What did Temple learn in a win over Navy? Coach Stan Drayton will find out against South Florida.

Temple football coach Stan Drayton used the term “grit” four times in opening remarks during his weekly press conference on Monday.

The term fit seamlessly to describe the Owls’ 32-18 win over Navy on Saturday, the first for Temple since Sept. 14 in a 41-19 nonconference victory over Norfolk State. It should be noted that it was also the first game in which the Owls (3-6, 1-4 American) kept an opponent from scoring 40 or more points since their last win.

“I will say, you know, dinner did taste a little bit better on Saturday night and [I did get] a little bit of sleep,” Drayton said on Monday. “You know, our kids got some morale going right now that we’re going to build off of, and I’m excited about that.”

It would appear that Drayton and the Owls did some serious soul-searching during a much-needed bye week. Or, it could just be the old adage that “time heals all wounds” played true in this case, considering that it marked the return of Temple sophomore quarterback EJ Warner, who threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns.

“We had a tough stretch leading up into the bye week, and we’re able to kind of come together and find a way to beat a good Navy football team,” Drayton said. “I was really proud of the way our team leaders played. I mean, I thought EJ played really well. … All of our team leaders did a good job of setting the tone of that game. I thought, [is this] something that we can build off of?”

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Drayton will find out in a few days when the Owls travel to South Florida (4-5, 2-3) to face a Bulls team that just ran up 50 points in a loss to Memphis. It’s a matchup he called “the most important game for us right now.” A win will be the Owls’ fourth and the first time in four seasons they’ve surpassed three wins. But for Drayton, it’s a litmus test on how much his team, specifically his offense, learned about responding to pressure.

“[South Florida] brings some things to the table that we have to prepare for,” Drayton said. “I mean, they’re not a Navy offense for sure ... [but similar] to Navy, in a sense of how much pressure we’re going to see from South Florida’s defense, you know, so there will be some carryover for the offense.”

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So what’s the game plan? Being able to anticipate the same way the Owls did to earn their win against Navy is going to be key.

“Being able to find out where things are coming from to get us in the right protection [is crucial],” Drayton said. “We have to be really locked in and laser focused. We’re dealing with a team that’s going to put a bunch of athletes on the field, a lot of speed, and you just have to take it one day at a time, one game at a time.”