Three keys to victory for the Owls

It’s only the third week of the college football season and Temple may already be in the must-win zone.

The Owls looked lifeless in last week’s 38-11 loss to Navy. Temple’s defense seemed to have lost all its momentum and the offense didn’t get on the field until it was too late.

Now Temple faces a Coastal Carolina team that has two wins and is averaging over 500 yards and 47 points. While Temple coach Stan Drayton believes he has a resilient group, he believes his team needs to prove it belongs.

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“I’m not coaching a mentally weak football team,” Drayton said during his weekly press conference on Sept. 9. “This is a very tough football team. They just have to be able to play with the confidence that if they do their job, they can dictate the game.”

Still, there are three things the Owls need to focus on against the Chanticleers on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field (2 p.m., ESPN+).

Trust

In both postgame press conferences, Drayton said he didn’t like the look of his players. He thought his team didn’t look confident against Navy. The Owls lost nearly 300 yards. Temple also allowed one sack and six tackles for loss and managed just 116 yards of offense in the first half.

Temple cannot afford to let Coastal Carolina stand still. The Chanticleers rank eighth in the country in rushing yards.

“(Coastal Carolina) plays fast and has a triple-option element to their game,” Drayton said. “They’re quick and athletic on the perimeter. (Running back Christian Washington) is the real deal. They’re talented and they play hard.”

Coastal Carolina’s offense has been relentless this season and the Owls will need to keep up with the Chanticleers’ pace as best as they can.

“When you’re playing behind the scoreboard, behind the schedule, it forces you to adopt a very different mindset than you originally expected,” Drayton said. “We played uphill all day. And obviously we need to improve our perimeter game and block opponents in open space.”

Out of the field

The end result wasn’t pretty, but Temple’s defense held the nationally ranked Sooners to 1-12 on third down. Then things got even worse when the unit couldn’t stop Navy at all, as the Midshipmen finished 5-13 on third down and 1-2 on fourth down. Each of Navy’s multiple scoring drives included a third-down conversion.

Temple could fare better against Coastal Carolina if it can keep the passing game under control. The Chanticleers have a strong running offense, but their passing game hasn’t blown teams away. Quarterback Ethan Vasco threw for about 400 yards in the first two weeks, including just 160 last Saturday.

Temple’s secondary held Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold to just 160 yards, but later struggled against Navy quarterback Blake Horvath. We’ll see which version of the Owls shows up on Saturday.

Relieve the pressure

No player on Temple’s roster is more in the spotlight than quarterback Forrest Brock, who catapulted himself into the starting lineup last season after ranking third in the draft.

Brock struggled as a starter, completing 42 attempts, passing for over 400 yards, and throwing one touchdown and four interceptions. Brock also took a big hit late in the Owls’ Week 2 game, but stayed in the game. Drayton said his starter won’t be decided until game time.

Temple will have to back up Brock against Coastal Carolina’s 3-4 defense, the foundation of which is defensive end Will Whitson’s ability to “play anywhere,” Drayton said.

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“They’re long and strong and physical,” Drayton said. “The linebackers are very, very solid football players. They handle the ball well and support the running game from the secondary very well. They’re athletic enough to keep up with the speed of a lot of different offenses that operate out here.”

Brock is a step back compared to quarterback EJ Warner, but he’s also received little support. The Owls have only managed 105 yards on the ground all season, including a 35-yard performance against Navy. As a result, Temple has managed just 29 first downs this season, which ranks among the 15 worst totals in the nation.

“This year we have a very focused unit that has to focus from the start of the game to the last tick of the clock,” Drayton said. “We really have to focus and get more disciplined on offense. Those are the common denominators that carried through from game one to game two.”