Even in defeat, Temple stands tall in 16-14 loss to Rutgers

Temple was playing with house money on Saturday against Big Ten foe Rutgers.

The Owls entered the game at Lincoln Financial Field as a 17.5-point underdog with a true freshman quarterback in E.J. Warner making his first career start.

But if it wasn’t for a failed fourth-quarter comeback attempt, Temple looked primed to upset, before falling, 16-14, to the same Scarlet Knights team that decimated the Owls, 61-14, last season.

A staunch defensive performance grounded Rutgers for most of the afternoon as the Knights struggled to move the ball through the air, amassing just 59 yards on 10 attempts.

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With both offenses being stagnant throughout, it was ultimately Rutgers’ defense that swung the momentum. In the second quarter, sophomore cornerback Shaquan Loyal tipped and intercepted a pass from Warner at the line of scrimmage. Loyal returned the interception 55 yards for a touchdown, putting the Scarlet Knights up, 10-7. Rutgers wouldn’t trail again for the rest of the afternoon.

When the defensive unit was called upon with 2 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the contest to prevent a fourth-down conversion, Rutgers blanketed the field and it got to Warner, forcing an incompletion.

“We need to get more consistency around [Warner],” said Temple head coach Stan Drayton. “We need to protect him. He’s throwing the ball on time. Our receivers are doing a good job, [but] they can do a better job of getting open versus man coverage.”

But on the flip side, through three weeks, Temple’s linebackers have shown the ability to get into the backfield and disrupt both quarterbacks and running backs. The Owls now have 11 sacks on the season, including two on Saturday.

Redshirt-junior linebacker Layton Jordan had another impressive week for the Owls. He had two sacks, including one that knocked Rutgers out of field-goal position late in the fourth quarter to keep Temple in the game.

“[Jordan’s] job is to be an impact player,” Drayton said. “His job is to make plays when his number is called.”

Perhaps the biggest performer for Temple was redshirt-junior tight end Jordan Smith, who finished with 79 yards receiving with a touchdown and propelled the offense for much of the game.

Can a loss set the tone for the season? While coaches will say there’s no such thing as moral victories, there are a lot of positives that emerged for Temple from this game. A one-possession loss to a team in a Power 5 conference -- and a Rutgers team that dismantled the Owls in their previous meeting -- is a step in the right direction for a program seeking a resurgence.

Temple returns to the Linc for the third straight week to face UMass next Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a Minutemen team coming off a dominant 20-3 victory over FCS opponent Stony Brook.