Temple will take the field as a nationally ranked team for the first time in 36 years and be in search of the program’s first ever 7-0 start when the No. 22 Owls face the East Carolina Pirates on Thursday night.
Let’s take a closer look at the matchup:
No. 22 Temple (6-0, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) at East Carolina (4-3, 2-1)
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium/Greenville, North Carolina
Thursday, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Scouting Temple
It’s been a whirlwind few days for Temple. The Owls started out sluggish before rallying for a 30-16 victory over winless Central Florida last Saturday night. The next day, Temple appeared in the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time since 1979. Now, the Owls head to face ECU with a huge Halloween date against No. 11 Notre Dame looming in the background.
If Temple is going to avoid getting tripped up by a formidable ECU squad, Jahad Thomas will certainly have to play a big role. The junior running back is coming off the best game of his career against UFC last week, when he ran 31 times for 199 yards and three touchdowns. Thomas leads the AAC in rushing with 756 yards this season to go along with 11 total touchdowns. He’s also fifth in the nation in all-purpose yards per game with 176.2.
Quarterback P.J. Walker continues his fight for consistency. He connected with redshirt freshman Ventell Bryant for a touchdown against UCF, but he also lost a fumble and tossed an interception that was returned 80 yards for a score. On the season, Walker has 1,063 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
The Owls’ defense remains one of the best in the country. The group allows an AAC-best 14.7 points per game and limited Central Florida to just 134 total yards. Temple’s D is led by none other than Tyler Matakevich. The senior linebacker surpassed the 400-tackle mark last week. He has 52 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions this season.
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Scouting East Carolina
The Pirates are coming off of a 30-17 win over Tulsa and have won three of their last four games. ECU is much better than its 4-3 record indicates. Those three losses came against Florida, Navy and BYU, who have a combined record of 14-4.
On offense, ECU goes with the two-quarterback system. Blake Kemp handles the aerial duties. He has completed 71.3 percent of his throws this season for 1,556 yards with 10 TDs and six interceptions. James Summers is a dual-threat QB, who does most of his damage on the ground. The junior has 53 carries for 354 yards and six rushing scores in addition to his four passing touchdowns.
Chris Hairston is the Pirates’ leading rusher. The senior RB has 460 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, the Pirates spread the ball around through the air with four different receivers having at least 20 catches and five boasting more than one TD receptions.
ECU gives up 29.9 points per game, but that doesn’t mean the Pirates don’t have playmakers on defense. They are particularly stout at linebacker. Zeek Bigger leads the team in tackles with 58, while Montese Overton has 48 along with a team-high 7.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss. Jordan Williams rounds out the trio with 47 tackles.
History
Temple earned a 20-10 win in the most recent meeting between the two teams last season, but ECU still holds a 7-5 advantage in the all-time series.
Storyline to watch
Thursday night’s game will feature some role reversal for the two clubs. Last season, a 20th-ranked ECU team traveled to the Linc and suffered a 20-10 defeat. The Pirates would go on to lose three of their final five games after falling to Temple. The Pirates would love nothing more than to get some revenge and hand the Owls their first loss of the season.
What’s at stake?
Pretty much everything.
Temple’s first 7-0 start in school history, the Owls’ unbeaten record and a chance to set up an massive showdown at home against Notre Dame next week are all on the line. Oh, not to mention the AAC East Division lead is also at stake in this one.