Cincinnati offense will challenge Temple 'D'
As they approach their home finale, Temple remains one win away from bowl eligibility.
IF HISTORY can be any indicator, at least recent history, Temple is well-prepared to take on the offensive juggernaut coming to Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.
The Owls took care of then-No. 21 East Carolina on Nov. 1, limiting the Pirates - who were averaging a league-best 36 points - to just 10 points. Temple narrowly lost to American Conference leader and offensive powerhouse Memphis, 16-13, on a last-second field goal earlier this month.
And on Saturday, the Owls - one win away from becoming bowl-eligible - host Cincinnati, the top scoring offense in the league. The Bearcats (7-3, 5-1 American) are averaging a robust 37.3 points per game. Temple's 19.3 points allowed per game is fourth best in the conference.
It's a clash of styles, certainly.
The Bearcats - fresh off a 41-0 blowout of Connecticut on Saturday - are coached by former Auburn, Texas Tech and Ole Miss coach Tommy Tuberville and bring a dynamic offense to the Linc led by sophomore quarterback Gunner Kiel. Kiel sits atop the league in touchdown passes with 27 and has a league-best 153.3 passer efficiency rating, completing 60 percent of his throws.
Cincinnati has a bevy of weapons at receiver as four players have pulled in at least three touchdowns. Only Jalen Fitzpatrick can say the same in Temple's receiving corps.
"It looks a little different maybe than some of the other offenses," coach Matt Rhule said during yesterday's weekly American Conference coaches teleconference. "I know at the time, East Carolina was the best offense in the league and then when we played Memphis, I think they were leading the league in scoring and rushing offense and now it's another tremendous offense.
"Really, our focus has to be to just try to limit them the best that we can. And then don't just give points away on offense. If we don't turn the ball over, it'll help our defense in terms of at least trying to slow down this Bearcat attack."
And if you count on recent history again, there's no guarantee the Temple offense will be able to help its defense the way Rhule wants. Quarterback P.J. Walker has thrown 11 interceptions during Temple's recent 1-4 slide.
The Owls (5-5, 3-3) had a perfect week for a bye last week after the loss to Penn State. Rhule made it clear that last week was to get healthy, focus on academics and correct some recent mistakes. Without the university's classes in session, the focus this week can be strictly on Saturday's game.
"Being able to really concentrate just on football for a week is great and hopefully we can recreate, sort of, some of the focused nature that you have during training camp during this week," Rhule said. "At the end of the day it's still football, we've gotta go play. I think it will be a good time for us to focus in on a really good team.
"I don't sense any panic on their part, I just think they kind of need to get their bodies back together and go play two games as hard as they can, as physical as they can - flying around with the best guys on the field that we can get on the field."
In terms of getting guys back on the field, Rhule said that running back Kenny Harper (ankle) and defensive back Jihaad Pretlow (hamstring), who came home from the Penn State game on crutches, are questionable for Saturday.
Prime-time finale
Temple will finish the regular season with a game at Tulane on Dec. 6. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will air nationally on ESPN2.