Temple, and Ravens RB Bernard Pierce, crushed the Terps 38-7 last year at College Park.
For the season, they were 9-4, 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference, and beat Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl.
This year, the game is being played in Philly. The Owls have also moved back to the Big East. Earlier this Summer, Phil Steele told us he expected Temple to be down this year.
Steven Lassan from Athlon Sports, echoed those comments, mentioning that Temple lost several key players.
Temple started their season Saturday, by blasting Philadelphia rival Villanova 41-10. There were 32,000+ on-hand for that game vs. the Wildcats. It will be interesting to see if there are more for Maryland.
Temple’s Head Coach Steve Addazio was quoted after that game saying, ”I wanted us to establish that toughness and see us play that smash-mouth football. And, we did.”
Their RB Matt Brown (5’5, 165lbs, Milford Mill, Baltimore County) rushed for 145 yards on 19 carries. Their QB Chris Coyer rushed for 80 more on 13 attempts. Passing wise, Coyer was just 5 for 11 for 61 yards and a TD vs. Villanova.
4 WR’s caught a pass, with only Jalen Fitzpatrick catching 2 (for 33 yards).
Brown was also used as the primary return man for both Punts, and Kicks.
Couple of interesting notes from the Yahoo / Rivals Team Report: (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=teamreports-2012-ncaaf-ttb)
“One of the pressing questions heading into the opener was how the linebackers would play. They looked good. Sophomore middle linebacker Nate Smith led the Owls with seven tackles and junior strong-side linebacker Olaniyi Adewole had four tackles, including a sack for minus-five yards. Ahkeem Smith, the lone linebacker with some experience, had one tackle. But as a group, they flew to the ball and played well.”
Boston College Transfer Montel Harris – the Eagles all-time leading rusher – had just 6 touches, pulled after half-time with a sore hamstring. Addazio said he wanted to save Harris for Maryland.
Punter / Kicker Brandon McManus was named the Big East Specialist of the week.
Temple Media Guide:
http://www.owlsports.com/sports/2012/7/27/FB_0727123956.aspx?path=football
Temple Season Preview:
http://www.owlsports.com/documents/2012/7/27/47-56_Season_Preview.pdf?id=2091
Beyond Brown, Temple has several other Maryland natives on the roster:
Samuel Benjamin………WR Fr. 6-0 195 Baltimore, Md. / Mount Saint Joseph
Sean Boyle**…………….OL #Sr. 6-5 300 Towson, Md. / Calvert Hall
Antonio Belt …………….WR Fr. 6-0 170 Forestville, Md./ Forestville MA / Fork Union
Brian Burns……………….DB So. 6-0 185 Bowie, Md. / Riverdale Baptist
Hassan Dixon…………….RB R-Fr. 5-9 175 Germantown, Md. / Northwest / Naval Academy
Nathan Hairston ……….WR Fr. 6-0 176 Frederick, Md. / Gov. Thomas Johnson
Gary Onuekwusi* ………LB Jr. 6‐1 235 Baltimore, Md. / Paul Laurence Dunbar
Drew Stefanelli ………….FB Fr. 5‐11 225 Rockville, Md. / Good Counsel
Avery Williams …………ATH Fr. 5‐10 198 Baltimore, Md. / Archbishop Curley
Desmond Williams……..LB R‐Fr. 6‐0 203 Upper Marlboro, Md. / DeMatha Catholic
Tavon Young……………..DB Fr. 5‐10 159 Oxon Hill, Md. / Potomac
This is an important game for Maryland to win, and it is time that Edsall shows he can devise a plan to give his team a chance to win, in a scenario you might not expect them to do so. In this game last year, the Terps got punched in the mouth, and did not respond. Maryland has to slow the running game, and force Temple to throw. This should be a match-up of strength vs. strength.
Conversely, Maryland has to obviously limit their turnovers, and establish their own running game. Later today, the injury report should come out. I believe Kenny Tate, Matt Robinson, AJ Hendy, Isaac Goins are going to be out for this game. I’m hopeful that the DE’s Keith Bowers, and Isiah Ross are back. Not sure if we see Nick Ferrara, or Brandon Ross.
If you can win this game, and get a bit healthier; next week becomes interesting. If you can not compete in this game, it is possible that the wheels completely come off once again.
Terps Opponents Weekly Review
9/8 @ Temple: The Owls are 1-0, coming off a 41-10 thrashing of Villanova.
9/15 UConn: The Huskies are 1-0, beating UMass 37-0. Up-Next: NCST
9/22 @ West Virginia: The Mountaineers are 1-0, beating Marshall 69-34. Up-Next: James Madison
10/6 Wake Forest: Wake is 1-0, beating Liberty 20-17. Up-Next: North Carolina
10/13 @ Virgina: The Cavs are 1-0, beating Richmond 49-13. Up-Next: Penn State
10/20 NCST: The Wolfpack is 0-1, losing to Tennessee 35-21. Up-Next: UConn
10/27 @ Boston College: The Eagles are 0-1, losing to Miami 41-32. Up-Next: Maine
11/3 vs. Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are 0-1, losing in OT at VaTech. Up-Next: Presbyterian
11/10 @ Clemson: The Tigers beat Auburn 26-19. Up-Next: Ball State
11/17 vs. Florida State: The Seminoles beat Murray State 69-3. Up-Next: Savannah State
11/24 @ North Carolina: The Tar Heels beat Elon 62-0. Up-Next: Wake Forest
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.