Three takeaways from Temple’s 51-3 throttling by No. 16 Oklahoma

Temple lost its season opener 51-3 to No. 16 Oklahoma in front of a sellout crowd Friday night in Norman, Okla., leaving the Owls with a number of glaring issues to address.

It was evident that the Owls were outmatched by the SEC newcomers from the opening seconds. Redshirt junior quarterback Forrest Brock missed an open receiver twice on the opening drive, which caused a quick three-and-out. Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold then connected with wide receiver Jalil Farooq down the right sideline for 47 yards to set up the Sooners deep in Temple territory.

Oklahoma jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, and Temple’s chances at keeping the game competitive were essentially over before they started.

The Owls came up short in many facets. But despite the lopsided score, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Here are three key takeaways from the season-opening loss.

Temple’s defense held its own against the Sooners. The unit allowed 378 total yards, just 161 of them coming through the air. But Oklahoma cashed those yards into 51 points because of Temple’s six turnovers.

The Owls coughed up four fumbles and Brock threw two interceptions — almost all of which set the Sooners up in Temple territory. The Owls rarely let Oklahoma march the length of the field, but starting field position burned them.

Each time it seemed Temple might have been stringing a solid drive together, someone coughed up the football. Running back Joquez Smith fumbled the ball inside the Temple 10, which led to a quick Sooners touchdown.

Wide receiver Dante Wright also muffed a punt that was picked up by Oklahoma’s Jaren Kanak and returned for a score.

Coach Stan Drayton didn’t formally announce a starting quarterback leading up to the game. An unofficial depth chart handed out to the media before a Monday press conference listed Brock as the starter, but Drayton made it clear that he wouldn’t name a starter until game day.

It was Brock who trotted onto the field for the opening possession, and it was a nightmare start for the junior college transfer.

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The last time Brock started a game, he did so in front of 110 fans at Santa Monica Community College on Nov. 12, 2022. This time it was in front of more than 80,000 at OU’s Memorial Stadium.

Brock missed multiple open receivers and fumbled the football after what appeared to be a shifty scramble to pick up a good chunk of yards. It took him almost a full quarter to complete a pass and it took more tha a quarter to complete one for positive yardage.

Brock’s struggles weren’t the biggest surprise — it was that his fellow QBs, Rutgers transfer Evan Simon and redshirt freshman Tyler Douglas, didn’t see the field even when the game was out of reach. Simon appeared in 15 games over three seasons for the Scarlet Knights and Drayton said Douglas was firmly in the quarterback mix all fall camp.

Both could still be in the mix for playing time moving forward if Brock continues to struggle.

Temple’s defense looked better Friday night than it did at any point during the 2023 season. The unit held the Sooners to 1-for-12 on third-down conversions, a category the Owls ranked 125th in the FBS last season.

Florida Atlantic transfer Latrell Jean, who was named a single-digit captain last week, earned a lot of praise from Drayton and defensive coordinator Everett Withers during the preseason, and he looked as advertised. He picked up his first sack and was in the backfield on a few other occasions.

Tyquan King, Demerick Morris and Cam’Ron Stewart also were credited with sacks. Stewart, who transferred from Rutgers, was especially active with two tackles for a loss and one quarterback hurry.

Temple recorded three or more sacks in a game only two times last year. Friday night, the Owls opened up their season with multiple sacks against a nationally ranked SEC opponent.

Temple travels to Annapolis, Md., to kick off its American Athletic Conference schedule against Navy on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.