Temple’s chances of making a bowl game gets squashed by North Texas in blowout loss
The Owls needed to upset the Mean Green on Saturday to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2019. Instead, Temple fell, 52-25, in its regular-season finale.
About a month ago, Temple reached five wins and was on the verge of reaching a bowl game for the first time since 2019. Instead, the Owls (5-7, 3-5 American) dropped their final four games of the season.
Temple was looking to upset North Texas (11-1, 7-1) on Saturday to become bowl eligible in head coach K.C. Keeler’s first season. Keeler spoke to his team about picking up their confidence on Monday after losing three straight.
It didn’t work.
The Mean Green outmatched the Owls, 52-25, to extinguish Temple’s chances at a bowl game and ending its season. Temple made strides in Keeler’s first year, but the Owls will have to wait another year to end their seven-year bowl drought.
Can’t contain Mestemaker
On Monday, Keeler talked about Temple stopping North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker. The redshirt freshman signal caller entered Friday’s game engineering the nation’s top scoring offense at 46.3 points per game.
However, the Owls’ plans were spoiled after two plays.
Mestemaker delivered a 77-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver Cameron Dorner. That play was the beginning of Mestemaker’s stellar first-half performance, when he threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns. He finished with 366 yards and three touchdowns.
Temple allowed 10 pass plays of more than 15 yards and North Texas found the end zone on five of its six first-half drives.
North Texas Wide receiver Wyatt Young, the nation’s fourth leading receiver, finished with six receptions for 127 yards.
Slow offensive starts
Temple needed to take advantage of the Mean Green’s defense allowing a conference worst 211.2 rushing yards per game. For their first six plays, the Owls leaned on running back Jay Ducker, who finished with 63 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
In the first quarter, the Owls tied the game at 7 apiece, thanks to a 2-yard connection from quarterback Evan Simon to tight end Ryder Kusch. But Temple’s offense went cold in the second and entered the half trailing, 35-7.
Temple abandoned the running game. It had 65 yards on the ground in the first quarter, yet mustered 20 in the second. The Owls’ offense tried to rely on Simon, who finished with 82 passing yards and a touchdown, to lead a comeback.
But Temple went scoreless on four drives in the second quarter, including an interception from Simon.
Despite holding the ball three minutes longer than North Texas, the Owls compiled just 316 yards of total offense. Simon completed 10 of 27 attempts in his final college game.
Another freshman star
Temple’s main focus was to stop Mestemaker, but North Texas running back Caleb Hawkins also got the best of the Owls’ defense. The freshman finished with 186 yards and four touchdowns.
Hawkins entered the matchup with 1,030 rushing yards, the second-most yards in the American.
Much of his success came in the first half, as he poured in 132 rushing yards. It was his fourth game with at least four rushing touchdowns this season.