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With three games left in Temple’s season, the Owls have officially been eliminated from bowl contention. This season now marks the fifth straight in which Temple will not compete in a postseason game.

After beating Tulane 52-6, there isn’t much reason for optimism left for Temple, but head coach Stan Drayton making sure his team doesn’t stop.

“You can’t claim to be ‘Temple TUFF’ if you can’t take a punch in the mouth and turn around the next day and get up and get back in the game,” Drayton said. “You’re fake if you don’t. We got hit in the mouth. Most great players, most great teams, get hits and they grow and build from that, and we took quite a few this year. We’re a young football team and we build and we grow from that.”

With two wins in their next three games, the Owls would surpass the 3-9 mark that Drayton has been unable to overcome in his first two seasons. Next up for Temple: Saturday’s home game against Florida Atlantic, the lone winless team in the American Athletic Conference.

FAU is coached by Tom HermanDrayton’s boss at Texas when Drayton was the Longhorns’ running backs coach and Herman was the program’s head coach.

This time, Drayton’s Owls are favored to win, and Saturday represents the perfect “get the right game” for Temple. But will Temple show that it hasn’t actually stopped?

Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM EST and airs on ESPN+.

WHEN THE TEMPLE IS IN CONNECTION

Temple turned in its worst offensive performance of the season against Tulane. The Owls gained just 158 ​​yards from scrimmage, 75 of which came from running back Terrez Worthy on a late touchdown run. Quarterback Evan Simon was limited to just 56 passing yards and was sacked six times.

An offensive line that has struggled all season lost its one solid piece in the middle Grayson Mainswas carted off the field against Tulane and will be questionable to play against FAU, Drayton said Monday.

Fortunately for Simon and the offensive line, FAU has only recorded 11 sacks this season, a mark that is tied with Temple for last in the AAC. Defensive lineman Jacob Merrifield leads the pass rush for FAU with 2.5 sacks and defensive end Chris Jones has added 6.5 tackles for loss.

FAU’s middling scoring defense has allowed 32 points per game. match. Security CJ heard leads the FAU defense with 68 total tackles, which ranks him seventh in the AAC. Linebacker Jackson ambush is second for FAU with 55 total tackles.

FAU has had success defending the pass, giving up a respectable 210 yards per game through the air. It is against the run where FAU has struggled.

FAU’s rushing defense ranks 125th in the nation, having allowed 218 yards per carry. fight on the ground. In Temple, FAU will face an Owls rushing offense that averages less than 100 yards per carry. match.

Worthy’s late touchdown against Tulane gave Drayton and company something to work with heading into FAU. While it ultimately didn’t affect the outcome, Worthy Drayton showed he’s a guy who won’t quit and could line up for a big game against a poor rushing defense.

“One thing I can’t say is, as bad as it looked, I’m going to have to really look hard at the film to see if there’s any stops,” Drayton said, “And (Worthy) didn’t quit. It was blocked well and he was able to be explosive at the rim and that’s what we try to do with that kid is try to get him in space. That’s where he is dynamic and he showed his speed was good to see.”

Temple also hopes to welcome back leading receiver Dante Wright, who has not played since Temple’s Oct. 19 win against Tulsa when he left early in the first quarter with an injury. Drayton listed Wright as “probable” for the second straight week, leaving hope for his return.

WHEN THE TEMPLE IS IN DEFENSE

Temple’s defense looked like a bright spot midway through the season, keeping the offenses of UConn, Utah State and Tulsa at bay. The secondary played well and the run defense showed tangible growth.

The last two weeks have been as bad as it gets for Temple’s defense.

Temple has given up 50+ points to ECU and Tulane, the first time they have given up 50+ points in back-to-back weeks since weeks two and three of the 2006 season. Al Golden’s first season as head coach.

“We’ve got to execute better,” defensive tackle Latrell Jean said. “We’ve got to execute our calls better, that’s really what it is. It’s just consistency. We stopped UConn and then we stopped Tulsa, but then we went to ECU and didn’t stop ECU. We have to stay consistent when it’s going to stop the race.”

FAU doesn’t boast an elite rushing offense, but a solid offense capable of doing damage. FAU has rushed for more than 100 yards in all but one game this season and is averaging 116 rushing yards per game. match. CJ Campbell Jr. leads the rushing attack with 524 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground.

FAU has had issues at quarterback all season. Cam Fancher had been a starter all season before leaving the game with an injury and being relieved Kasen Weisman. Weisman was solid in relief of Fancher, throwing for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He also offers dual-threat ability as he rushed for 41 yards last week.

The main target for whoever plays quarterback will be wide receiver Omari Hayes. The redshirt sophomore leads FAU with 35 receptions for 498 yards. Campbell also presents a receiving threat out of the backfield as he is FAU’s second-leading receiver with 266 yards.

This game represents a reunion with several of his former teammates for Jean, who transferred to Temple in the offseason after five seasons for FAU. Jean has emerged as a defensive leader for Temple and is excited to face his former team, but knows he has to stay tunnel-visioned on the task at hand and take down his old team.

“Extra emotions? No,” Jean said. “I’m excited to play against my old team, my old teammates, but I can’t get too high and I can’t get too low. I have to treat it like a regular game . I don’t want to go in there with my feelings completely out. For me, I want to treat this as another game.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

FAU uses two kickers, Morgan Suarez and Carter Davis. Suarez manages the extra points, where he is perfect on the year and has made 6 of his 8 field goals. Davis has attempted five field goals on the season and has made just two. However, both of his marks are from 50-plus yards. Temple kicker Maddux Trujillo so no action against Tulane.

Punter Logan Lupo has been one of the best players in the conference for FAU, averaging 45 yards per carry. punt, which is second in the conference. Temple tips Dante Atton is on the opposite end of that, sitting dead last in the AAC at 39 yards per carry. punt.

Neither team has been able to make anything happen in the second leg. FAU wide receiver Milan Tucker handles kick returns and ranks last in the AAC in average yards per return at 18. Hayes is a punt returner for FAU and has 63 return yards on 10 attempts.

For Temple, Worthy has continued to handle kick returns and is averaging 20 yards per carry. return. Wide receiver Tyler Stewart has taken the punt returns with Wright out, returning three for 10 yards.