Owls are no match for Knights in 70-13 drubbing:
Central Florida dominated against the Owls in every aspect of the game. Temple coach Stan Drayton was honest about the result: “There’s not a whole lot of positive to take when you lose like that."
Temple’s return to the field after 12 days off was not one to remember as the Owls got trounced by host Central Florida, 70-13, including surrendering 56 consecutive points, Thursday night at FBC Mortgage Stadium.
It was a competitive game for the first quarter as the Owls (0-2 American Athletic Conference, 2-4 overall) trailed only 14-10. But the Knights scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives, and 21 points in all, in the second quarter en route to a 35-13 lead at halftime. The Knights (2-0, 5-1) added 21 more in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth to outscore Temple 35-0 in the second half.
» READ MORE: Temple faces first of several late-season tests in Thursday’s game against UCF
Temple gave up a season-high 737 yards. Prior to Thursday, the Owls were allowing 15 points per game, which ranked second in the AAC.
“We go to work,” first-year coach Stan Drayton said about the team’s approach. “Again, every opportunity is a great opportunity to learn, and we got an opportunity to learn who we are as a football team right now. And what are we going to do as a result of this loss? Are we going to rally the troops to hold each other accountable? Are we going to invest more?...”
What we saw
The Owls struggled to stop UCF’s potent rush attack. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who rushed for 37 yards and three touchdowns, changed the momentum of the game with his legs. In addition to his scrambling, Plumlee completed 18-of-22 passes for 373 yards and four touchdowns.
Plumlee is one of three FBS quarterbacks in the last 10 years to pass for four touchdowns and rush for three more in one game, joining Paxton Lynch and Lamar Jackson.
“We just didn’t do a good job containing the edge,” linebacker Jordan Magee said. “UCF did their job. They got outside of us.”
Quarterback E.J. Warner completed 24-of-43 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown. The freshman rebounded from a three-interception performance against Memphis, but the outcome was more lopsided.
After a strong first-half performance, Warner and Temple’s offense went dormant as the run game (59 yards) and offensive line continued to underwhelm. Temple’s total offense was 293 yards.
Breakout performance
Wide receiver Jose Barbon has emerged as Warner’s favorite target. He connected with Barbon, who caught six passes for 85 yards, on a 7-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 23 seconds left in the first quarter.
Kicker Camden Price hit a 49-yard field goal with 8:43 left in the second quarter, and Price made a 26-yard field goal on Temple’s first drive of the game. After taking over for Rory Bell, Price has not missed.
Key Takeaway
Through six games, Temple has averaged 2.7 rushing yards, last in the AAC.
Temple’s poor offensive line has contributed to a lackluster rushing attack. Temple right tackle James Faminu and offensive guard Bryce Thoman were ruled out before kickoff. Without Faminu and Thoman, Temple started a new offensive line combination for a sixth straight game.
“Not good enough,” Drayton said about the offensive performance. “There’s not a whole lot of positive to take when you lose like that. We will get a chance to look at the film and kind of get into some small detail things.”
Up Next
Temple faces Tulsa on Oct. 21 at Lincoln Financial Field (7:30 p.m., ESPN+).