E.J. Warner continues to show he could be the long-term answer at quarterback for Temple

Temple has several roster questions to answer this offseason, but one position group might be settled.

E.J. Warner, who is the bright spot of a rebuilding program, could be Temple’s long-term answer at quarterback. Warner’s signature performance in Saturday’s 43-36 loss to Houston (6-4, 4-2, American Athletic Conference) almost led the Owls to an upset as 19.5-point underdogs.

Warner, who completed 42 of 59 passes for 486 yards and three touchdowns, set single-game school records for completions and yards. He also leads the FBS with 830 passing yards this month, and he’ll add to that number in Saturday’s 4 p.m. game against No. 22 Cincinnati, which will be televised on ESPNU.

“It is an honor to be recognized with those records on the record books and all that,” Warner said. “But, really, I am just here to win ballgames, and it’s just disappointing. I didn’t make enough plays to win the game, and I need to. That’s really all I’m focused on.”

Temple head coach Stan Drayton was impressed with Warner’s performance and poise despite the defeat.

“Just a guy who was very decisive, got rid of the ball,” Drayton said at Monday’s press conference. “[He] had to make a couple of tough throws. Those defensive ends from Houston are real players. The very first play of the game, he’s got somebody sitting in his lap, and he’s got to deliver the ball for a completion.

“So the composure, the confidence level. The way he is spreading the ball around again shows you the knowledge that he has for the entire system.”

In a loss, Warner dueled with Houston quarterback Clayton Tune, who ranks 10th in passing yards and is tied for third in passing touchdowns in the FBS. Tune, who completed 29 of 40 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns, benefited from his team’s 196 rushing yards last weekend.

Warner received less support from his running backs but operated with similar precision, completing 71.2% of his throws. The Owls rushed for only 47 yards against the Cougars.

“Early on, there is a lot of safety rotation [that] created eight-man boxes, overload looks, linebackers playing real tight to the ball and you get outnumbered in the run game,” Drayton said. “We tried to bang our heads against those fronts from time to time and didn’t have a whole lot of success.”

That’s where Warner entered the picture and played a role that has become familiar to him since he was first thrust into action after D’Wan Mathis was benched against Lafayette on Sept. 10. Since taking over the reins, Warner has completed 202 of 344 passes for 2,334 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Warner is not perfect. He has tossed nine interceptions and completed only 58.7% of his passes thus far. And, ultimately, the Owls (3-7, 1-5 AAC) made mistakes that cost them back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

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Still, Warner’s recent success is not surprising to teammates. He arrives at Edberg-Olson Hall for early-morning film sessions and returns to watch more after class.

“He probably is here all day,” wide receiver Jose Barbon said. “I see him probably get here at like 6 a.m. He will probably leave here [at] like 3 or 4 p.m. He watches film after practice for about like two hours.”

Warner was one of five players named to the AAC Honor Roll on Monday, but he is not worried about accolades and stats. Temple has two games remaining against Cincinnati (8-2, 5-1 AAC) and East Carolina (6-4, 3-3 AAC), a challenge Warner is eager to address.

“They are tough,” Warner said. “They’re a good team. They made the playoffs last year. [They are] a good defense that flies around … they are strong. They got a lot of good players, so we just got to go out there with our game plan and execute our job.”