Temple shores up both sides of the ball, impresses coach Stan Drayton: ‘It was good to see that’
The Owls had a record-breaking day in the backfield and a bounce-back performance on defense, with running back Joquez Smith and linebacker Diwun Black leading the way.
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Temple’s start to the 2023 season was not the prettiest. Through two games, the offense averaged only 15.5 points a game and the defense struggled to put together a full 60 minutes of football.
On Saturday against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent, the team from those first two contests was nowhere to be found.
Thanks to a 532-yard showing on offense and a complete performance on defense, the Owls defeated the Norfolk State Spartans, 41-9, Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field for their second win of the season.
The Owls dominated the line of scrimmage. Led by running backs Joquez Smith and Darvon Hubbard, Temple doubled its season total with 290 rushing yards on the day. Both backs were decisive, showing vision and speed in the open field. However, Smith’s performance stood out.
The Tampa Bay native’s 142 rushing yards were the most by a freshman running back since Re’Mahn Davis’ 157-yard performance against ECU in 2019.
“I trusted the process, trusted my reads, picking up linebackers,” Smith said about his big day. “... just doing what I’ve got to do.”
Smith was effective in the passing game as well, taking his only reception for a touchdown. Smith is the first Temple player with a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game since Davis against Bucknell in the 2019 season opener.
Because of the revitalized run game, quarterback E.J. Warner didn’t need to do as much. He passed for 232 yards and tossed two touchdowns. Despite a modest stat line, Warner played arguably his best game of the season.
“It’s always good when you can take pressure off of him,” coach Stan Drayton said in his Monday afternoon press conference.
The Temple defense also recovered after Drayton said on multiple occasions that it had yet to play a complete game. The Owls shut down the Spartans and allowed only 217 total yards.
The previous week in a loss to Rutgers, Drayton and linebacker Jordan Magee identified gap discipline as a reason that Scarlet Knights running back Kyle Monangai recorded a career-high 165 rushing yards.
On Saturday, the Owls allowed 107 rushing yards on 3 yards per carry. “I think we did it the right way more than we did not,” Drayton said following Saturday’s game. “It was good to see that.”
Outside linebacker Diwun Black has gotten better each game this season, delivering his best game yet Saturday with six tackles, three tackles for losses, and a sack.
Temple hopes to continue its momentum against No. 20 Miami, which visits the Owls on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2).