Gameday preview: Navy vs. Temple

Temple’s offense bounced back from a stagnant first half to score 24 second-half points in last week’s come-from-behind win over UTSA. Quarterback Evan Simon threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second half, while Louisiana-Monroe transfer running back Hunter Smith broke off a 54-yard touchdown run to help give the Owls the win. Junior tight end Peter Clarke continued his strong season with four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Simon has thrown for 804 yards, 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. The former Rutgers quarterback leads The American in touchdown passes and is one of just six starting FBS quarterbacks to not throw a pick yet this season. Sam Houston State transfer running back Jay Ducker has rushed 66 times for 349 yards while Delaware transfer Jojo Bermudez and St. Thomas transfer Colin Chase have led Temple with 16 and 14 catches respectively.

Temple and Navy have played each other every season since 2020 and eight of the last nine seasons. Last year’s contest saw Navy hold Temple to 11 points, including just three in the first half. Navy’s defense forced three turnovers in that game, two of which came off of interceptions of then quarterback Forrest Brock, and even recorded a safety. Last year’s Temple team finished 3-9 and saw its coach, Stan Drayton, be terminated with two weeks left in the season. This year’s Temple team is 3-2 and 1-0 in The American for the first time since 2019.

The difference in quality between the two Temple iterations has not gone unnoticed, Navy linebacker Luke Pirris told reporters this week.

“They’re a totally different team than past years and they’ve always given us trouble,” Pirris said. “We know that they’re a good team and they’ve played some tough competition. … I feel like this is a very disciplined unit. … We’re expecting big things from them.”

“This is the most complete and best football team we’ve played to this point,” Navy defensive coordinator P.J. Volker added. “They’re big and athletic on the offensive line, they’ve got great blockers and pass catchers at tight end, dynamic playmakers at wide receiver, a quarterback that’s a dual-threat guy that can run and throw and then they’ve got big backs with great vision. And then they run their scheme extremely well. So we know we have to play our best football so far.”

Temple has started the season with five straight games without a turnover, the longest streak in program history. The Owls are the only FBS program without a turnover so far this season and are No. 5 in the nation with a plus-seven turnover margin.

Navy, meanwhile, is No. 67 in the nation in forced turnovers but has forced just one in its last two games, a recovered fumble against Air Force. Protecting the ball would go a long way for Temple in its pursuit of an upset win.

Forcing a turnover would be substantial for Navy as well, Volker said.

“[The Owls] hold the ball high and tight, the quarterback makes good decisions and you can tell it’s coached,” Volker said. “They really keep the ball out of harm’s way, which is challenging. That’s a critical piece for us. We have to work really hard to try and get a turnover to help even the scales and gain an extra possession for our offense.”

Navy’s defense is led by two standout interior defensive linemen in junior Griffen Willis and senior Landon Robinson. The 6-foot, 287-pound Robinson has five sacks this season, including 1.5 in last week’s win over Air Force, to go along with 20 quarterback pressures. Willis, meanwhile, is tied for second on the team with 1.5 sacks. Pirris has 10 quarterback pressures of his own, third on the team behind Robinson and defensive end Julien Moutome.

Negating Willis and Robinson will be easier said than done. And while Temple’s offensive line is improved over the last year, it is still a bit of a work in progress. After starting a different offensive line combination nearly every week, Temple has started the same offensive line — Giakoby Hills, Eric King, Grayson Mains, Jackson Pruitt and Diego Barajas — in every game this season. That unit has allowed 10 sacks this season, which puts the Owls firmly in the middle of the pack at No. 78 in sacks allowed. If guys like Robinson or Willis are able to get to Simon, Temple’s offense could look more like it did in the first half against UTSA instead of the productive second half group.

When playing a triple-option team, it’s also usually a good idea for a team’s offense to avoid three-and-outs. Navy’s offense is prone to long, sustained drives as the Midshipmen are No. 16 in the nation in time of possession at an average of 32:51 per game. Temple’s offense can alleviate a lot of the pressure on its defense by avoiding quick turnarounds. Otherwise, Navy has the potential to truly take the air out of the ball with clock-depleting drives that make it hard to overcome early deficits.

Unlike some Navy teams of the past, which avoided throwing the ball if at all possible, recent Navy teams have shown a tendency to utilize the passing game more often. That willingness to throw the ball has been on full display so far this season, especially in recent weeks.

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath has thrown for 839 yards and six touchdowns to go with 485 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Last week, Horvath threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns through the air and also rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown. By doing so, Horvath became the first Navy quarterback to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in the same game since 2000.

“This does not look like the triple option I remember,” Keeler said. “They still line up in the same stuff and run it but they’ve been a little bit more aggressive in their passing game.”

“I’ve never seen them throw the ball like this,” Keeler added. “I think they feel that the quarterback is super talented. He’s not maybe that guy that’s going to shake you and take it 80 but he’s athletic and he throws the ball really well… I think they’re playing to their strength. Their strength is that this kid can throw it.”

Temple was down two starters in the backfield against UTSA, VIPER Louis Frye and safety Javier Morton, but both are expected to play against Navy. Nebraska-Kearney transfer Jamere Jones got extended run in Frye’s absence and made the most of it with the first interception of his Temple career and a crucial third-down stop. Guys like Frye, Morton, Jones, Dontae Pollard and Avery Powell will be essential in stopping Navy’s triple-option offense.

Linebacker Katin Surprenant, defensive tackle Aaron Beckwith and defensive end Khalil Poteat are also expected to return after missing the UTSA game.

Eli Heidenreich had eight catches for 243 yards, the most ever by a Navy player, and three touchdowns against Air Force. With Horvath’s passing ability and Heidenreich’s big play potential, Temple’s newly-healthy defense will need to be able to quickly pivot between run defense and pass defense if it hopes to upset Navy, Keeler said.

“What you’re hoping is that, historically, Navy has not been a good pass protection team,” Keeler said. “So what you have to do is you have to transition quickly from the run to the pass and that’s what you’re hoping to do is that you’re trying to, in that transition, you’re trying to get some pressure on [Horvath] and get some hits on him.”

One thing Temple has going for it, in addition to its relative healthiness on defense, is its defensive staff’s familiarity with playing Navy. Temple defensive coordinator Brian Smith served as Rice’s defensive coordinator last season while Temple defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun also served in that same position for Rice last year. At the helm of Rice’s defense, Smith held Navy to just 10 points and 260 yards of offense last season in Rice’s 24-10 November win.

Smith’s success against Navy, which also included holding Horvath to a 47.6 completion percentage, has not been lost on Navy’s staff.

“A ton of respect for Brian Smith and the job he’s done there at Temple so far and the job he did at Rice,” Newberry said. “Really good football coach and they defended us really, really well last year. … I think [Smith has] better athletes at Temple than he was playing with at Rice, so it’s a scary combination.”

“What’s challenging about Brian Smith’s defense is that they’re pretty multiple,” Newberry added. “We’re going to get some even front, going to get some odd front…One thing we didn’t do well against his team at Rice last year is we didn’t execute at a really high level.”

Navy’s offense isn’t exactly the same as it was last year, but Smith’s experience with coaching against the Midshipmen could pay dividends on Saturday.

Temple punt returner Jojo Bermudez has had three big returns called back for penalties, including a 60-yard return against UTSA last week. Even with those overturned plays, Bermudez has averaged 14.6 yards per return since taking over the primary punt return duties earlier this season. Navy is No. 108 in the nation in net punting, so Bermudez could have the opportunity to make an impact on special teams on Saturday.

Junior punter Dante Atton is coming off arguably the best game of his career. Against UTSA, Atton punted the ball six times, including three within the 20, and had none of them returned. For his efforts, Atton was named to the Week 6 Ray Guy Award List.

Temple kicker Carl Hardin has been nearly perfect this year, as he’s made all 18 of his extra-point attempts and six of his seven field-goal attempts. Hardin’s lone miss came on a 61-yard attempt against Georgia Tech. Hardin has also had touchbacks on 18 of his 29 kickoff attempts. As a team, Temple is No. 18 in kickoff defense, as opponents are averaging just 14 yards per return.

Navy kicker Nathan Kirkwood, a Pennsylvania native, is a third-year starter and has made all 25 of his extra-point attempts and four of his field-goal attempts this season. Kirkwood’s season-high 39-yard field goal make came last week against Air Force. For his career, Kirkwood is 11 of 13 from within 40 but just 4-of-10 from beyond that mark.

Navy running back Isaiah Bryant has been adequate in the kickoff return game to the tune of 21.2 yards per return. For the season, the Midshipmen have combined to return six punts for 58 yards.