Last fall, Temple left Annapolis deflated after blowing a 20-point fourth-quarter lead and suffering a 33-27 overtime loss to Navy.
"It was a very quiet bus ride," Owls linebacker Alex Joseph said. "A lot of emotions were running high, so we were just quiet and thinking about what happened. We were kind of heartbroken."
Tomorrow at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, Temple will have a chance to erase that memory.
The Owls and the Midshipmen will meet in an intriguing nonleague contest that features two of the hottest teams in the nation. Both have five-game winning streaks, and neither has dropped a game since Sept. 19.
Temple is 5-2; Navy, 6-2.
"We really can't focus on what happened last year," said Temple safety Dominique Harris. "It is a new year, everybody grows and gets better. We're trying to focus on what they do this year and how to play them this year."
On Oct. 17, Temple pinned a 27-13 loss on a visiting Army team that, like Navy, employs an option offense. Navy is just doing it better, ranking third in the nation in rushing with 286.4 yards per game.
In a 13-10 victory over Wake Forest last week, the Midshipmen did not throw a single pass while running 64 times for 338 yards.
"They're very similar, but they have their own nuances," Temple coach Al Golden said about Army and Navy. "Navy is a couple of years ahead in its development. They have a great system. They don't have any negative plays. There are no penalties and no sacks. And they protect the football. They're very difficult to deal with on game day."
With starting quarterback Ricky Dobbs out last week with a knee injury - he leads the country with 16 touchdowns - Navy went with sophomore Kriss Proctor, who ran 23 times for 89 yards. Dobbs has not been ruled out for tomorrow's game.
In its win over Toledo, Temple rode a running game of its own to 211 yards rushing on 51 carries. The Owls attempted only 22 passes as running back Bernard Pierce ducked and dodged his way to 212 yards and three touchdowns on 40 attempts.
With 766 yards on 135 carries, the 6-foot, 210-pound Glen Mills graduate has already set a Temple freshman record.
"He's obviously the focal point of our offense," Golden said. "When you run the ball effectively, you can go into a game with a number of other things that you can try to get done in a game. But if you have no core, all you're doing is hunting and pecking all game, which is what we did the whole season last year."
Golden said his team's performance in its rematch with Navy will tell whether the Owls truly learned from the one that got away last year against the Midshipmen.
"We need to look at what we need to do better to finish those games," said Golden. "We didn't quite have the experience or the leadership to hold it together. But I do hope they remember that. It's easy for people to say just forget it. But I want them to understand what went wrong and what needs to change for us to come out on top this season."
Notes. Temple received its 19th oral commitment for 2010 when linebacker Nate Smith of Highland Park, N.J., declared yesterday. The 6-0, 220-pound Smith is the brother of former Eagles tight end L.J. Smith.
Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.
