Temple football heads into the second weekend of the college football season seeking a better result than the last outing in Norman, Oklahoma. Not a whole lot went well for Stan Drayton’s Owls in the 51-3 loss against the 15th-ranked Sooners.
Temple returned to the East Coast, scoured the game tape from the matchup with Oklahoma, and prepared adjustments for another road contest. The Navy Midshipmen are waiting at home in Maryland after thrashing Bucknell 49-21 to earn their first win of the 2024 season last weekend.
According to CBS Sports, the Navy squad enters the matchup at #108 in the country. CBS Sports has a rather unfavorable view of the Temple program listing them dead last in their report at #134. Temple fell five spots from #129 to start the season following their opener.
Temple vs Navy: How to watch
When: Saturday September 7th: 3:30PM EST
Where: Navy Marine-Corps Memorial Stadium, Maryland
How: CBS
Temple vs Navy: Betting odds
Spread: Temple +12.5 | Navy -12.5
Moneyline: Temple +360 | Navy -470
Total: Over/Under 42.5
Coach Slayton stands behind Starting QB
Junior quarterback Forrest Brock earned the starting quarterback job to open the season for Temple. The starting signal caller did not have an easy time in Oklahoma finishing the day with 12 completions on 25 attempts that collected 128 yards. Unfortunately, two of those throws also found the wrong team for turnovers. Despite the rocky experience, Coach Slayton stood behind Brock as his guy moving forward and never considered removing him from last week’s loss:
“Forrest is our guy,” coach Drayton told the media. “When you have a guy who hasn’t played a whole lot of football, it’s not the smart thing to do to take him out of a game situation where he can gain that experience. I wanted to see how Forrest was going to react.”
The transfer from Santa Monica Community College will get his next starting opportunity against a team that allowed over 330 yards of total offense last week against an inferior subdivision opponent.
Navy opened Week One with a win
Navy rushed for 264 yards on 53 carries against an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision opponent in the initial game of 2024. Senior fullback Daba Fofana led the way with 82 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown jog in the first quarter. Junior Alex Tecza received 12 carries resulting in 40 yards and a score. Overall, 11 different players had at least one carry for the Midshipmen against Bucknell.
Junior Quarterback Blake Horvath threw for 108 yards on 7-of-12 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. Horvath added 33 yards on the ground to complement the ground game for Navy. Sophomore QB Braxton Woodson received playing time in the second half racking up 15 yards on eight carries including a rushing touchdown. Woodson was 3-for-7 through the air with a touchdown and an interception.
In the opening matchup last weekend, Navy’s defense caused three turnovers against the Bison and recovered two of those fumbles for changes in possession. There was minimal pressure on the defense in the opener as Navy scored 28 unanswered points in the first half to cruise to a 28-6 lead at the break and a 49-21 final score.
Temple vs. Navy series history
The battle on the gridiron between Temple and Navy dates back to their first meeting in 1988. On 09/17/1988, Temple defeated Navy 12-7 in Annapolis, Maryland. The overall series is split dead even at 9 games won for each side over 18 total meetings.
Perhaps the biggest game in the series came on 12/03/2016 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship Game. Temple traveled to Annapolis and lifted their first AAC trophy following a 34-10 win over Navy.
Last November, Temple scored 32 points on the way to a victory over Navy at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls stormed out to a 10-point first-quarter lead and a 17-0 halftime score. Two unanswered touchdowns from Navy tightened the score to 17-15 in the second half but the game would get no closer following a 4th quarter touchdown from Jordan Smith with nine minutes remaining.
Saturday’s contest in Annapolis, Maryland will be the 19th meeting all-time between the two programs. Can the Owls shock the Midshipmen and sink their battleships for the second season in a row?
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
