Temple Responds to Adversity for First AAC Win

Two weeks ago, Temple lost a close game at the goalline against UConn. The Owls had plenty of time to lick their wounds and regroup before facing Tulsa at home Saturday. 

While it was not the cleanest game, Temple got the job done and possibly found something to build on. 

Temple (2-5, 1-2 American Athletic Conference) beat Tulsa (2-5, 0-3 AAC) 20-10 on Oct. 19 at Lincoln Financial Field, grabbing its first conference win of the season.

“Coming off a bye week and a tough loss to UConn, they really reset and got their minds right and found a way to come up with a win,” said Temple head coach Stan Drayton. “Just a lot of character on this football team, and I am very proud of how they handle adversity.”

[game-winning stop clip]

Drayton has talked about facing adversity after previous games and how he was not happy with how his team responded. Now, he is seeing a team that responds, plays together, and seemingly is buying in. 

Owls quarterback Evan Simon was asked to do a lot coming off his right shoulder injury, throwing the ball 46 times while finding 13 different receivers for 297 passing yards. Simon looked poised and confident in the pocket despite the constant pressure bearing down on him, proving his toughness by taking multiple hits while delivering quick passes.

“I got the ball out of my hands quickly,” Simon said. “Guys were open. and I thought the play calling was really good. [Offensive coordinator Danny] Langsdorf and I were on the same page a lot of time, and we just had a good week of practice.”

The quarterback needed to shoulder much of the offensive responsibility because the ground game couldn’t get anything going. The Owls averaged less than three yards per rush for 81 total yards. The offense still took advantage of what the Tulsa defense was presenting and were 3 for 4 in the red zone, an area the team has previously struggled in. 

On the defensive side of the ball, Temple had a tale of two halves. In the first half, the defense shut down the Golden Hurricane offense, preventing Tulsa from even reaching the red zone. Tulsa started the game with quarterback Cooper Legas under center to utilize the read option. It did not take long for Tulsa to go back to regular starter Kirk Francis, who did not have as much luck either in the first half.

“You have to give credit to the defensive line and [defensive coordinator] Everett Withers calling plays to stop the run,” Drayton said. “Our linebackers are well coached, and they’re fitting gaps. When things are not going well up front, those backers are making it right, and we’re tackling.”

Things looked a bit different in the second half, however, as Tulsa scored on its first two drives of the third quarter. Penalties on the Temple defense became a theme of the second half, as the Owls had seven penalties for 85 yards, including six that resulted in first downs. 

Temple’s defense tightened up in the 4th quarter though and again shut down the opposing offense. The Owls defense had three total sacks in the game, all of which came in the fourth quarter, and a fumble recovery. Temple forced two different turnovers in the game including an interception in the second quarter. 

“We’re going to celebrate this win, but it’s been tough. We’ve endured a tough road,”said Drayton. “We have to get back to work, that’s what this team is about. We’ve overcome a lot of adversity along the way and I think that’s what set us up for victory today.”

The Owls will look to build off of this win starting a two-game road trip against East Carolina on Oct. 26 (2 PM on ESPN+). With five games left in the season every game is as important as the last if Temple wants to make any headway in the conference.