When head coach K.C. Keeler last spoke to the media two weeks ago, following the Owls’ loss to No. 5 Oklahoma, he was clear that Temple’s ceiling was still unknown. It made sense, Temple’s first two wins were essentially cakewalks before its 42-3 blowout loss to the Sooners.
Fast forward two weeks and Temple dropped another game to a ranked opponent, this time to No. 17 Georgia Tech. Keeler and Co. went into their bye week at 2-2, and now they’re looking to regain momentum in American Conference play.
“It’s been an interesting four weeks. We played two teams that we were physically better than and we showed it,” Keeler said. “Then we played two teams, obviously nationally ranked, and they were playing really well and we had our moments. The next eight weeks, we kind of find out who we are. Every game on this schedule in our minds is a 50/50 game.”
The first team on the list is the University of Texas-San Antonio, which has gotten the better of the Owls since joining the American in 2023. The Roadrunners have defeated Temple the past two seasons.
Temple quarterback Evan Simon was under constant duress and sacked six times in last year’s game. Former starter E.J. Warner (now with Fresno State) was only sacked once two years ago, but he was pressured and eventually suffered a concussion that caused him to miss two games.
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“They’re a physical team now and you can see it,” Keeler said. “I was on a flight this past weekend and I was watching the special teams. Just the physicality on special teams. That’s coach [Jeff Traylor’s] mindset. There’s a toughness there. He preaches this. They play physical football.”
UTSA has a strong running game, and Temple has not been good defending the run. UTSA running back Robert Henry Jr. boasts the second most rushing yards in the country so Temple has focused on stopping him during its bye-week practices.
Keeler and his players have said that when everyone is doing their jobs, the unit has shown success.
“I think when we decide to play and do our jobs, we could compete with anybody,” said cornerback Ben Osueke. “Sometimes, just the nature of the human person, you just want to make the play. I’m going to be that guy, but just taking it back to everybody do their job.”
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Temple will have to do so without three starters on defense. Safety Javier Morton suffered a low ankle sprain two weeks ago and missed the last game. Safety Louis Frye underwent surgery on his hand. They’re both expected to miss the UTSA game along with linebacker Katin Suprenant, who also had surgery on his hand and missed the Georgia Tech game.
Temple running back Terrez Worthy has left the team. Running back Hunter Smith is expected to fill that spot. Keeler has been taking his time with Smith, who transferred from Louisiana-Monroe in the spring and missed all of the 2024 season with a torn ACL.
“Hunter has got some opportunities. When he has those opportunities. He’s played really well,” Keeler said. “I think a lot of it when we got Hunter was if we can get him back to where he was when he was at Monroe. We got a really talented kid. He’s very serious about his rehab. He takes nothing for granted.”
Keeler has spent the last nine months cultivating a bond within the team. He’s now hoping that connection can help as the team heads into conference play.
“I’m still old school that way. I actually think education is still really important,” Keeler said. “I met with every player, it took me four and a half days and I wanted to hear their story and I wanted them to know I’m not coming in here to try to clean the room to bring in any new players. No interest in doing that. I have standards. I have belief systems. You have to live up to the standards I have. But we’re gonna do this thing together.”