What is Temple’s Biggest Weakness?

Last Tuesday, I wrote about Temple coach Matt Rhule’s post-practice comments and how they could be a bit concerning. With less than two weeks until the season starts, the amount of starting positions that are still up in the air outnumber those that are locked in. But which of these vacant positions pose the biggest concern for the Owls?

You could easily argue that it’s the offensive line. Rhule has recently confessed that center Kyle Friend and right tackle Eric Lofton are the only two starters that he’s ready to name. Friend is the only returning starter on the line and he’s one of the better linemen in the conference. There’s no doubt that he’s the leader of this group.

Lofton, on the other hand, has good size (6-foot-5, 300 pounds) and has impressed in camp, but played only two games last year. And that’s where the concerns are coming from—inexperience. The other linemen that are reportedly running with the one’s right now are Brendan McGowen and Dion Dawkins (both sophomores) along with Shahbaz Ahmed who played defensive end all of last year.

Quarterback P.J. Walker was sacked 23 times and threw eight interceptions last season. With a shaky offensive line, there could be added pressure on him and those numbers could increase in 2014. The offensive line won’t be good but some of its transgression will be canceled out by the Owls’ ability to run the ball. Their ground game is no joke—the Owls boast about five running backs that could see playing time this year. Add in Walker’s scrambling ability, which keeps the defense on its toes and takes some pressure off the offensive line. This means there is a bigger problem out there.

That bigger concern might be the defense as a whole. Temple has more returning starters on defense than offense, and that might actually be a problem. This is a defense that allowed 6.4 yards per play to Fordham; Louisville, SMU, and UCF combined to complete 69 percent of their passes for 10 touchdowns and no interceptions during a three-game stretch; defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis and linebacker Nate Smith led the team with just three sacks; the entire team intercepted only three passes all year with nobody having more than one pick.

But yet, Temple’s defense could end up being a pleasant surprise. Highly experienced defensive coordinator Phil Snow (in his 38^th year) and Rhule worked hard to upgrade their secondary in the offseason by adding three three-star junior college defensive backs. In addition, three of their top five freshmen recruits were defensive backs. Rhule has gone on record to list freshman corner Sean Chandler as a player who has impressed him the most in camp. Returning linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who led the NCAA in solo tackles per game (8.8) last year, might be their best player. And Rhule has made it a point to work on pass rushing and defensive line during camp.

So what is Temple’s biggest concern?

It has to be the wide receivers. This is a pass-first offense with nobody to pass the ball to.

The Owls are going to be extremely reliant on slot receiver Jalen Fitzpatrick, who nobody seems to notice wasn’t all that good last year. He caught just 38 passes and his best games came before Walker became the Owls’ starting quarterback in Week 5. He’s the only receiver on the roster that had extensive playing time last year.

But between injuries and lack of production, none of the other receivers have stepped into a starting role so far in camp. Who will Walker throw the ball to?

Tight end Colin Thompson, a former four-star player who transferred from Florida, was cleared to play by the NCAA on August 15, according to Rhule. Thompson could be a solid target for Walker if he can stay on the field—chronic foot injuries have limited his playing time in college. He likely won’t be healthy until midway through the season. Wanemi Omuso, who is an undersized (6-foot-2) blocking tight end, is expected to start the season opener.

If Temple can’t get a few playmakers to emerge and fast, it’s going to struggle early and often in 2014.