Against Navy, Temple hopes to end its long road drought. Here’s how the Owls can do it.

It has been more than 1,700 days since Temple won a conference game on the road, but the Owls are set up with their best opportunity in some time to end that drought on Saturday against Navy (1-0) in Annapolis, Md.

The Owls enter their week 2 matchup against the Midshipmen looking for a total restart after being throttled, 51-3, by No. 15 Oklahoma on Aug. 30. Quarterback Forrest Brock threw two interceptions and did not complete a pass for positive yardage until the second quarter. Nevertheless, it will be Brock under center again for Temple after head coach Stan Drayton reaffirmed his belief in the quarterback despite his lackluster season-opening performance.

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“Forrest is our guy,” Drayton said. “When you have a guy that hasn’t played a lot of football, you want him to get experience. There was never a time when I looked him in the eyes that I thought he wasn’t ready.”

The Owls will need much more than just a better performance from Brock to leave Annapolis with an win in the American Athletic Conference. Here are three things to watch for as Temple looks for its first win of the season.

The Midshipmen are coming off a 49-21 win against Bucknell, an FCS opponent that went 4-7 last season.

Navy is famous for its triple option, but head coach Brian Newberry has redesigned his offense and expects to incorporate the passing game more than the team had in his first season.

The Midshipmen threw for 173 yards and three touchdowns against Bucknell, and the team rotated two quarterbacks — junior Blake Horvath and sophomore Braxton Woodson. Both threw an interception in Week 1.

The Owls beat Navy, 32-18, last season, successfully stifling the Midshipmen’s triple-option offense. But Newberry and first-year offensive coordinator Drew Cronic are now using more of a Wing T offense centered on designed run-pass options that will allow quarterbacks to keep the ball and run with it, hand off to a fullback, or throw the ball downfield to a receiver.

While Temple’s defensive line and secondary showed promise against Oklahoma, its linebackers did not. Navy features two main ballcarriers — fullbacks Daba Fofana and Alex Tecza. If the Owls don’t get improvement from the linebackers, the Midshipmen’s triple option could give Temple major problems.

“It still starts with the triple option,” Drayton said. “You’ll see dives and option plays and then they set the pass up with that. We have to believe what we see and be disciplined on defense. A new staff brought in a new type of offense.”

The Owls’ blowout loss in Norman, Okla., wasn’t all doom and gloom. Drayton was particularly proud of his defense and how the players “held their own” against one of the most high-powered offenses in college football.

“[The defense] played all four quarters hard,” Drayton added. “We’re excited to get into conference play against Navy, a team that plays solid fundamentally. We’re going against a different coordinator, so we have to change some things up.”

The defense wasn’t perfect, but the unit did bring down Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold three times. Temple recorded three or more sacks in a game only twice last year. Defensive linemen Cam’Ron Stewart, Latrell Jean, and Demerick Morris were all credited with sacks against Oklahoma and could make an even larger impact against a weaker Navy offensive line.

Temple’s secondary also showed improvement after struggling significantly during the 2023 season. Transfers Jamel Johnson, Javier Morton, and Andreas Keaton all showed flashes in coverage and rarely got beaten over the top. The secondary allowed just one pass of more than 40 yards against the Sooners.

Some of Temple’s improvements on the defensive side of the ball might become easier to see against a more level conference opponent this weekend.

“That’s a fast offense we played against,” Drayton said. “We played some man [coverage], and to see our guys go foot-to-foot with them is a huge confidence booster. We had a couple guys miss tackles and Navy is going to bring an aggressive style. We can’t be with our eyes in the wrong place.”

Temple’s defensive improvements can mean only so much when the offense turns the ball over six times. The Owls coughed up four fumbles and Brock added two interceptions against the Sooners.

The defense’s flashes were negated after each Temple turnover, four of which set Oklahoma up on Temple’s side of the field. Running back Joquez Smith fumbled at the Owls’ 10-yard line, which turned into a quick Sooners touchdown, and wide receiver Dante Wright muffed a punt that was also returned for six points.

Every time it seemed the Owls were putting together a solid drive, someone coughed up the football. Brock lost the ball after a shifty run for a good chunk of yardage and a first down. Drayton said the goal against Navy is for his players to slow down and make the right decisions with the football in their hands.

“We have to home in on what we do great and what we have to improve upon,” Drayton said. “This is a conference game, and we want to be competitive.”

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