Temple preps for Navy with hopes of landing first road win in Stan Drayton era

Temple kicked off its 2024 season with the impossible task of taking down No. 16 Oklahoma. The Owls did not come close, falling 51-3 Friday night in Norman, Okla.

However, they saw some positives after an offseason filled with question marks. The revamped defensive line looked healthy and the secondary limited the Sooners’ explosive passing game.

Now, the Owls shift to their American Athletic Conference opener against Navy (1-0) on Saturday in Annapolis, Md. (3:30 p.m., CBSSN). While the Midshipmen are no easy task, Temple appears committed to tweaking small details rather than making widespread changes after its disappointing season opener.

“Coming off Week 1, we obviously have some things to work on,” coach Stan Drayton told the media Monday. “A lot of that we can control, which is a positive. We really need to get more intentional about protecting the football, protecting the quarterback, making sure that our players are aligned in the play call and playing with confidence.”

» READ MORE: Stan Drayton sticking with Forrest Brock at quarterback after struggles: ‘Forrest is our guy’

This game may mean a little extra to the Owls. Last year, Temple handed Navy, 32-18, one of its three wins, and the Cherry and White defense played its best game of the year. This season the Owls have a chance to win their first road game with Drayton at the helm.

But Drayton doesn’t plan to overlook any opponents.

“We’re approaching every game to win,” he said. “We’ve got to [home] in on things that we do — great things, things that need to be improved on. Navy’s going to present their problems by their system of offense, their discipline, and the physicality they bring on defense.”

Temple used its physicality last season to stuff Navy’s triple-option offense at Lincoln Financial Field, keeping the Midshipmen out of the end zone for much of the contest. But the Owls had NFL linebackers Jordan Magee and Yvandy Rigby at the time.

The Owls’ 2024 linebackers played well in their first game, but Drayton thinks the unit has some areas to improve before they can beat the Midshipmen, especially missed tackles and blown assignments.

Navy coach Brian Newberry built on the Midshipmen’s new Wing-T offense in their 49-21 win against Bucknell on Saturday. The historically run-heavy program threw 19 passes, completing 10, for 173 yards and three touchdowns, while still running for 264 yards against its FCS opponent.

While Drayton’s squad is focused on discipline this week, Newberry’s is trying to play as fast as possible. Newberry called the Owls “really athletic” and said his team has to step up this week to compete.

“I don’t think there is a great way to attack an athletic team,” Newberry said Monday. “You just have to account for their speed and certain things in space you may not be able to get that you get against other people. I don’t think it’s going to affect our game plan a whole lot. We’re going to play a lot faster on Saturday. There’s going to be a noticeable difference from what we saw Saturday. Things are going to happen faster.”

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Temple has its work cut out this weekend in Annapolis, but the team has its best chance at a road victory in quite some time. The Owls haven’t claimed a conference victory away from home since beating UConn in 2019.

Drayton’s team has a level of confidence that it believes will give it a shot against Navy.

On Sunday, Temple’s leadership council showed its support for quarterback Forrest Brock after his 128-yard, two-interception performance against the Sooners. Single-digit defensive linemen Demerick Morris and Latrell Jean spoke up at the meeting, telling Brock they believed he would get them where they needed to be.

“Latrell and Demerick told him, ‘We believe in you. We have your back,’” Drayton recalled. “I think Forrest is taking that seriously. There was a level of confidence and security among the people around him, and that’s where he needs to continue to grow.”