Temple Football 2026-27 Season Preview: Can They Improve off an Inspiring 2025?
With college football starting up this past weekend and Temple football’s first game being this Saturday against Rhode Island, there is no better time to put together a preview for what the season may look like.
After just missing out on a bowl game last season, is this season a new light for Temple football, or is it going to be more of the same?
2025-26 Recapped
While the 2025-26 season was a step forward, it still felt disappointing because of the ending.
It was the Owls’ first season with head coach K.C. Keeler, a man who is used to winning.
Having won multiple championships at the DIII and FCS levels, and led Sam Houston to a 10-win season in their second year in the FBS, Keeler is no stranger to success.
For the first two-thirds of the season, things were looking great. The Owls sat at 5-3, one win away from being bowl-eligible for the first time since 2019.
What followed was a four-game losing streak to end the season, just missing out on the six wins needed for bowl eligibility. Though, according to 247Sports and OwlSports, the Owls were offered a place in the Birmingham Bowl, but were never given the chance to accept or decline before it was offered to another team.
But the 2025-26 season was still a step forward, as the Owls surpassed 3 wins for the first time since 2019.
2026 Offseason
Coach Keeler and the Owls had to quickly start their search for new players, losing multiple starters such as QB Evan Simon, RB Jay Ducker, WR Kajiya Hollawayne, and CBs Jaylen Castleberry and Ben Osueke.
In high school recruiting, Temple had their biggest national signing day and recruiting class in school history, having signed 33 players, including standout DL Jude Okeleke, who was ranked as the fourth-best prospect coming out of Connecticut and the 89th-ranked defensive lineman. They also brought in three new freshman QBs: Brady Norman, Brady Palmer, and Lamar Best.
247Sports gave the Owls the 63rd-ranked recruiting class in the nation.
The Owls also brought a lot in through the transfer portal, headlined by QBs Jaxon Smolik (Penn State) and Ajani Shepard (Washington State); both guys are currently in a battle for QB1, as the QB1 spot has yet to be decided.
The running back room also has nearly a whole new look, with Ducker running out of eligibility, and Joquez Smith and Terrez Worthy hitting the portal. This year’s RB room will be led by Rutgers transfer Sam Brown V and senior Hunter Smith, who averaged 6.5 YPC for the Owls last season. Brown’s Rutgers career was plagued by injury, eventually deciding to return to his hometown for one last ride in collegiate football.
On top of some of the names just brought in who are expected to be contributors, the Owls also retained some of their key talents from last season.
This list is headlined by TE Peter Clarke, who proved to be a top tight end in the American, as he was named second-team All-American Conference. PFF named Clarke the 10th-best tight end in the nation. To cap things off, Clarke was also added to the Mackey Award watch list to begin the season.
Punter Dante Atton also stayed with the Owls. Atton was named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award and was first-team All-American Conference. Atton was named to the Ray Guy Award preseason watchlist and preseason first-team All-America by Pro Football Network.
The Owls have their WR duo set for them, as both Colin Chase and JoJo Bermudez return for their senior seasons.
In the trenches, the Owls retained four of their five starting offensive lineman, providing stability for whoever they have to protect.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Owls kept LBs Curly Ordonez and Eric Stuart.
In the secondary, they held onto safety Avery Powell and CB Adrian Liang, who led the team in interceptions.
Of these returning players, Clarke, Atton, Chase, and Stuart were all given single-digit numbers, which is an honor in Temple Football tradition. This is Chase and Atton’s second straight year with this honor.
With new faces and returning ones, this seems to be one of the Owls’ strongest rosters in a good while.
What will the season look like?
The Owls have to keep doing what they did well last season, which was protecting the ball. The Owls had 12 turnovers last season, only two of which were interceptions.
If whoever wins the QB1 job can do that, the Owls are already set up for success for what is a somewhat difficult schedule.
The Owls come in with the 103rd-ranked SOS (strength of schedule) in the nation. While not a cakewalk, there are still challenging matchups.
While not a top Group of 6 team, the Owls should be able to hang around the middle of the pack.
Schedule Preview
The Owls will open up the season on Saturday, September 5th at 2:00pm against FCS #8 Rhode Island Rams.
Just because Rhode Island is an FCS team does not mean that they will be a total cakewalk. The Rams made the second round of the FCS playoffs and finished the year ranked at #10, and are coming off a win in their week one matchup.
In week two, it’s the game that everyone has their eyes on, as the Owls welcome the #18 Penn State Nittany Lions.
In this game, Temple will look to prove they’re no push over against a nearly brand new Nittany Lions team. This game will be Saturday, September 12th.
In week three, the Owls hit the road for the first time to face off against Toledo. Toledo is coming off a strong season where they made a bowl game, so this will be another test for Temple.
Week four, the Owls come back to the Linc for some Friday afternoon action against Army, who the Owls just barely lost to in a gritty 14-13 game in 2025.
For their first game in October, Temple will head down to Tampa to face one of the American favorites in USF.
In weeks six and seven, the Owls will welcome UConn and Charlotte into the Linc, both games where the Owls are favored.
Following the week eight bye, the Owls will head down to North Carolina to face Eastern Carolina, a team that made light work of Temple last year in a late season matchup that ended with a bad Owls loss.
In week ten, the Owls will travel to Annapolis to face the American favorite, the Navy Midshipmen, who the Owls lost to in a 32-31 thriller last season.
Week 11 will see the Owls come back home to face off against UAB, another game where the Owls are favored.
Week 12 should be a HOOT of a matchup as the Owls take on the Rice Owls in a nationally televised game on ESPN for some Thursday night action.
Finally, the Owls will close out the season in week 13 against another American favorite, the Memphis Tigers.
While the Owls are underdogs in 7 of their 12 games, they are still poised and ready for a shot at a bowl game.
Will this season be the start of a new era for the Owls, or will it just be more of the same?.
Nick’s Predictions
Ceiling: 8-4
Floor: 4-8
Final record: 6-6
