Temple Football Preview: Facing a Mirror at East Carolina

After a chance to hit reset during their bye week last week, Temple Football will return to action at East Carolina at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Both the Owls (2-5, 1-2 American) and the Pirates (3-4, 1-2 American) have struggled to find consistency this season but, as East Carolina is hosting, Temple enters play with a 31.6 percent chance of winning per ESPN Analytics.

The Owls went through a series of staffing changes during the bye week, demoting Brian Smith from defensive coordinator to safeties coach, promoting Henry Baker to call defensive plays, and firing defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun after seven weeks of unrecognized potential along the unit.

Betting sites like the Owls more than ESPN does, but they’re still +4.5 point underdogs listed at +190 on the money line; the over/under sits at 49.5 in a matchup between two struggling defenses on ESPN+.

Scouting Temple

Besides their staffing changes, the bye week also came at a critical time because it gave Temple a chance to get healthy. Their offensive line has endured an onslaught of injuries this season, while running back Sam Brown V (25 carries for 205 yards; four catches for 105 yards and two scores) and receiver JoJo Bermudez (14 catches for 195 yards and two scores) have both missed time to injury. 

Quarterback Ajani Sheppard (74-of-120 for 1,127 yards and eight touchdowns; 331 rushing yards gained and five touchdowns) has improved with almost every week played this season, but head coach K.C. Keeler maintains that he wants to give Jaxon Smolik a chance to work his way back in the lineup after missing several weeks to injury.

In spite of the laundry list of absences, Temple’s offense has seen players like running back Keveun Mason (94 carries for 513 yards and three touchdowns) step up in a big way. Senior receiver Colin Chase (18 catches for 308 yards and two scores) is the Owls’ top target, but Sheppard and 6-foot-6 tight end Peter Clarke (17 catches for 269 yards and two scores) has developed badly-needed chemistry in recent weeks that has helped give Temple’s passing game a much-needed jolt.

Defensively, the Owls have several standout athletes capable of making splash plays, but their struggles to play as a unit led to the coaching staff shakeup: they haven’t recorded an interception since Week 1, and the lack of push from the defensive line carries over to the rest of the unit.

Scouting the Pirates

East Carolina is a near-mirror of Temple. They showed their grit in a 41-34 overtime road loss to conference-favorite Memphis, but a defense that racks up splash plays in bunches — they have 66 tackles for loss through seven games — plays with a boom or bust style that often costs them. 

The similarities continue from there. The Pirates rotate quarterbacks Emory Williams (73-of-117 for 716 yards, two seven touchdowns and one interception; 121 rushing yards gained and a touchdown) and Mitch Griffis (52-of-96 for 623 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions; 136 rushing yards gained), neither of whom has excelled this season. 

Running back TJ Engelman Jr. (89 carries for 582 yards and four touchdowns) is the heartbeat of the Pirates’ offense, while after receiver Ray Ray Joseph Jr. (31 catches for 285 yards and three touchdowns) East Carolina has a passing game via committee: half a dozen players have similar yardage, catch and target rates with no true standouts.