Temple vs. Navy Pick Center

Bet Now

SPREAD

TOTAL

Temple

-177

-4
(-104)

O 51
(-107)

Navy

+155

+4
(-108)

U 51
(-107)

NCAAF

FINAL (10/10/2020)

Oct 06, 2020Temple's long-delayed 2020 season opener arrives Saturday when the Owls visit Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and American Athletic Conference counterpart Navy. Saturday's contest in Annapolis, Md. , was originally scheduled for Sept. 26. The conference announced the move in early September, shortly after Temple coach Rod Carey said the Owls needed more preseason preparation time. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted both the practice schedule and game docket for Temple, as the Owls had the entirety of their nonconference slate scratched, as well. "It's time to play a game," Carey said on his Sept. 29 teleconference. "We're rounding into shape. We're hitting that point . . . in every preseason, even in normal years, where you're really done with your evaluation parts. You really can't evaluate the next part of your team until you play. " Although the Temple coaching staff has had an extended preseason evaluation period, Carey said Monday that the initial depth chart could still see some shake-ups. Navy (1-2, 1-0 AAC) has faced its own roster fluctuation through three games. Quarterback Dalen Morris, who led a comeback from down 24-0 to beat Tulane 27-24 on Sept. 19, missed the Midshipmen's 40-7 loss last week at nonconference rival Air Force with an undisclosed medical condition. Morris is slated to return to the lineup this week against Temple. "It'll be nice to have a guy who has two starts and not changing quarterbacks every week," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said Monday. Tyger Goslin started at Air Force and went 6-of-15 passing for 137 yards with a touchdown. It was the only score Navy mustered, as its usually prolific option rushing attack was limited to 90 yards. The lack of offense came to a head in the fourth quarter, when Air Force piled on 21 of its 40 points. After scoring just three points in their other nonconference game -- a 55-3 loss to BYU on Sept. 7 -- a Temple defensive line with standouts Ifeanyi Maijeh and Daniel Archibong is a major concern for the Midshipmen. "The big concern for us, we're not a very physical team right now," Niumatalolo said. "Temple's always a physical team. . . . This team, over the years, is probably the most physical team in our league. " Navy and Temple last played in 2018, a 24-17 Owls win. Temple gave up 270 yards and 5. 1 yards per carry, its second-highest yield that season, but limited scoring opportunities. In 2019, when the teams did not play, the Temple defense held opponents to 3. 8 yards per carry. Navy comes into Saturday's matchup averaging just 3. 2 yards per carry, a precipitous drop from the Mids' 6. 1 per-carry output last season behind 2,017-yard rusher and quarterback Malcolm Perry. Jump-starting its rushing attack begins for Navy with that line battle. Containing Maijeh is its one challenge, with the Temple tackle coming off a 2019 in which he tallied 6. 5 sacks. "It's been a big emphasis for us from the beginning (and) after the BYU game, the first half (against) Tulane, they won the line of scrimmage," Niumatalolo said. --Field Level Media