple’s lone turnover of the day.
“That’s on me," the left-hander said. "I’ll take that one 100 percent. Branden did exactly what he was supposed to do. That’s on me. Obviously I can’t turn the ball over and I can’t allow that to happen. I wish I could have that one back.”
As for Mitchell, he was able to make more happen using his legs. The 6-foot Iowa State transfer has received praise for being the team’s most mobile quarterback and he proved that to be true with 37 yards on seven attempts, including a botched snap that Mitchell turned into a first down. The next-most yards gained on the ground belonged to Re’Mahn Davis, with 15 yards on 10 carries.
Carey’s revolving door plan at quarterback against Tulane contradicted his sentiments earlier in the season about wanting to stick to one quarterback to lead the offense. But this was a different set of circumstances with Russo out, and his intention was not to keep either from getting into a groove, but rather to see if one could get hot and stick with him.
“I think it is what it is,” Mitchell said in reference to being swapped in and out at quarterback. “Every drive, we had didn’t result the way we wanted it to, and I think that’s something that individually we take and not make excuses for.”
Front page photo courtesy of OwlSports.com.