Temple Football Season Recap: Same Record, but Higher Outlook
Written by: Adrian Maghacot & Zachary Silverstein
Photo by: Heather Khalifa
The Temple Owls, led by first time head coach Stan Drayton, finished its 2022 season with the exact same record as the Rod Carey led squad from 2021, but this time, the future seems much brighter.
“I’m so excited to get this team to the offseason,” Drayton said after a 49-46 loss to ECU on senior day. “There’s so much growth that’s going to take place, and there’s a lot of confidence in that locker room right now even though we’re not living on a whole bunch of wins. There’s a lot of small victories that we can build from and grow from and that’s going to be a huge component moving forward.”
Recap of the Schedule
Despite having the exact same record (both conference and overall) as last season, the Owls improved overall in terms of point differential and individual player performances.
One of the major storylines that many people were concerned about was the defense, as last season, during their seven-game slump, the Owls allowed at least 20 points in each game, including a 49-point rout by Cincinnati.
Temple got off to a rocky start after being shut out by Duke 30-0 in a rematch of the 2018 Independence Bowl. This was the first time the Owls were shutout since Nov. 10, 2007, when they fell 31-0 to Penn State at Lincoln Financial Field.
Temple head coach Stan Drayton picked up his first head coaching win in week 2 when the Owls defeated Lafayette 30-14 at Lincoln Financial Field.
True freshman quarterback E.J. Warner made his debut in this one after replacing redshirt sophomore quarterback D’Wan Mathis in the second quarter. Warner completed 14 of 19 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. This was the program’s first win since October 2, 2021.
The following week was Temple’s homecoming game against Rutgers; a rematch after being pounced 61-14 in the 2021 season opener. Although the Owls held the Scarlet Knights to just 59 passing yards, they could not stop their rushing attack; surrendering 142 yards on the ground.
The Owls themselves garnered 264 total yards, but they were unable to score in their final drive after being stopped on 4th and 4 at their own 41 yard line. Rutgers squeaked out a 16-14 win. Although the Owls walked away with a loss, allowing just 16 points to a team in the Big Ten Conference was a promising sign for the Owls defense.
The defense continued its stellar play in week 4, shutting out UMass in a 28-0 victory. This was Temple’s first shutout victory since Nov. 19, 2016, when they defeated Tulane 31-0.
The Owls then stalled in the next four games where they allowed 24 unanswered points to Memphis and gave up 70 points in a 53-point beatdown from UCF. It was the first time a team scored at least 70 points against Temple since October 1, 2005 when they faced Bowling Green and lost 70-7.
Temple gave up 299 rushing yards to Tulsa in a 27-16 defeat and also struggled in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Navy, a team that pioneered the triple-option offense. That was the first time the Owls played in an overtime game since facing Cincinnati on October 21, 2018.
The Owls made a statement the following week against USF with multiple players having career days. Redshirt sophomore running back Edward Saydee torched the Bulls for 265 rushing yards, 69 receiving yards, and three rushing touchdowns in a 54-28 win. The rushing yards ranked fourth and all-purpose yards ranked fifth in Temple football history.
Graduate kicker Camden Price, who transferred from Miami in August, kicked four field goals and was 6/6 on extra points. The four field goals were the most by a Temple kicker since current Denver Broncos kicker Brandon McManus achieved it in 2010 against Villanova. The 18 total points was the most points scored by a Temple kicker in program history.
Two out of the last three games resulted in close losses to teams that were expected to handle the Owls easily. Temple lost to Houston 43-36 after the Cougars scored a touchdown with 40 seconds remaining in the game.
Then, nationally-ranked Cincinnati, who dominated the Owls 52-3 last season, defeated Temple 23-3.
In the Owls’ final game of the season, they faced ECU and lost 49-46 after surrendering a 38-yard touchdown with 1:11 remaining in the game.
Before the ECU matchup, Drayton announced that redshirt senior defensive lineman Xach Gill would be awarded with a single-digit, the highest honor a Temple football player can receive. Gill was awarded the number 8, and wore it on senior day against ECU. Despite not earning that coveted honor in the beginning of the season, Drayton acknowledged the captain’s leadership abilities during preseason drills.
Warner had a record-setting day versus ECU, completing 45 of his 63 passes (a program record) for 527 yards (a program record) and five touchdowns. He also became the only FBS quarterback to throw for 450+ yards in multiple games during the 2022 season (had 486 passing yards against Houston).
Unthinkable Roster Moves
To start off the season, Drayon named redshirt sophomore D’Wan Mathis as the starting quarterback and redshirt junior Quincy Patterson as the backup. True freshman E.J. Warner was not on the depth chart.
However, Mathis struggled in the first two games, completing 14 of his 29 passes. During the Lafayette game, Drayton decided to put Warner in to see how the true freshman would play and he did not disappoint. Warner did not look back and kept the starting job for the rest of the season.
Mathis, meanwhile, switched to wide receiver before Week 3 and picked up his first career reception against UMass. At season’s end, he finished with six receptions for 44 yards.
After the season and even during it, there were multiple Owls that announced they were entering the transfer portal. These players include sophomore defensive lineman Darian Varner, redshirt junior running back Jakari Norwood, graduate wide receiver Kadas Reams, redshirt freshman wide receiver De’Von Fox, and redshirt freshman running back Ali Barkley.
Varner decided to enter the transfer portal on Dec. 7 despite earning multiple national recognitions. Over his last two seasons, the single-digit player played in 22 games, earning 57 total tackles, 10.5 sacks, and 19.5 tackles for loss.
Fox is well-known for his special team abilities as he spent most of his play time during kickoffs and punts. During the Lafayette game, he blocked three punts, which set a program record and was one short of the NCAA record. That performance earned him AAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Fox announced his intent to transfer via Twitter on Nov. 30.
Award Winners
After the season, a few Owls received honors from the American and sports media sources.
Warner became the first Temple player to win the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year award. Before Warner, the last Owl to win conference rookie of the year was 2015 Chuck Bednarik Award winner Tyler Matakevich when he was named the Big East Conference Rookie of the Year in 2012, Temple’s final season in the Big East.
Warner finished his 2022 campaign with 268 completions (most in program history), 3,028 passing yards (second-most in program history), 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also became the first Temple quarterback with two 400-yard passing games and three 300-yard passing games in a single season.
Warner also landed on Pro Football Focus’ 2022 All-True Freshman Team, which is a team that consists of the best true freshman at each position, according to PFF. Warner made the team alongside players from a combined 15 Power 5 teams (teams competing in the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and Southeastern conferences).
Sophomore defensive lineman Darian Varner became the first Temple player named first-team all-conference since Atlanta Falcons center Matt Hennessy, former defensive tackle Ifeanyi Maijeh, New York Giants outside linebacker Quincy Roche, and Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Shaun Bradley were named back in 2019.
He finished the season with 35 total tackles, with 12.5 of them being for losses and 7.5 sacks. Varner was ranked second in the conference and ninth in the FBS in sacks per game with 0.75, tied with his teammate redshirt junior outside linebacker Layton Jordan.
Redshirt junior outside linebacker Layton Jordan was named second-team all-conference. By the end of the season, he led the Owls in sacks and tackles for loss with nine and 18.5, respectively. Jordan moved up to ninth in program history for career sacks as well as sixth for tackles for loss in a season.
As mentioned above, his 0.75 sacks per game tied Varner for second in the AAC and ninth in the FBS. Jordan’s 1.54 tackles for loss per game were ranked third in the conference and 15th in the FBS.
Redshirt freshman and single-digit cornerback Jalen McMurray was named PFF Second Team All-AAC and College Football News Second Team Freshman All-American Defense. He is one of three non-Power 5 players that were named to the First or Second-Team Defense. McMurray recorded 49 tackles, one TFL, one fumble recovery, one interception, and two forced fumbles.
Graduate wide receiver Jose Barbon was named to the PFF Third Team Offense All-AAC. The Owls’ leading receiver finished the season with 71 receptions, 910 yards, and two touchdowns. Barbon ranked seventh in the conference in receiving yards and average yards per game with 76.5.
Redshirt junior tight end Jordan Smith was also named to the PFF Third Team All-AAC. Smith finished the season with 25 receptions for 346 yards and four touchdowns.
Next season, the Owls are looking to have a redemption year with a new roster ranging from enthusiastic freshmen to transfers from Power 5 schools. Drayton is also looking for his first winning season as a coach and bringing success to this once proud program. With Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF leaving for the Big 12, it opens the door for the Owls to be higher contenders for the AAC conference.
What’s Next?
At National Signing Day on Dec. 21, Temple football will officially welcome in new members to the program.
