After last week’s come-from-behind, Senior day victory, the Temple Owls (7-4,6-1) will look to take down a Connecticut Husky (1-10, 0-7) team that has struggled mightily all year long.
Temple is looking to end the regular season on a good note after the team’s disappointing 0-2 start to the season. They are 6-1 in conference play, which is good for second place in the American West, which puts them behind only the No. 9 Central Florida Knights. UConn has had a season that they can look to throw away as they sit in last place in the conference.
Matchup
Last week the Owl’s started off slow in the first half against the South Florida Bulls. The Owl’s defense was not able to keep the Bulls off the field, and usual offensive stalwarts in the form of running back Ryquell Armstead and wide receiver Ventell Bryant were not able to get comfortable. The Owl’s were down 17-0 at halftime, but then flipped the switch in the second half as the offense was efficient and the defense smothered the Bull’s offense. The game ended in the Owl’s favor at 27-17.
This week the Owl’s will look to start off hot and keep it going throughout the entirety of the game, as the last thing the team wants is to end the season on upset-watch.
The defensive unit for the Owls has been leading the way ever since the team turned it’s season around. Although they gave up 52 points and 49 points to UCF and Houston in back-to-back weeks, it has been noticeable that the opposing quarterbacks have been pressed all game long and have been forced to make tough throws. The defensive line is led by defensive tackle Michael Dogbe, who will be looking to make UConn quarterback David Pindell anxious from the first snap.
The Huskies have had an abysmal season and will look to try to finish their season off with their first conference win of the season. It’ll be a big task for the team to accomplish though, as the only two categories that they’re better than their opponents in this year are time of possession and average yards per punt.
They’ve scored only 259 points and have given up 548 on the year, and on average throw for under 100 yards per game, meaning that they entrust their run game more to win games for them. Pindell is the team’s leading rusher on the season with 1,263 yards on the ground. He’ll look to be the focal point of their offense, so Dogbe and company won’t have to worry as much about receivers making plays downfield.
Defensive backs Rock Ya-Sin and Deleon Randall should be able to blitz a little more in this game since the Huskies don’t throw the ball all that often, and will put more pressure on Pindell. If the Owl’s can simply shut down Pindell in the run game, this will be their game to lose.
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