There was optimism before the Temple Owls played their first football game of the 2022 season. They were starting a new chapter under rookie Coach Stan Drayton. And they were playing a Duke team that had also fallen on hard times. All that optimism fell like a thud as the Owls were outclassed, outrun, and outscored by the Blue Devils 30-0.
It certainly wasn’t the way Coach Drayton wanted to start his tenure at Temple. The Owls were dominated on offense, defense, and special teams. As Coach Drayton said after the game; “I don’t think that we really showed up in the first half, but the one positive thing that we can take from it is that we showed up in the second half.”
So how do the Temple Owls improve? Let’s examine three areas where improvement is possible. These improvements may not be reflected in Temple’s immediate won-loss record, but they will be foundations to build on for better days ahead.
Temple Owls Showed Life on Defense
For as bad as the defense looked in the first half, they did show marked improvement in the second half. Holding Duke to six points in that half demonstrated that their bend but don’t break defense can work if executed correctly. Linebackers Layton Jordan and Jordan Magee played especially tough against the run. Unfortunately, the defensive line was manhandled by Duke’s offensive line causing many tackles to be made several yards downfield.
And cornerback Jalen McMurray had some nice moments defending the pass. Building off the play of these players and finding some complementary pieces, especially on the defensive line should translate into better play by the Owl’s defense.
Let D’Wan be D’Wan
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D’Wan Mathis did not have an effective game against Duke, but he does have some tools to work with. He is very mobile and has a strong if not accurate throwing arm. It also didn’t help that the offensive line had a poor game and that the Owls running game was almost non-existent.
Moving forward, coach Drayton might look to deploy more rollouts for Mathis, to get him out in space and to take some pressure off of his offensive line. This would also provide him with an opportunity to become more of a run-pass threat.
He has good receivers in Jose Barton and Adonicas Sanders who can create space in the secondary and make some plays. One of the biggest challenges for Stan Drayton will be to pump some life into the listless running attack. That will more than likely be a long-term project.
Temple Owls Must Reduce Their Mistakes
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The Temple Owls turned the ball over twice and were assessed some key first-half penalties that kept Blue Devils’ drives alive. For the Owls to move forward, they must cut down on these costly mistakes. They do not possess the talent yet to overcome these challenges.
No one expected that the Owls would all of sudden be transformed into a winning football team. Coach Drayton and his staff knew that they may not see immediate results in terms of the team’s winning percentage. But incremental improvements and a reduction in mistakes should pave the way for success over the long haul.