Temple football returns to Lincoln Financial Field Saturday for homecoming, looking to even their record at 2-2. Following a seven point defeat to Penn State, the Owl’s will look to take down Charlotte for the second consecutive season with kickoff set for noon.
Last season, Temple defeated the Charlotte 49ers 47-3 on the road, on the way to a 7-0 start to the season. This will be the second overall meeting between the two programs in their history.
Key Matchups:
Temple Defense vs. Charlotte Rushing Attack
Charlotte returns senior running back Kalif Phillips, who rushed for 961 yards and five touchdowns in the 2015 season.
Against the Owls in 2015, Phillips ran for 125 yards. The bruising back will not be easy to bring down- standing 5-10 and 221 pounds, it will require multiple defenders to take him down.
On the season, the Owl’s defense has allowed 164.7 rushing yards per game, but has improved since the week one loss to Army, when they allowed 329 yards on the ground.
The Owl’s front seven, led by senior linebackers Avery Williams and Stephaun Marshall, will look to bottle up a Charlotte rushing attack that has averaged 72.3 yards per game. The duo combined for 11 total tackles against Penn State last week.
Penn State running back Saquon Barkley did break off a big 55 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter last week. Look for the Temple defense to try and take away the big play against Charlotte on saturday.
Jahad Thomas vs Charlotte Defense
Senior running back Jahad Thomas is coming off of his first action of the season against Penn State last week. Thomas rushed for 52 yards on 14 carries, and two touchdowns in the loss. He was welcome back in the air attack too, as he was the team’s leading receiver with six catches for 48 yards. Thomas was injured the first two weeks of the season with a hand injury.
Following a season in which Thomas rushed for 1,262 and 18 total touchdowns, he will look to lead the Owls rushing attack in the rest of the 2016 campaign. Thomas expects to be “the man” heading into this week, and moving forward this season.
Players to Watch:
Phillip Walker
The Owl’s senior quarterback Phillip Walker will look to build off his performance last week at Penn State. Walker had his best game of the season, as he threw for 286 yards on 34 attempts, along with an interception as he took a hit late in the fourth quarter.
On the season, Walker has competed 57.8 percent of his passes, for 578 yards, three touchdowns, and five interceptions.
If the Owls want to be successful through the air Saturday, Walker will need to spread the ball to different receivers, like he did against Penn State.
Delvon Randall
The ophomore defensive back had two key turnovers against Penn State, and has forced three total turnovers on the season. He picked off Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley in the third quarter, leading to a Phillip Walker rushing touchdown, and recovered a fumble on punt coverage leading to a Jahad Thomas touchdown run.
Randall has accounted for three of Temple’s seven turnovers on the young season. Look for Randall to have a big impact on the Owl’s defense this week.
Both teams will look to turn their season around on Saturday, in what will be the final non-conference game for each side.
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