Temple looks to make school history with a win in Boca Raton Bowl
Boca Raton Bowl
Temple (10-3) vs. Toledo (9-2)
Boca Raton, Florida
Dec. 22, 2015
It wasn’t so long ago that Temple and Toledo were competing in the College Football Playoff rankings for Group of Five supremacy.
Both teams were in the hunt early for the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bowl berth, but both had unexpected losses that knocked them from the perch.
Now, they find themselves competing once again, this time just to end their seasons on a high note.
This is a classic offense versus defense game. The Temple defense is ranked No. 13 in the country allowing 329 yards per game and 16th in the country allowing just 19.2 points per game. The Owls are especially good in the front seven with linebacker Tyler Matakevich, an All-American who leads the team with 126 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and five interceptions. The run defense is holding opponents to just 3.7 yards per carry.
That rushing defense will be tough on a team like Toledo that likes to run the ball with a trio of backs in Kareem Hunt, Terry Swanson and Damion Jones-Moore. Both Hunt and Swanson have rushed for more than 800 yards this season and have combined for 17 touchdowns. Jones-Moore rushed for 404 yards and five scores.
That rushing attacked is complemented by a strong passing game led by quarterback Phillip Ely, a former Alabama transfer, and receivers Alonzo Russell and Cody Thomson, which have become deep targets for the Rockets.
Temple is no slouch on offense, it’s just that its offense has been inconsistent and is usually focused on two players — quarterback P.J. Walker and running back Jahad Thomas. Both are good in the running game, but Walker is hit and miss as a passer. Not many teams have shut Thomas down, but those that have, have kept games close and even won.
Temple finished this season 10-3 and a win would give the Owls a school record 11 victories. Toledo has won nine games for the fourth time in the past five seasons. It lost its head coach following the end of the regular season, but new head coach Jason Candle could pick up right where his predecessor left off.
Picks
Graham: My gut feeling is that Toledo can't handle this Temple defense because the Rockets didn’t see anything like it in league play. I’m not sure it’s going to be a high-scoring game, but Temple will win 28-14.
Nick: It's a battle of the T-teams in B-Town. OK, that was bad. This is going to be a fun game and one of the best of the bowl season, at least on paper. Temple 27-23.
Sam: Both of these teams had great seasons but fizzled a bit down the stretch. Toledo lost head coach Matt Campbell to Iowa State, so I’ll take the more well-coached team in this one. Temple 27, Toledo 21.
For more on Temple, Yahoo’s Katie Couric interviews the family of former Temple player Adrian Robinson, a former NFL player that committed suicide at the age of 25. His brother, Averee, is a sophomore defensive lineman for the Owls.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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