Temple Football Preview: Blazers’ Defense a Top 20 Unit

Temple Football will try to snap a four game losing streak when they host UAB at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. While the Owls (2-5, 1-4 American) have two home games left in the season, they’ll hold their Senior Day festivities against the Blazers (5-4, 3-2 American); they enter as a comfortable home favorite, winning in 68 percent of ESPN analytics simulations, but opened at -110 on the money line. The point spread sits at -2.5, while the over/under sits at 47.5

The Blazers have a similarly shaky passing game but haven’t found the rushing production to supplement it. They’re averaging just 21.8 points per game — Temple, for all their faults, is putting up 24.9 points per game — but have a fierce defense that has kept them in games. Here’s what to look for in this matchup on ESPN+.

Expect intrigue at quarterback as has been the norm for Temple this season. Ajani Sheppard (85-of-140 for 1,245 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions) missed last week to injury, setting up Jaxon Smolik (28-of-53 for 302 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions) to put on his best performance of the season against Navy’s shaky passing defense.

Scouting Temple

Sheppard, if he can play, adds a critical dual-threat to the Owls’ offense, picking up 476 positive yards and five rushing touchdowns this season. Head coach K.C. Keeler noted during his weekly press conference that both quarterbacks have at least one year of eligibility remaining, so their ability to settle in over the final month of the season could give Temple some valuable continuity moving forward. 

Expect a bigger share of carries for Sam Brown V (35 carries for 228 yards and three touchdowns) as he continues to battle back from injuries; Keveun Mason (108 carries for 588 yards and three touchdowns) is another solid option, but neither of them has seen many touches in recent weeks as the Owls tried to dig themselves out of early deficits. 

Temple’s receiving trio of Colin Chase (24 catches for 381 yards and two touchdowns), Jayce Freeman (21 catches for 316 yards and three touchdowns) and JoJo Bermudez (19 catches for 298 yards and three touchdowns) remains excellent, but their passing attack has been disjointed becuase of injuries and inconsistency at quarterback and on the offensive line. Bermudez broke out against the Midshipmen, scoring a pair of touchdowns, but the Owls haven’t managed to replicate many performances from week to week.

The Owls’ defense has struggled throughout the season, allowing an average of 188 rushing yards per game and 8.4 passing yards per attempt, but they performed well against East Carolina; Navy’s triple option offense gave them fits, but early turnovers did little to help the situation.

Scouting the Blazers

UAB’s defense has been their saving grace. Despite their own offensive struggles, they’re allowing less than 300 offensive yards per game, 176 on the ground and 122 through the air. Opposing offenses are managing just 5.84 yards per pass attempt and 4.2 yards per carry. The Blazers aren’t making a ton of splash plays, averaging just over five tackles for loss, two sacks and a turnover forced per game, but their consistent play has proved enough for them to hover around .500.

Quarterback Ryder Burton (121-of-223 for 1,474 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions) has struggled to match Sheppard’s production despite a far greater share of the snaps; he’s averaging just 6.6 yards per attempt this season to Sheppard’s 8.9 in a far from perfect offense. 

The Blazers rely on a running back tandem of 6-foot-1, 235 pound sledgehammer Rod Robinson II (122 carries for 551 yards and a touchdown) and shifty 5-foot-7 Bam McReynolds (91 carries for 411 yards and four touchdowns); Ja’Vin Simpkins has siphoned away some short yardage snaps, adding three rushing touchdowns to the mix.  Robinson is also valuable as a pass-catcher and is the only member of the Blazers with more than one receiving touchdown. 6-foot-3 CJ Smith (23 catches for 437 yards) and Ty Mims (23 catches for 358 yards) are the leading receivers in terms of yardage.