Temple Owls @ Maryland Terrapins Preview & Keys
LET’S RUMBLE
College Park Maryland is getting ready to host its first College football game of the 2018 season when the Temple Owls football team (0-2) comes to town for the Maryland Terrapins home opener, a Noon 12ET kickoff on the Big Ten Network (BTN). The Temple Owls are coming off a tough lose last weekend & will be facing a very resilient University of Maryland Football team.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
A Chance for the Temple Owls to get their first win of the season and build some quality momentum heading into their conference opener. As for the Maryland Terrapins a chance to go 3-0 for just the 3rd time in about 10 years and really head into the bye week with plenty of confidence and motivation before Minnesota in 2 weeks to open up Big ten play.
TEMPLE OWLS SEASON SO FAR
Temple comes into College Park looking to right the ship after two very disappointing loses when compared to their preseason hype and expectations. The Owls suffered one of the opening weekend’s most stunning loses when Villanova University a Football Championship Subdivision (Fcs) member pulled off a week 1 squeaker when they upset their crosstown rivals by a score of 19-17. The following weekend Temple again couldn’t make enough stops on defense in losing to a hungry University of Buffalo football team by a score of 29-36.
MUST WIN
The Owls are now at a possibly huge turning point to their season with them staring right at a 0-3 start. The Owls are looking for answers. Expect a very desperate Temple Owls team to walk into College Park. Don’t be surprise to see a number of trick plays from the Owls on Saturday afternoon.
THE GOOD THE BAD
The Owls secondary is a strength of theirs & the Terps would be wise to avoid passing too much. The Owls do have some speed on defense especially at the corner positions. Temple Owls offense has been subpar to the least ranking 210th in YPG with just 303 only 80.5 of those come via the ground game. The Owls haven’t fared well in the early going sporting one of the worst third down defenses in the Country coming in. The Owls have allowed a whopping over 52% success rate for opposing teams on third downs. The Temple Owls defense got worn down in both of their loses so far with both opponents successfully putting together late game winning drives. Opponents have been able to run on the Owls defense successfully especially up the middle. Temple has also given up a number of huge plays to its opponents
MARYLAND TERRAPINS SEASON SO FAR
The Maryland Terrapins on the other hand are on the opposite side of the spectrum. The Terrapins (Terps) are off to a very impressive 2-0 start to their season after an offseason full of turmoil. Not feeling satisfied after upsetting a rank (23) Texas Longhorns football team in the opening weekend at Fed Ex Field. The Terps wanted to prove that win vs Texas was no fluke then went out and throttled Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio last Saturday. Maryland comes into this weekend with a lot of momentum.
THE GOOD THE BAD
The Terps would now look to start 3-0 and complete a perfect Non-Conference schedule and head into Big Ten play in great shape. Statically the Terrapins seems to have major edges in both offensively and defensively coming into this match up. The Terps offense has been putting up a lot of points (79) and their rushing attack is one of many key reasons why proven by their 445 rushing totals last weekend. An attacked lead by one of the best/deepest running backs group in the nation has been impressive in the early going. Maryland has relied heavily on steady dose of 3/4 guys whom constantly attacks opponents in waves. The Terps defense has been one of the stingiest in the Country in the early going ranking top 20 nationally in 3rd down defense. Stopping the run has been a strength for Maryland so far proven by holding BGSU last week to under 20 net rushing yards. A BSGU team that had over 150 rushing yards the previous week at a ranked Oregon team. The Terps secondary was a strength coming into the season and so far, so good. In a season where this Terrapins football team lost their teammate Jordan McNair this team has shown amazing resilience thus far.
WHY MARYLAND WILL WIN?
Look for the Terps to continue feeding their steady stable of quality backs. Looking forward to seeing Maryland come out and run the football right down the Temple Owls throats. However, expect to see Maryland mixed in some deep play action passes to keep the Owls secondary honest. Maryland comes into the game having only committed 1 turnover (fumble). Temple has 5 including 4 Interceptions (Int). Look for the Terps to sell out to stop the Owls run game forcing the Owls to become one dimensional. The Terps would then Tee Off on the Owl’s graduate senior quarterback Frank Nutile. Nutile’s 4 interceptions have been costly so don’t be surprise if the Terps come up with a few. The Terps haven’t lost a home opener in a decade winning 12 straight, Saturday should be 13. Maryland should be able to dominate both lines of scrimmages and run with little restrain from the Temple Owls. The Owls offense is neither explosive enough nor talented enough to consistently be able to move the chains on the Terps. Look for Maryland to generate a lot of 3 and outs and getting the ball back to that Coach Matt Canada’s offense.
FINAL SCORE
MARYLAND 48 TEMPLE 10
