Temple falls to Navy and dives deeper into despair following its second straight loss

After an uninspiring season-opening loss at Oklahoma, Temple went to Annapolis, Md., looking for an opportunity to correct its mistakes in an early-season American Athletic Conference contest against Navy.

Instead, almost everything went wrong for the Owls (0-2, 0-1 AAC), who lost, 38-11 — and were behind by more than 30 before they found their footing. They now head back to North Broad with an even longer list of concerns than they left with after losing to a team they beat by two possessions last season.

Here are three key takeaways from the Owls’ second consecutive blowout loss:

Temple’s defense, which flashed some positives against Oklahoma, completely broke down against the Midshipmen. The unit allowed multiple big plays after allowing just one play of 40-plus yards against the No. 15 Sooners on Aug. 30.

Navy fullback Alex Tecza racked up 92 rushing yards on nine carries, including a 65-yard touchdown run to put the Midshipmen up, 23-0, midway through the second quarter. Coach Stan Drayton said before the game that patience and attention to detail would be key to stifling Navy’s triple-option offense, but the Owls’ linebackers struggled to defend Tecza and quarterback Blake Horvath.

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

Horvath finished with 122 yards on 15 carries and 112 yards on 5-of-9 passing. First year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic has reinvented Navy’s offense, and the new-look passing attack was on full display.

Temple’s secondary held its own against the Sooners last week, but the Owls couldn’t figure out Navy’s run-pass option, with defenders regularly out of position after biting on play-action fakes.

The pass rush, which recorded three sacks against Oklahoma last week, struggled to get in the backfield against a significantly weaker Navy offensive line and failed to record a sack or tackle for a loss.

Temple’s Achilles heel for years has been its lack of a consistent running game. The Owls finished Saturday’s loss with just 35 rushing yards.

The Owls completely reinvented their running back room in the offseason by bringing in transfers Terrez Worthy, Antwain Littleton, and Tyrei Washington, but old problems have plagued the new group. No one who rushed against Navy averaged more than 3.2 yards per attempt.

Joquez Smith, who entered the year at the top of the running back depth chart, only carried the ball once. Littleton had nine attempts but for just 22 yards. E.J. Wilson had four rushes for 2 yards, and quarterback Forrest Brock had five carries for 16 yards.

Brock, who Drayton reaffirmed was the team’s starter this week, looked better, but still did not put the offense in a position to stay competitive — this time against a beatable conference opponent.

Brock threw for 277 yards and a late touchdown pass, but coupled that with two interceptions and coughed up a fumble. He completed 30 of his 46 passes but missed multiple open receivers throughout the day. His legs also were less of a factor than they were a week ago against Oklahoma.

Despite Brock’s struggles, Rutgers transfer Evan Simon and redshirt freshman Tyler Douglas remained on the sideline.

Brock’s completion percentage was significantly better than it was a week ago, but his comfort level was not. Drayton blamed Brock’s Week 1 struggles on “first-game jitters,” but he rushed multiple passes into tight windows and looked just as uncomfortable as he did in his first start.

Temple will look for its first win of the season in its home opener against Coastal Carolina (1-0) on Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+) at Lincoln Financial Field.

» READ MORE: Follow the Inquirer's full coverage of Temple athletics right here!