Week 5 is here for Temple football, and with it, brings a Saturday matinee with their conference rivals, the Houston Cougars.
The Owls look to erase the memory of last Thursday’s rough beat down given to them by South Florida. A game in which the Owls were shutout offensively, totaling only 85 yards, and giving up 408.
Also in the game, starting QB Logan Marchi threw his first interception, on the second drive of the game, and then he threw 2 more throughout the contest. Certainly causing concerns and questions, as to who the starting QB will be, heading into this Saturday.
When asked if it was hard not knowing his status at QB, Marchi kept it short.
“No, the coaches do a great job preparing us for each week, and when the snaps come you just have to be ready.”
So, who is the threat to Marchi’s starting spot? The redshirt junior Frank Nutile. Nutile was one of 3 QB’s who were rotated in last Thursday, he went 4-12 for 57 yards and 1 INT. After practice, Nutile stayed after to get some more throws in with the wide receivers, and had this to say on the potential opportunity,
“[The coaches] haven’t told us anything right now, everyone’s getting a chance, whoever plays the best this week will go, so we’ll see what happens. I’m just trying to make my reads, get in the film room a lot to study Houston, and just trying to get some time with the receivers going.”
The only score of the game for Temple was on a strip sack and fumble recovery for a touchdown, made by senior DL Jacob Martin. As an older player on the team, Martin tries to set the tone, and keep the team’s morale up after that type of loss.
“We can still accomplish all we set out to accomplish this year. We’re only 2-2, I truly believe we can be put back in the same situation we were in last season. This is where teams usually fall apart, or show their resiliency,” Martin said. “We believe we’re a top 25 program and top 25 programs win championships, and that’s our goal.”
Chapelle Russell, the redshirt sophomore out of New Jersey will be wearing the coveted No. 1 jersey this week. Only a sophomore, Russell continues to show his leadership on and off the field.
“Single digit tuff is something this program prides itself on, so for them, the coaches and my teammates to respect me enough as a player to be in that No. 1 jersey it means a lot,” Russell said. “It tells me people have noticed all the hard work I’ve been putting in. Our best football is yet to come so I’m looking forward to what’s coming up next.”
Coach Collins spoke on this weeks No. 1.
“He starts on special teams, he played 80 snaps on defense last week. He’s gained a lot of experience over a short 4 weeks, myself and the rest of the coaching staff are really excited about his play. There is a healthy respect from our players for Chapelle.”
The last time Temple squared off against Houston was in the 2015 as they battled in the first AAC Championship game. Temple lost that game 24-13. They look to get back in the “W” column this week against Houston, and start a new winning streak.
“Obviously they’re a tough opponent, they’ve played some really good football games, and won a ton of games over the last 4 years, Coach Collins said. “Major Applewhite and I were together over at Alabama in 2007, he and I were really good friends so I respect the job he does as an offensive mind and as a head coach. We’re excited they have really good talent on both sides of the ball.”
The game will kickoff from Lincoln Financial Field this Saturday afternoon at 12:00PM.
Follow @TU_Sportsdesk for all coverage leading up to the game
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