Temple will face explosive East Carolina next

It hasn't gotten any easier for the once-hot Temple Owls. And it won't get any easier this Saturday when they host the best team they have seen all season.

No. 21 East Carolina (6-1, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) has a high-octane offense that averages 39.6 points per game. The Pirates present a huge challenge to a Temple squad that has gone from talking earlier this month about possibly becoming bowl eligible to a team that just wants to put a check in the win column.

"We have a tremendous task ahead of us this week," coach Matt Rhule said of the Pirates. ". . . They are probably the best team that we have played in the last two years. Offensively, they are absolutely dynamic, and defensively, they play with a tremendous swagger and energy."

Temple (4-3, 2-2) has lost two in a row.

After dropping their second game of the season to South Carolina, 33-23, the Pirates responded by beating Virginia Tech, 28-21, on the road. Since that loss, the Pirates have won their last five games, including a 70-41 rout of North Carolina.

Two Pirates seniors are garnering national attention: quarterback Shane Carden and wide receiver Justin Hardy.

Last week in a 31-21 win against Connecticut, Carden notched the seventh 400-yard passing game of his career, throwing for 445 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Carden's 2,574 passing yards rank eighth in the nation.

Hardy, who - like Carden - began his career on the ECU scout team, enters the game with 327 career receptions and needs just 23 to set the Football Bowl Subdivision record held by former Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles. This season, Hardy has 61 receptions for 779 yards and six touchdowns.

Hardy moved into second place on the all-time receiving list with a 14-catch, 186-yard performance in the UConn game.

ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said that Carden and Hardy lead by example.

"They are a joy to be around because of the way they do their jobs," McNeill said. "They are focused on the task at hand. They work hard and treat each day like they will lose their jobs if they don't practice very hard."