Gameday preview: Temple at Tulsa

Temple (4-3) at Tulsa (2-5)

Game time: 3:30 p.m.

Streaming: ESPN+

Location: H.A. Chapman Stadium

Temple-Tulsa history: Tulsa leads the all-time series, 5-4.

Last meeting: Temple 20, Tulsa 10 on Oct. 19, 2024.

When Temple is on offense

Tulsa has a completely different defensive staff than the one Temple faced last year at The Linc. But first-year Temple coach K.C. Keeler and offensive coordinator Tyler Walker should have plenty of tape to review in preparation for Saturday’s clash in Oklahoma.

That’s because new Tulsa coach Tre Lamb has had the same defensive coordinator, Josh Reardon, for the past six seasons, including 2020-23 at Gardner-Webb and last year at East Tennessee State. There’s a reason that Lamb and Reardon have been able to climb the coaching ladder together, as Reardon’s scheme has been successful in the past. The 2024 ETSU team led the SoCon in total defense and also racked up 35 sacks while the duo’s 2023 Gardner-Webb squad recorded the program’s first conference shutout in nearly 20 years.

This year, however, Reardon’s defense has struggled immensely. Tulsa has given up at least 400 yards in five straight games, including a season-high 568 yards in last week’s 41-27 loss to East Carolina. The Golden Hurricane has given up 28.4 points per game this season, which ranks No. 99 in the nation, and are No. 122 in rushing defense at 193.6 rush yards per game.

To make matters worse, Tulsa’s poor defensive stats have actually been aided by a nonconference schedule that included an FCS opponent in Abilene Christian and an Oklahoma State team that fired its all-time winningest coach, Mike Gundy, after losing to Tulsa. Against opponents from The American, Tulsa has given up 39.8 points and 480.8 yards per game to its conference peers.

To be fair, Tulsa has played some of the American’s top offenses so far in Memphis, Tulane and Navy. That level of competition has skewed Tulsa’s stats and has made the Golden Hurricane look worse on paper than they actually are, Keeler said.

“Navy kind of skews everything,” Keeler told reporters this week. “And then you have a physical team like Tulane that’s just a real physical group that can run the ball at you. I think part of it is this schedule. I don’t think [Tulsa] knows how good they are.”

“Our players don’t feel like they’re very good,” Lamb said this week. “So my job as a head coach is to go in that locker room, go in that team meeting, make them confident again and get their confidence back.”

Despite the early season struggles, Tulsa’s defense does have some standout weapons. Sophomore cornerback Elijah Green has an FBS-best five interceptions this season, including two against Navy and two at Memphis. Green helps anchor a Tulsa defense that is No. 63 in the nation in pass defense at 217.4 yards allowed per game.

On the line, Tulsa edge rusher J’Dan Burnett, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, leads The American with 6.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss. In just seven games with the Golden Hurricane, the 6-foot-1, 227-pound Burnett has surpassed his four-year total at Louisiana Tech in sacks, as he had just five sacks in 29 games as a Bulldog. Florida State transfer Byron Turner is close behind Burnett with 4.5 sacks and 6.5 TFL.

According to Lamb, Burnett and Turner’s ability to make Temple quarterback Evan Simon, who has thrown for 1,343 yards, 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions this season, uncomfortable could be the difference in the game.

“[Simon] doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Lamb said on his weekly radio show. “They have one turnover in seven games, it’s pretty remarkable. We’re going to need to turn this guy over and put some pressure on him. Hopefully that (turnover) number goes up to two or three. If we can win the turnover margin by a couple, I think we have a great chance of winning.”

If Temple’s offensive line is able to keep Simon upright, the redshirt-senior has plenty of weapons to rely on. Delaware transfer Jojo Bermudez has caught 24 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns this season while St. Thomas transfer Colin Chase has snagged 18 passes for 177 yards. Tight end Peter Clarke, a holdover from the previous regime, has also caught 20 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, wideout Kajiya Hollawayne has been a force in the last two games. Against Charlotte last week, Hollawayne caught five passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. The week before that, the converted quarterback caught nine passes for 146 yards. For the season, Hollawayne has 21 receptions for a team-high 341 receiving yards.

“I think [Hollawayne] is playing with some confidence right now and he’s made some big plays,” Keeler said. “That’s the kind of body that’s just a mismatch. First of all, he’s a tremendous athlete… and now he’s learning, with Coach Walker’s help and that offense, how to use his body. And boy, if you get that ball on those back-shoulder fades to him, he’s nearly impossible to cover if you put the ball at the right spot. He’s really stepped up.”

On the ground, Sam Houston State transfer Jay Ducker has rushed 99 times for 560 yards and five touchdowns, including 114 yards and a score in last week’s win over Charlotte. True freshman Keveun Mason has carved out a role for himself in recent weeks, as has Louisiana-Monroe transfer Hunter Smith. Together, the trio has helped improve a Temple rushing game from 92.8 yards per contest in 2024 to 172 yards a game this season.

Overall, Temple’s offense is No. 44 in the nation and No. 5 in The American at 33 points per game. That’s a drastic improvement from last year’s team, which finished the year No. 121 in the nation and dead last in The American at 19.6 points per contest. Temple’s sudden offensive improvement has surprised even its own coaching staff, Keeler said.

“I really like the pieces of the puzzle that we have out there,” Keeler said. “How well we’ve played at the tight end spot, the three wideouts and how well they’ve played, we’ve got a good group of running backs. Evan’s obviously the guy that makes everything work and then the [offensive] line is dramatically improved. I think, going into the season… we probably wouldn’t have thought we were going to get the productivity out of the offense that we now have.”

Edge: Temple

When Temple is on defense

Tulsa’s quarterback position has been back and forth between East Tennessee State transfer Baylor Hayes, who followed Lamb to Tulsa, and incumbent starter Kirk Francis this season. Francis started the first two games of the season before suffering a concussion that caused him to miss the next three games, which the redshirt-freshman Hayes started. Francis returned for a three-interception performance against Memphis before being benched in favor of Hayes after the bye week. To his credit, Hayes responded to his second shot at the starting job with his best game of the season against East Carolina last week. In the 41-27 loss to the Pirates, Hayes completed 23 of 41 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

For the season, Hayes has completed 59.9% of his passes for 1,038 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. Francis, by comparison, has completed 60.2% of his passes for 493 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions this season.

As for who will start against Temple, it could be up in the air. Common sense would dictate that Tulsa will ride the hot hand of Hayes but Tulsa’s depth chart lists Francis as the starter. Depth charts are far from carved in stone, however, so it would not be a surprise to see either take the first snap against the Owls.

Regardless of who’s been under center, Tulsa’s offense has not been very productive this season. The Golden Hurricane are No. 118 in the nation in scoring offense at just 19.9 points per contest, are No. 114 in turnovers lost with 12 giveaways and are No. 94 in the nation and last in The American in sacks allowed with 2.29 sacks per contest.

That being said, Tulsa’s offense, like its defense, has had some standouts this year. Western Carolina transfer wideout Zion Booker has caught 44 passes, the second most in The American, but for just 349 yards to give him 7.9 yards per catch. Indiana transfer Brody Foley, meanwhile, has been a force at tight end with 18 catches for 346 yards and four touchdowns. Foley’s best game came last week against East Carolina when he caught six passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

“We’ve got to continue to target him,” Lamb said. “He’s been our most consistent big-play threat if you look at the touchdowns and the numbers… I think he’ll play in the NFL, I really do.”

Former Baylor and Oklahoma State running back Dominic Richardson is in his sixth season of college football but first at Tulsa. The Oklahoma native has rushed 129 times this year for 597 yards and two touchdowns. During his time in college, Richardson has accumulated 2,364 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. Richardson is also a receiving threat out of the backfield, as he’s caught 66 passes for 538 yards in his career.

Tulsa’s offense has prided itself on its pace. Heading into the game, offensive coordinator Brad Robbins, who spent last year as UConn’s passing game coordinator, has orchestrated an offense that is No. 6 in the nation at 21.7 seconds per play. Temple got a taste of the pace game last week against Charlotte, which ranks No. 47 in the nation in that category, but is up for a bigger challenge against Tulsa.

“Some of the things that they do, in terms of the tempo and those kinds of things, we saw a little bit versus Charlotte,” Keeler said. “It’s about to be a different world but at least we’re preparing for those kind of things.”

As for Temple, defensive coordinator Brian Smith‘s defense could be without its best defensive tackle, senior Sekou Kromah, for essentially the third game in a row. After missing the Navy loss, Kromah returned against Charlotte but played just eight snaps in the blowout win. Kromah missed the Navy game with a shoulder injury but is currently dealing with an oblique.

“With those big guys, obliques are kind of brutal, so it’s going to be a kind of day-by-day thing,” Keeler said. “He’s a guy that might be a little questionable going into this thing.  But we’ve got to get him back healthy, because what he can do as a pass rusher for us is pretty impressive.”

Elsewhere on the Temple defense, linebacker Curly Ordonez has stepped right into a leading role after transferring in from Independence Community College. The junior linebacker is second on the Owls with 34 tackles and 6.5 tackles for a loss. Edge rusher Cam’Ron Stewart leads Temple with 7.5 TFL and four sacks but has not recorded a sack in conference play.

Safety Avery Powell has logged three turnovers this season, one interception and two fumble recoveries, while redshirt-freshman Adrian Laing has paced the Owls with two interceptions. As a team, Temple is No. 72 in the nation in scoring defense at 24.4 points per game and No. 52 in total defense at 350.1 yards allowed per game. Those numbers are slightly better against conference opponents, as American foes have averaged 22.3 points and 348.3 yards per game against the Owls.

“You see at times that we play stifling defense, dominant defense,” Keeler said. “It’s just that we’ve been a little bit more inconsistent there. And that’s where we have to keep on getting consistent. I think part of it is that we play a lot of guys on defense.”

“I think we do a really good job of getting the right people on the field,” Keeler added. “If you want to drop back and pass, we’re going to put some pass rushers on the field. If you want to try to run the ball at us, we have some big guys up front that do a pretty good job.”

Consistency from the defense on Saturday against a Tulsa offense that is still working on finding its footing would go a long way toward Temple’s hunt for bowl eligibility.

Edge: Temple

Special teams

Tulsa’s special teams unit has shown some flashes this season, at least in the kicking and punting game. Placekicker Seth Morgan, who started his collegiate career at Memphis, has made nine of his 12 field-goal attempts this season. Australian punter Angus Davies has averaged 44 yards per punt, the No. 36 average in the FBS.

For as solid as Tulsa’s kicking and punting game has been this season, its return game has been lacking. Booker has returned seven punts this season for just 44 yards. Meanwhile, Tulsa has utilized a number of players in the kickoff return game but true freshman Kelvin Washington took over the duties against East Carolina with five returns for 133 yards. As a result, the Golden Hurricane are No. 86 in kickoff returns and No. 102 in punt returns.

With productivity like that, Tulsa could have a hard time against a Temple special teams unit that is toward the top of most return categories. When it comes to defending returns, the Owls are No. 13 in the nation in punt defense and No. 25 in kickoff return defense. Junior punter Dante Atton has not had a punt returned for positive yardage since the Week 3 loss to Oklahoma. Kicker Carl Hardin, meanwhile, has had touchbacks on 30 of his 43 kickoff attempts this season. By comparison, former Temple kicker Maddux Trujillo had touchbacks on 27 of his 52 kickoff attempts in 2024.

As for Temple, Bermudez is No. 12 in the nation in punt returns this season at 14.7 yards per return despite having a number of his larger returns negated by penalties. Bermudez could have a hard time against Tulsa’s No. 13 punt return defense.

Edge: Temple