After my previous Temple football article about Matt Rhule, it’s time to re-aim the focus on what really matters, which is tomorrow’s championship game against Houston. The winner of this game could mean major bowl implications and two most likely destinations are the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Vizio Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. The winner will most likely end up the Peach Bowl because that’s where the group of five schools have a deal with. Temple looks to capture it’s second ever conference championship and it’s a little known fact the Owls were Mid-American Conference Champs back in 1967. Temple actually faced Houston in the first American Athletic Conference game, losing that contest 22-13 and the Owls are 0-4 in the all time series. Look for Temple to break that trend tomorrow and watch Matt Rhule take them to the top.
Houston made it to the championship on the back of dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr., who had an incredible season and Houston would probably be undefeated if Ward Jr. was able to play in the UConn game. Temple has struggled against dual threat quarterbacks this season and it will be interesting to see what type of schemes Phil snow has up his sleeve to contain Greg Ward Jr. Houston is waiting for star tailback Kenneth Farrow, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury, to find out if he will be able to go tomorrow. The Cougars showed their offense is still dangerous without him still managing to put up 52 points on Navy. Another player to watch out for is Houston’s leading receiver Demarcus Ayers, who has over 1.000 yards receiving and made a couple of circus catches against Navy for touchdowns. It’s a good thing Tavon Young will play because he does a pretty good job of shutting down wide receivers and he’s one of the leaders of this defense. Houston is one of the best scoring-offenses in the nation averaging 42 points per game, but Temple’s defense, led by Tyler Matakevich, has shown up against high-powered offenses holding to Notre Dame to 24 points and not allowing a touchdown against Memphis. Now that’s enough about Houston.
Temple got to the championship thanks to their almost unbreakable defense and the resurgence of quarterback PJ Walker, who threw a touchdown pass in every game this year except vs Penn State and only threw six interceptions this year. Walker is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the American Conference, but time and time again he has delivered when Temple has needed him the most and they wouldn’t where they are without his leadership. The Temple offense goes as PJ Walker does and the way he manages the game will play a big part in the outcome. Temple needs a big game from junior tailback Jahad Thomas, who has his first 1,000 yard season and scored 19 total touchdowns. Getting the running game established is important because it opens up the passing game and there have been a couple games where Thomas has disappeared, but that cannot happen tomorrow. A big reason for Temple’s success is they have a multitude of receivers they can throw to in the passing game and there isn’t just one guy that can beat you. Robby Anderson and freshman Ventell Bryant, who have caught a combined 9 touchdowns, will most likely see a bunch of targets on Saturday. There is also Brandon Shippen and red-zone threat Romond Deloatch, who have had big impacts lately in past games. My one worry is senior wide receiver John Christopher is questionable for tomorrow’s game with an arm injury and though he hasn’t caught a touchdown pass this year, he’s been PJ Walker’s security blanket in crucial plays of games.
This is Temple’s time now and they will not let anything stand in their way. I am so hype for this game that I just want to fast-forward through today. The inaugural American Athletic Championship game kickoffs at noon tomorrow and it will be on ABC. My prediction: 34-23 Temple
Photo credit: Temple Owl Nation
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