A dominant run game fuels a win against FCS foe Howard in Temple’s home opener

Coming off an electric season-opening win against UMass last week, Temple celebrated a 55-7 rout of FCS foe Howard in its home opener at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.

The Owls didn’t look like they even missed a beat from their win over the Minutemen just seven days prior.

Quarterback Evan Simon led the way once again, with a three-touchdown performance, coming off a six-touchdown game that landed him American Conference Player of the Week honors against UMass.

Temple led Howard (0-1) 31-7 at the half and cruised to its second win, the team’s first 2-0 start to the season since 2019.

“If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse, and we talked a lot about it in the second game we had to grow,” said Temple first-year head coach K.C. Keeler. “There had to be things that we didn’t get quite done in the first week that we had to get done this week. I saw great effort, I saw a great intensity, and a lot of guys got a chance to play.”

Simon and quarterback Gevani McCoy, who relieved Simon midway through the third quarter, combined for 14 completions. Simon went 8-10 for 174 yards and three touchdowns while McCoy completed all six of his throws for 57 yards and a touchdown. Of the 14 total completions, nine different players hauled in at least one pass.

Wide receiver Xavier Irvin, who hadn’t caught a pass since Temple’s win against Tulsa on Oct. 19, 2024, led the way with three catches for 78 yards. He even had a touchdown catch from McCoy taken off the board because of offensive pass interference.

All four touchdown passes went to different receivers in wide receivers Colin Chase, Kajiya Hollawayne, JoJo Bermudez, and running back Joquez Smith.

Temple opened the game against Howard with a clear desire to utilize the ground game.

The Owls finished with 329 rushing yards. It’s the first time Temple surpassed 300 yards in a game since Nov. 10, 2018, against Houston. Running back Jay Ducker led the way with 87 yards and a touchdown, while Terrez Worthy added 58 rushing yards and a touchdown. Hunter Smith chipped in 80 yards, highlighted by a 65-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run.

“I’ll rate the entire running back room as an A,” Ducker said. “Because every time our number is called, we score. We went 4-for-4 [with touchdowns] and then even then, [that] last touchdown was the best.”

The Owls remained committed to the ground game throughout the first half as Ducker, Worthy, and Simon all took turns carrying the ball. Ducker found the end zone to open the second half, and even with a sizable lead, Temple continued to pound Howard on the ground.

Temple’s defense swarmed, and forced the Bison to punt on their first two drives, while only giving up 17 yards. The Owls got consistent pressure on Howard quarterback Tyriq Starks, holding him to just 34 passing yards. Linebacker Cam’ron Stewart was a force on the edge with three tackles for loss and two sacks.

As a team, Temple had five tackles for loss.

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“I think everyone we play at our level is going to struggle with our defensive line,” Keeler said. “Not only do we have talent there, we have numbers there. We’re rolling in like 10 guys. As the course of the game unfolds, offensive lines wear down.”

Cornerback Adrian Laing added a late turnover for the Owls’ defense when he jumped the first pass of the fourth quarter by Bison quarterback Ja’Shawn Scroggins for an interception. Temple has now forced three turnovers in the first two games.

Temple gets its first major test when it hosts No. 18 Oklahoma (2-0) next Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field next Saturday (noon, ESPN2).