PF.com preview: SMU takes on Temple seeking 3-0 AAC start

[PonyPride]

SMU takes on Temple in search of third straight AAC victory
Owls enter Friday's game on four-game losing streak
Posted on 10/16/2023 by PonyFans.com

The SMU Mustangs will seek their third victory in as many games against American Athletic Conference opponents when they take on Temple at 6 p.m. (Central time) Friday at Lincoln Financial Field.

A quirky bit of scheduling in SMU’s last go-round as a member of the AAC has the Mustangs (4-2 overall, 2-0 in AAC games) playing their second weekday road game in eight days.

The Owls enter Friday’s game with a record of 2-5 overall, and 0-3 in AAC games. They won two of their first three games, edging Akron, 24-21, in the opener and then blasting Norfolk State, 41-9, two weeks later. In between, they lost to Rutgers, 36-7, and welcome the Mustangs while hoping to break out of a four-game losing streak, in which they have fallen to then-No. 20 Miami (41-7), Tulsa (48-26), UTSA (49-34) and North Texas (45-14).

The Owls have been outscored this year by an average of 35.6-21.9 points per game. With the exception of the opener against Akron, only two games have been decided by as little as two touchdowns. In their victories, the Owls have outscored their opposition by an average of 32.5-15, but in their losses, all of which have included at least 41 points by Temple’s opponents, they have fallen short by an average score of 45.75-27.

In other words, that mantra preached so many coaches about how important it is to get out to an early lead could prove particularly important this week. If the Mustangs can get a lead, there is a legitimate reason for optimism for a big scoring day.

There are many connections between the teams. SMU running back L.J. Johnson and Temple running back Darvon Hubbard were teammates at Texas A&M. Owls kicker Camden Price and defensive lineman Allan Haye played at Miami with SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee and the rest of the former Hurricane assistants, and Temple head coach Stan Trayton coached SMU punter Ruan Bujcevski, defensive end David Abiara and linebacker Chris Adimora at Texas.

Sophomore quarterback E.J. Warner has exceptional bloodlines — he is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner. He earned AAC Rookie of the Year honors and Freshman All-America honors a year ago after a season in which his accolades included the establishment of new school records for passing yards (527) and completions (45) in a single game — marks he set while throwing five touchdown passes in the season finale against East Carolina. In six games this year — he missed the drubbing by North Texas (Quincy Patterson replaced him), but is expected back to face the Ponies — Warner has completed 153 of 271 passes (56.5 percent) for 1,741 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions.

SMU defensive coordinator Scott Symons said this week that when Warner is in the lineup, the Owls’ offense can be dangerous. He said the Mustangs will prepare for both Temple passers, but it is clear that when healthy, Warner is the unquestioned No. 1 quarterback.

“You look at the UTSA game, where they scored on a … what has been, historically, a really solid defense since they’ve been there,” Symons said. “(The Owls) put up points all over them… Last week’s game, they were without their starting quarterback, which changed the offense completely. So three weeks in a row, once again, we’ll have to have a plan for two different quarterbacks. When Warner’s in the game, I think they’ve done a really nice job as far as being able to move the ball as of late, when you look at the last half of the season with him back there.

“They’re a rhythm passing team. The do a good job with their receivers — not a lot of drops, distributing the ball to the tight ends, the receivers, the backs … and then having a wrinkle, run game-wise, each week, to kind of keep you on your toes. But between the quick game, the screen game … I think they do a really good job of being balanced.”

Symons is a little generous with the comment about Temple’s offensive balance: the Owls average more than twice as many yards per game (268.3) through the air as they do on the ground (112.3). Put a different way, the offense averages 11.3 yards per reception and 3.8 yards per carry, and Temple has nearly twice as many touchdowns through the air (12) as on the ground (7).

In other words, as Warner and the passing game goes, so goes the Temple offense overall.

Temple’s top two receivers from last season, Jose Barbon and Adonicas Sanders, are gone. Graduate student Amad Anderson (5-11, 170), a 2021 transfer from Purdue, leads the Owls with 27 receptions for 394 yards — a team-leading average of 14.6 yards per catch (and has reached the end zone once). David Martin-Robinson has 25 receptions for 305 yards, and is one of three Owls, along with redshirt sophomore receiver John Adams and grad running back Edward Saydee, with two receiving touchdowns.

The Owls’ top ground threat this year has been freshman Joquez Smith (5-8, 190), the godson of former Temple star and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowls. Smith leads the Owls with 58 carries for 280 yards (4.8 yards per carry), and has scored once on the ground. Redshirt sophomore Darvon Hubbard (6-0, 210) has 49 carries for 222 yards (4.5 yards per carry) and a pair of scores. The Owl who has landed in the end zone most often in the running game is Patterson, the backup quarterback, who has four rushing touchdowns.

The Temple defense has been generous this season, allowing 438.4 yards to go along with the 35.6 points per game; each total ranks 12th among AAC teams.

One of the highest honors in the Temple program is when a player is selected to wear a single-digit jersey — an honor decided by a player vote. Two Owls, graduate linebacker Jordan Magee (6-3, 225) and redshirt sophomore Jalen McMurray (6-0, 180) are wearing single-digit jerseys for the second consecutive season.

Magee has a team-leading eight tackles for loss this season, and his 51 tackles trail only the 55 posted by graduate safety Tywan Francis (5-11, 195), who also has four tackles for loss and an interception. Magee also has a pair of sacks, which trails only the 3.5 from redshirt junior linebacker Diwun Black (6-3, 230).

“They play really hard,” SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods said. “I think they’ve got a well-coached team. They’re pretty sound in what it is that they do. They’ve got some defensive linemen that have the ability to penetrate the line of scrimmage.”

Among the leading defensive linemen are redshirt sophomore defensive end Tra Thomas (6-4, 225), who has 21 tackles, and 1.5 tackles for loss, and graduate defensive tackle Jerquavion Mahone (6-4, 300), who has 14 tackles and a tackle for loss.

[Otto]

Make it 3-0 AAC.
Beat Temple!

[PerunaPunch]

This game will provide additional interest in that it might give us some insight with respect to how our program stacks up against future AAC conference mates (Miami and Rutgers) as well as upcoming opponents UNT and Tulsa. So, there should be plenty for PonyFans to mull over next week.

[PerunaPunch]

And I hope this is not a trap game setup being the second mid-week road game in a row and with the return of their purportedly good QB Warner.

[Charleston Pony]

This SMU team shouldn't take any opponent lightly. We haven't beaten a team with a winning record yet so it's really hard to judge how good this team might really be. The loss @ TCU looks worse with every loss the toads suffer

[Charleston Pony]

This game will provide additional interest in that it might give us some insight with respect to how our program stacks up against future AAC conference mates (Miami and Rutgers) as well as upcoming opponents UNT and Tulsa. So, there should be plenty for PonyFans to mull over next week.

North Texas beat this Temple team by a wider margin than anyone else they have played this season but it's hard to make any comparisons because of game location (home vs road) and who is healthy enough to play week in and week out for each team. This year's SMU team appears to have more depth at most positions than we've seen in years past but our QB situation remains an unknown if Stone goes down

[PerunaPunch]

This SMU team shouldn't take any opponent lightly. We haven't beaten a team with a winning record yet so it's really hard to judge how good this team might really be. The loss @ TCU looks worse with every loss the toads suffer

To complicated matters, you could say the same about Temple. They beaten nobody teams with their QB, and they've lost to some decent teams without their QB. To me, evaluating Temple now would be akin to evaluating the Mustangs after they beat up Prairie View. Not much to go on until tomorrow, I'm afraid.

[Dukie]

This SMU team shouldn't take any opponent lightly. We haven't beaten a team with a winning record yet so it's really hard to judge how good this team might really be. The loss @ TCU looks worse with every loss the toads suffer

It was TCU’s Super Bowl. I was impressed how SMU handled ECU. We’ll win this one handily.