Temple's top priority: Win No. 6

With two games remaining in his second season as the Temple football coach, Matt Rhule made it abundantly clear that becoming bowl eligible is the team's top priority.

"It's extremely important; I'm not going to hide from that," Rhule said. "From the standpoint of coming where we were to this, I'm extremely proud of them, but I want to finish well down the stretch. With two games left, it's our goal. We have to find a way to finish well and get it done with two really good teams left to play."

The Owls (5-5, 3-3 American Athletic Conference), who were 2-11 in Rhule's first season, are coming off their third bye of the season after a 30-13 loss at Penn State. Temple closes the season with games against a suddenly streaking Cincinnati (7-3, 5-1), which has looked good winning five straight, and a Tulane team (3-8, 2-5) that has struggled all season.

A win against either will make the Owls bowl eligible for the first time since 2011. Five AAC teams - Memphis, Central Florida, Cincinnati, East Carolina, and Houston - have reached six wins. South Florida (4-7) still is vying for one of the five primary bowls affiliated with the AAC.

If the Owls are going to make a push when they resume play Saturday, the biggest fixes have to come on offense. After averaging 38.2 points and winning four of their first five games, they have lost four of their last five while averaging just 13.8 points.

While much of the focus has been on sophomore quarterback P.J. Walker, the decline in the team's play from the first half to the second has been too precipitous for one person to bear all the blame.

Over the last five games, Temple has converted just 55 first downs, an average of 11 per game. In that same time frame their opponents have converted 119 first down, or 23.2 per game.

More devastating has been the disparity in yards gained. Temple has gained 1,220 yards of total offense (just 244 yards per game) since racking up 497 yards on offense in a 35-24 win over Tulsa on Oct. 11. Conversely, their opponents have gained 2,011 (better than 402 per game).

"Our issues on offense are a little bit rampant and we just have to settle down and correct them," Rhule said. "That starts with the coaches."

Since passing for 259 yards in a loss to Houston on Oct. 17, Walker has passed for 111, 70, 140, and 187 yards, respectively, in the last four games.

In fairness, Walker has been without the help of a consistent running game. Senior receiver Jalen Fitzpatrick, who played on a bad ankle but still caught four passes for 113 yards against the Nittany Lions - one going for a 75-yard score - has been the only receiver all season consistently making plays.

The common thread through all of this has been an offensive line that hasn't started the same five players since the Tulsa game five weeks ago. Only center Kyle Friend returned from last season's unit, and before the season began Rhule said the line's development would be most crucial to the Owls' success.

"Hopefully, we can get them all healthy and back out there because they're crucial for what we're trying to do," Rhule said.

Dec. 22, Miami Beach Bowl, Miami, 2 p.m., vs. Brigham Young

Dec. 26, Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg, Fla., 8 p.m., vs. ACC

Dec. 27, Military Bowl, Annapolis, Md., 1 p.m., vs. ACC

Jan. 2, Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, Texas, noon, vs. Army/Big 12

Jan. 3, Birmingham Bowl, Ala., 1 p.m., vs. SEC

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