Nate is impressed by Temple but says Shane Buechele and the Mustangs have the talent to meet the challenge they will face Saturday against the Owls (photo by Max Franklin).

PonyFans.com is proud to have 19-year-old Nate back as a guest columnist. This time, he breaks down Saturday's matchup against Temple.

Feel free to post comments and constructive criticism, ask him questions, and/or give suggestions for upcoming columns! (He can be followed on Twitter at @Pony_NATE_tion.)

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For the first time in Gerald J. Ford Stadium history, two ranked teams will face off as the No. 19 SMU Mustangs take on No. 25 (in the Coaches Poll) Temple. It is SMU’s most important conference game to date, and the Ponies are catching a red-hot Temple team coming off a huge win over then-ranked Memphis.

Before we jump into this matchup, one interesting storyline going into this matchup: the crowd. There is no denying the fact that Ford Stadium has been empty often since opening in 2000. For the first time, there is a legitimate contender and a ranked team to root on and the crowd was decent for the Tulsa game, but there were plenty of empties. With a matchup like this taking place Saturday, another sub-par attendance will answer a lot of my questions I’ve had over the years wondering if winning would change the small turnouts.

Temple is clearly preparing for a raucous environment though. “We know it is going to be loud there at SMU. It is going to be packed and another hostile environment,” Temple quarterback Anthony Russo said. “I think having that experience one time at ECU has prepared the guys for that atmosphere Saturday and it will help us big-time.”

But we’re not here to read about what takes place in the stands. What goes down on the field Saturday afternoon is far more important. The 5-1 Owls are on a roll and are coming off a controversial win over Memphis in which the Tigers’ potential game-winning drive stopped on what I believe to be an incorrect call. It was fourth-and-9 and the review overturned a catch that would have given Memphis a first down and put the Tigers in field goal range. The narrative leading up to the SMU-Temple game might have been a bit different had that call not been overturned.

(photo by Max Franklin).

Temple wins with stellar defense. The Owls rank 31st in total defense and 22nd in scoring defense, surrendering just 19 points per game. They also are elite at getting off the field on “the money down” — third down — allowing opponents to convert just 28.7 percent of their third downs. Temple ranks 35th nationally in sacks, as well, “getting home” (to the quarterback) 16 times this season.

One more stat that stuck out to me: Temple is fourth in the country in red zone defense with opponents scoring just 12 times out of 22 attempts, tightening the screws to the tune of a 54.5 scoring percentage in the red zone. It will be imperative for SMU to finish all of its red zone drives with points. Nothing is more deflating to a team than putting together a great drive and get deep in the red zone and coming away with no points.

The Owls have a three-way tie for leading tackler between linebacker Shaun Bradley, defensive back Harrison Hand and defensive tackle Ifeanyi Maijeh, each of whom has 35 tackles so far in 2019. Temple has accumulated 44 tackles for loss (26th in nation), thanks to its front seven constantly winning the line of scrimmage and getting into the backfield.

One player to keep an eye on is Maijeh, who leads the team in sacks with six, but he isn’t an edge rusher. He constantly is creating push in the middle of the defense, as he also has five quarterback hurries to his credit. The 285-pound sophomore will certainly keep the SMU offensive linemen’s hands full.

The key for SMU will be to stick to its identity — continue to push the ball down the field and hunt for big plays in the passing game. Quarterback Shane Buechele has thrown the country’s fourth-most big-time throws with 14 according to Pro Football Focus. PFF defines a “big-time throw” as (1) “a downfield throw or a pass into a tight window, (2) a high-value play opportunity for the offense or (3) and a pass that shows excellent timing and accuracy.” The matchup of the day is SMU’s vaunted passing attack against the stingy Temple secondary, which allows a tick under 200 passing yards per game.

SMU wide receiver Reggie Roberson is going to play Saturday after a scary injury against Tulsa that put him out for a while. The significance of his return can not be understated, as Temple’s secondary has been dealing with the injury bug, as starting safety Benny Walls is not expected to play and Keyvone Burton is expected to play after missing the Memphis game due to injury. The tandem of James Proché and Roberson has been a terror, as each is in the top five in most catchable passes caught without a drop. Their matchup with the secondary and top corner Harrison Hand will be a key in determining Saturday’s outcome.

Temple is coming off a four-takeaway outing against Memphis, so it is imperative for Buechele to take care of the ball. I expect the Ponies to be able to run the ball well but protecting the ball and winning the turnover battle will be key.

Head coach Sonny Dykes was also clearly impressed with this defense.

“They play kind of a physical brand of football — lot of long, athletic guys … got a lot of speed on their defense. Been real impressed with the size and speed of their corners. They play winning football, they forced a lot of turnovers against Memphis. Just playing really fast, really physical, flying around to the ball and creating things,” he said. “They’re just playing a winning brand of football and when you play like that, you’re hard to beat.”

Offensively, Temple is rock-solid. It doesn’t do anything spectacularly, but also is simply good at everything. Temple scores 30 points per game and averages 446 yards per game, which ranks 39th in FBS. The Owls run the ball well, averaging 165 rushing yards per game, at an average of 4.1 yards per carry. They love to pound the rock, to an average of 40 carries per game. Russo also has played extremely well, completing 60 percent of his passes for 280 yards per game (No. 29 in FBS) and 14 touchdowns.

I’m not sure I’ve ever done this in one of my writeups, but I’m going to highlight an offensive lineman. Center Matt Hennessy was named to Pro Football Focus’ Midseason All-America team for his elite play. He is one of two centers with an elite pass-blocking grade and is the only one with an elite run-blocking grade. His pass blocking has been superb, allowing just one pressure on 253 pass-blocking snaps. Temple has been built on its offensive line and Hennessy is one of the best players in the country.

Re’Mahn Davis and Jager Gardner are the main running backs who have taken most of the carries and the work has been split pretty evenly, but Davis is leaned on more. There are 950 yards and eight touchdowns between the two, averaging five yards per carry. Neither is involved much in the passing game.

The passing weapons are limited primarily to three receivers who have caught 78 percent of the balls thrown. Jadan Blue is the leading receiver with 479 yards and is flanked by Branden Mack (460 yards and five touchdowns) and Isaiah Wright (361 yards and three touchdowns). Keep an eye out for Mack, who is an enormous target (6-5, 220) that to whom Russo looks when in the red zone.

The key for SMU will be to continue to put heat on the quarterback. SMU has one of the best pass rushes in college football and it needs to continue that Saturday. But Temple has been elite in pass protection, allowing Russo to be sacked just seven times in six games. That matchup between SMU’s front and Temple’s o-line is what most intrigues me. Delontae Scott and Demerick Gary and the rest of the defensive line group will have their work cut out for them against Hennessy and the rest of Temple’s offensive line.

Overall, I think SMU is the better team, but you can make the case that Temple is the best team the Mustangs have played so far. I like SMU in this matchup though, and a lot of it has to do with the timing of this game. Temple is coming off an emotional home win against a ranked team, while the Ponies are coming off a bye week that could not have come at a better time.

“I think we were worn down physically, but I think we were worn down mentally and emotionally as much as anything. (The bye) gave us a chance to regroup a little bit,” Dykes said, “gave us a chance to have three practices where we really focused on fundamentals, which I think we got a little bit loose with some of our fundamentals.”

This is going to be a close game that will come down to who takes care of the ball and which defense is able to get the most stops. Both offenses have been on a roll, but I think SMU’s elite offense will rise above Temple’s solid defense. As I said earlier, the timing of this game swings it in SMU’s favor as well. The Ponies will lean on their veteran quarterback in a huge game like this, and I think Buechele will have his best outing of the year, especially with Roberson healthy again. I’ve got SMU in a tight one, as the Ponies will move to 7-0 and continue their meteoric rise no one saw coming.

Nate’s take: SMU 31, Temple 27