College Football Preview: Temple (3-3) at Navy (2-3)

by Chloe Stowe · October 11, 2018

Temple at Navy; Saturday, Oct. 13 (image: NavySports.com)

Temple Owls at Navy Midshipmen

Annapolis, MD – Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018; 3:30 ET

Navy returns home after a blistering 35-7 loss to Air Force last Saturday in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, they will be facing Temple, a hot AAC rival on a two-game win streak.

Here’s a look at how the two teams’ season statistics compare.

The Team Stats

Points per Game: Temple: 32.7… NAVY: 30.2
Rushing Yards per Game: Temple: 146.8… NAVY: 310.4
Passing Yards per Game: Temple: 229.3… NAVY: 71.2
Total Offense per Game: Temple: 376.2… NAVY: 381.6
Penalties/ Penalty Yards per Game: Temple: 39 / 63.2 yards… NAVY: 17 / 31.2 yards
Time of Possession: Temple: 27:33… NAVY: 34:43

Rushing Leaders

Temple… Ryquell Armstead: 122 carries for 626 yards and 6 TDs, averaging 5.1 yards per carry
NAVY… Malcolm Perry: 105 carries for 584 yards and 6 TDs, averaging 5.6 yards per carry

Passing Leaders

Temple… Anthony Russo: 65 completions on 119 attempts (54.6%) for 873 yards and 5 TDs
NAVY… Garret Lewis: 12 completions on 25 attempts (48.0%) for 197 yards and 1 TD

Receiving Leaders

Temple… 1.) Branden Mack: 22 receptions for 257 yards and 3 TDs; averaging 11.7 yards per reception
2.) Isaiah Wright: 18 receptions for 201 yards and 2 TDs; averaging 11.2 yards per reception
NAVY… 1.) CJ Williams: 6 receptions for 148 yards and 0 TDs; averaging 24.7 yards per reception
2.) Taylor Jackson: 5 receptions for 64 yards and 0 TDs; averaging 12.8 yards per reception

Opposing Tracks

Recently, the Temple and Navy programs look to be on opposing tracks. In several areas this polarity is coldly clear.

Record

Temple started the 2018 season 0-2. It was only with last week’s blowout win against East Carolina that the Owls finally reached the .500 mark.

After a poor start in a loss at Hawaii, Navy rebounded in games two and three with impressive wins against Memphis and Lehigh. However, the next two games saw a slide in performance that has left Midshipmen fans wincing. Last week’s loss to Air Force particularly stung.

Quarterback

On the quarterback front, Temple’s redshirt sophomore, Anthony Russo, is improving with every game. Against East Carolina, Russo threw four TDs to four different Temple receivers.

Meanwhile, Navy’s Malcolm Perry has stumbled as of late, his run game taking a hit that has left the Mids with a wilting offense.

Special Teams

Special teams play, in particular, have differentiated Navy and Temple. Quincy Roche, Isaiah Wright and Ty Mason have all excelled in their time on the field for the Owls. Blocked kicks, punt returns for touchdowns and hefty numbers on return yardage have become hallmarks for Temple.

Navy, however, ranks 129th in kickoff returns and 113th in net punts. A blocked punt returned for a TD by Hawaii and a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD by SMU were critical errors the Midshipmen could not rise above.

Thankfully, past is neither present nor future. This Saturday’s game in Annapolis can be a turning point for Navy… if the real Midshipmen decide to show up.

Temple Players to Watch

Shaun Bradley… The junior LB, on the season, has 42 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception he returned for a TD
Rock Ya-Sin… The senior CB is ranked 10th in the nation with 1.7 passes defended per game. He also has 2 interceptions this season.
Quincy Roche… The redshirt sophomore DE is tied for first in the nation with two blocked kicks.
Ty Mason… The redshirt freshman CB is tied for second in the nation with one punt return for a TD.