Out to rebound from from UConn loss, Temple gets healthy and starts anew: ‘We have a lot to play for’

Less than two weeks ago, Temple walked off Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., with its 17th straight road loss, fumbling a chance to beat UConn at the 1-yard line as time expired.

The 1-5 Owls limped into their bye week with several injuries to key players — including their two top quarterbacks — and used the break to recover from the first half of the season.

Yet, as coach Stan Drayton took the podium at Edberg-Olson Hall on Monday afternoon for his weekly press conference, he still felt the sting of Temple’s 29-20 loss on Oct. 5.

“It was a tough pill to swallow,” he said. “But here’s the thing: You can either sit there and wallow in your misery as long as you want, but the second hand on the clock keeps ticking. So, we’ve got to get up and go. We’re not down for the 10-count.”

» READ MORE: Temple fumbles it away in a thriller on the road against UConn

Temple had an extra week to recover before facing Tulsa (2-4, 0-2 American Athletic Conference) this Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+). The Owls will look for their first conference win of the season in their homecoming game at Lincoln Financial Field.

Drayton believes his Owls are as confident as ever despite their lack of success.

“We’re not going to sit there and let a loss stop our belief in ourselves and stop what we’re trying to achieve as a football team,” he said. “We just have to get our minds back wrapped around what’s next. Now it’s time to go win a real game against Tulsa.”

The Owls will face the Golden Hurricane with serious questions about their quarterbacks. Forrest Brock made his first start since Week 2, playing against UConn after Evan Simon took a hit in the fourth quarter against Army that injured his shoulder. Brock finished with 136 yards on 18-for-31 passing with an interception.

Simon is healthy and should be available this weekend, Drayton said, but the third-year coach would not commit to a starter. He said Simon has only started to throw.

Returning to health along with Simon will be tight end Reese Clark (foot), and defensive end Demerick Morris and safety Javier Morton will be available after suffering undisclosed injuries against the Huskies. Offensive lineman Melvin Siani is day to day after exiting the game against UConn.

While getting healthy was the priority, the bye week also provided Temple with a chance to return to the fundamentals, Drayton said.

“[Our fundamentals] are the one thing we have to default to when under chaos,” he said. “We have to make sure our bodies are trained to use a certain technique to get our job done. It wasn’t extremely physical, but it was a lot of good-on-good work, which we needed to get some of that speed work and get our quarterbacks and receivers timed up with some good defensive backs.”

The Owls now have their eyes on Tulsa, which will enter Lincoln Financial Field tied with Temple near the bottom of the AAC standings. The Golden Hurricane are also coming off a bye week after losing, 49-7, to now-No. 23 Army on Oct. 5. They also lost to 5-1 North Texas in conference play.

The Golden Hurricane are middle-of-the-pack on offense in the American, but their defense allows the third-highest total of yards per game in the conference. Quarterback Kirk Francis averages 177.3 passing yards and has just six touchdowns through the air in 2024.

Drayton wants his team to focus on getting its job done this weekend in front of the home crowd. He thinks Temple’s bye week reinvigorated the program.

“We have a lot to play for,” he said. “We have a legacy that we’re leaving behind in terms of how we approach the game every week and how we respond to adverse situations during the course of the week and in the game. They’ve been able to reset and get to zero. Regardless of the results, it’s the fact that they’re getting themselves right.”