Cincinnati presents another test for Temple's defense

The jubilation the Temple Owls felt after their dramatic overtime victory last month in Connecticut has been replaced by maddening frustration the last three weeks.

How does an Owls team that held UConn scoreless after the first quarter fail to make any meaningful defensive stops in the last 10 quarters in its games against No. 24 Rutgers, Pittsburgh, and No. 11 Louisville?

"Well, we are playing better offenses," said Temple coach Steve Addazio, whose squad has given up an average of 42.3 points in the three consecutive losses. "We were playing really good defenses [Maryland and Penn State] in the beginning of the year. Now, we are playing really good offenses."

It won't get easier on Saturday for the Owls.

Temple hosts Cincinnati, which leads the Big East in scoring. One has to assume the Bearcats (6-2, 2-1 Big East) see how the Owls' flaws are being exposed and exploited. And as a result, they'll try to capitalize on those weaknesses at Lincoln Financial Field

Temple (3-5, 2-3) lacks depth on the defensive line, especially since the suspension of defensive tackle Kamal Johnson, who was arrested in an assault of his girlfriend.

The youthful linebacker corps is routinely caught out of position while over-pursuing, and the defensive backs often get burned while trying to compensate.

"So it's never one thing," Addazio said. "It's really a few things that kind of come together for you. And I think there's where we are."

The Bearcats lead the conference in scoring offense (34.2 points per game) and rank second in total offense (453.5 yards per game).

Temple's defense started out well against Rutgers on Oct. 20.

The Scarlet Knights' first-half possessions ended in a punt, punt, fumble, turnover on downs, punt, and interception. However, Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova woke up and threw touchdown passes on his team's four possessions after intermission.

The Owls haven't been able to stop anyone since.

Pitt scored on eight of its 11 possessions Oct. 27. This past Saturday, Louisville scored on seven of its first 10 possessions before shutting things down in the fourth quarter.

In the process, Temple has surrendered seven scoring drives of 82 yards or more during the three games. Three drives went for at least 90 yards. The Owls have also yielded a total of 12 touchdown passes, 891 passing yards, 1,407 total yards, 127 points, and 66 first downs.

"We are really young," Addazio said. "We are making a bunch of young-guy mistakes all over the field. And they pop up at the wrong times.

"It's not 20 plays away. If you could grab a hold of six plays in a given game, I'm telling you, you are right in it till the end."

Maryland game postponed. Temple and Maryland have rescheduled next season's game on Sept. 7 to a yet-to-be-determined season. Maryland instead will play Old Dominion, an FCS school in the Colonial Athletic Conference. Temple opens next season at Notre Dame on Aug. 31.