Mids, Temple headed in opposite directions early this season
Two football teams seemingly headed in opposite directions will meet Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Temple is surging, having won three of its past four games in convincing fashion. Navy, on the other hand, is skidding, having dropped two straight and coming off an embarrassing 35-7 blowout at the hands of service academy rival Air Force.
Temple is coming off a 49-6 rout of East Carolina. Quarterback Anthony Russo, making his fourth straight start, completed 21 of 25 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns.
Temple’s 43-point margin of victory was its largest ever against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. East Carolina had been playing well, knocking off in-state rival North Carolina and falling by just a touch- down to AAC East Division contender South Florida, which is unbeaten and ranked No. 23 in the latest Associated Press poll.
“It was an impressive win against a really good opponent,” Temple coach Geoff Collins said. “Wewere hitting on all cylinders in every phase of the game.”
Temple started the season in shaky fashion, getting upset by FCS foe Villanova, 19-17, in the opener before falling to Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference, 36-29, in Week 2.
Russo took over as the starting quarterback and led an impressive 35-14 road victory over Maryland that turned around the team’s fortunes. Temple manhandled Tulsa, 31-17, in Saturday, 3:30 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network Radio: 1090 AM Line: Temple by 51⁄ its conference opener before bowing to Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference in a shootout, 45-35.
Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo was asked during the American Athletic Conference weekly teleconference what has impressed him about Temple’s offense.
“Unfortunately, there’s too much that impresses me. I don’t know where to start. Who do you try to stop?” Niumatalolo said. “They are big, strong and physical up front and can run the football with a great back. The quarterback is throwing the ball well and making great decisions. After a tough loss you don’t want to put on the tape and watch them play. That’s a scary offense and they’re operating really well right now.”
Navy (2-3) needs to regroup after losing back-to-back road games with a bye week in between. Niumatalolo said after Saturday’s loss to Air Force that he is “very concerned” because the Midshipmen are not playing a very good brand of football.
“We’ve got a lot to improve on as a team. We’re just not playing very well right now,” he said.
What makes being a member of a conference so difficult is that there is no rest following an emotional service academy. Navy jumps right back into conference play against a tough Temple team that won last year’s meeting between the schools, 34-26.
“To lose to Air Force is devastating for our program. We got our butts whipped both coaching and playing. It’s a tough pill to swallow, especially since it’s one of our rivalry games,” Niumatalolo said. “Unfortunately, we get back into league play against a very good Temple team that is playing well right now. A very talented team, a very physical team that has always given us trouble.”