Owls' Smith prepares to play his former school

For Temple safety Abdul Smith, playing at Rutgers this weekend will be a mix of pain and pleasure.

The pleasure will be derived from returning to the place where he started his college football career before transferring to Temple in 2009 following his redshirt freshman year with the Scarlet Knights.

"I made a lot of friends in the short time I was there, from the equipment people to the players to the coaching staff," said the senior free safety, second on the Owls in tackles (58). "I still stay in touch with a lot of those folks."

But the pain Smith is talking about has nothing to do with Rutgers (4-3, 1-2 American Athletic Conference).

"I want to win this game badly," Smith said. "But I think a lot of us are still hurting from last week's game. We all know we let that game slip away. We are motivated by that."

The Owls (1-7, 0-4), still searching for their first road win, blew a 28-7 lead on the way to a 59-49 loss at Southern Methodist. The Temple defense gave up 728 yards - and when they needed to stop the Mustangs, they couldn't.

"That is motivating a lot of us this weekend," Smith said. "We want to win this game like every game we play."

While the Scarlet Knights have no doubt had a better season than the Owls, Rutgers is riding its first two-game losing streak of the season after being blown out 49-14 by visiting Houston last weekend. The Scarlet Knights committed six turnovers, and starting quarterback Gary Nova, who has thrown seven interceptions over the last two games, was benched in favor of former starter Chas Dodd.

Nova, a junior, won an open competition this week with Dodd and was announced the starter on Thursday.

"They have had some issues lately," Smith said. "But we have to do what we're supposed to do. You can't worry about what is going on somewhere else."

Rutgers' passing attack has suffered since sophomore running back Paul James, expected to miss Saturday's game, suffered a leg injury earlier in the season. His replacement last week, freshman Justin Goodwin, gained 161 yards and scored two touchdowns in his place. Goodwin is expected to start against Temple.

There are other questions, too.

Rutgers' secondary, which gave up 400 yards passing to Houston, will be without starting cornerback Nadir Barnwell. A freshman, Barnwell was suspended for this weekend's game after being charged Monday with driving while intoxicated.

When: Noon, Saturday

Where: High Point Solutions Stadium, New Brunswick, N.J.

Records: Temple (1-7, 0-4 American Athletic Conference); Rutgers (4-3, 1-2).

TV/Radio: 6ABC/1210-AM WPHT

Coaches: Temple, Matt Rhule (1-7); Rutgers, Kyle Flood (13-7).

Series: Rutgers leads, 20-15. Last meeting: Rutgers defeated Temple, 35-10.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

After maintaining his job following an open competition last week, and after being benched a week ago, Rutgers quarterback Gary Nova will look to firmly reassert himself as the Scarlet Knights quarterback.

Rutgers enters the game allowing 320 yards passing per game, ranking it No. 121 in the nation. Starting freshman cornerback Nadir Barnwell (DWI) has been suspended for Saturday's game, so look for the Owls to throw early and often.

Rutgers gained 204 yards rushing last week against Houston, with freshman Justin Gordon leading the way with 165. The Scarlet Knights will try to pound him against a Temple run defense giving up 200.3 yards per game.

THREE THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW

Gordon, averaging 110 yards rushing in the Scarlet Knights' last three games, has done so in place of injured starter Paul Smith.

Temple has 29 players on its roster from New Jersey. Rutgers has 14 Pennsylvanians on its roster. However, there are no Philadelphians playing for Rutgers.

This is the first meeting in New Brunswick between the teams since Oct. 14, 2004. In that game, Temple held Rutgers out of the end zone for the better part of four quarters. However, the Owls turned the ball over four times en route to a 16-6 loss. - John N. Mitchell
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