Temple Football’s Bowl Game Hopes Dwindle As Owls Make Staffing Changes

Temple Football gifted the Charlotte 49ers their first FBS win in nearly two years on Saturday, Oct. 17, losing 38-31 at home behind a 31-point second half onslaught. The Owls let go defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun and relieved defensive coordinator Brian Smith of play-calling duties in response to the loss. Their defensive line has struggled all season, managing just nine sacks through seven games despite a deep rotation; cornerbacks coach Henry Baker will call plays for the defense per a report from On3.

Two weeks ago, the Owls (2-5, 1-2 American) had a 75.9 percent chance of hitting the six-win threshold needed to make it to a bowl game. After upset home losses against UConn and the 49ers, who entered play as the second-worst team in the FBS, those odds are down to 11.3 percent according to ESPN’s FPI metric, which runs 10,000 or more simulations of each game on a team’s schedule in order to forecast their predicted record. Right now, Temple is expected to finish with 4.3 wins.

The Road Ahead

They rank No. 10 of 14 teams in the American Conference, checking in at No. 104 of the 138 teams in the FBS. The Owls have one more loss to give if they want to make it back to a bowl game for the first time since 2019… and given that they’ll have to go on the road against current conference leader Memphis (5-2) in their season finale, Temple will need to start stacking wins in a hurry. Of the five games remaining on their schedule, FPI ranks just two opponents, UAB (No. 117) and Rice (No. 124) below the Owls. They’ll host both those teams, but road dates at East Carolina (No. 90), Navy (No. 91) and Memphis (No. 57) will pose a significant challenge.

Their bye week is this week, providing a chance to find their footing after a bevy of injuries at running back, wide receiver and on the offensive line. Head coach K.C. Keeler also hinted at making changes to his coaching staff and roster as a result of their putrid effort against Charlotte