Temple football is 4-0.
On Saturday, it seeks its first 5-0 start since 1974, which is also its last 4-0 start.
The Owls kick off against the Tulane Green Wave at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday afternoon for their homecoming game.
Here's a closer look:
Tulane (2-2, 1-0 AAC) at Temple (4-0, 1-0 AAC)
Lincoln Financial Field
Saturday, noon, ESPNU
Scouting Temple
It was more of the same last Friday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, as Jahad Thomas continued to shred defenses.
The junior running back gained 109 yards and two touchdowns on the ground during Temple's 37-3 beat down of University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the rain. Thomas also added 48 yards on three catches, and has added an explosive weapon to the Owls' offense. On the season, Thomas has 503 yards on 100 carries, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and six touchdowns.
News
Temple's passing game is still stagnant with quarterback P.J. Walker, but its offense is benefitting from Walker's ball security this season. Turnovers were a major issue for Walker last season, but through four games this season the junior is taking care of the ball. He has just two interceptions and one fumble lost.
Walker was 11 for 23 for 116 yards and two TDs against Charlotte. It didn't help that some of his receivers had drops, but the weather conditions were brutal. Robby Anderson had a sure-fire touchdown but dropped it. Walker is completing 60.4 percent of his passes and has five TDs. His two INTs came in TU's 25-23 win at UMass.
Led by Tyler Matakevich, TU's defense enters Saturday as its strongest unit off another strong performance. The Owls forced one turnover and allowed just three points against Charlotte.
Scouting Tulane
The Green Wave come into Saturday riding a two-game winning streak. Last week, Tulane beat Central Florida, 45-31, at home.
Quarterback Tanner Lee leads the way for Tulane, checking in with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Lee, a sophomore, is completing 55.2 percent of his passes for 878 yards. Against UCF, Lee was 15 of 26 for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Temple will not have to worry about Lee leaving the pocket, as the QB has minus-125 yards rushing this year.
On the ground, Tulane uses five backs. Through four games, five different players have at least 15 carries and four have over 20. Sophomore Dontrell Hilliard leads the team with 170 yards on 29 carries and two TDs, but against UCF last week he had just 15 on seven carries. Lazedrick Thompson (33-133-1), Sherman Badie (16-121-2), Josh Rounds (20-99-0) and Rob Kelley (21-68-0) all get touches out of the backfield.
Temple should be able to move the ball against Tulane's defense, which enters Saturday allowing 35 points per game. The Green Wave give up 175.8 yards per game on the ground, and 262.8 through the air. Considering the Owls' rushing attack, it's fair to say Thomas could be in for another big game against Tulane.
History
This will be the third meeting between these two schools. Each has a victory, with Temple beating Tulane, 10-3, last season.
Storyline to watch
TU wanted to establish a running game this season, and it has. But its passing attack is still stale, and that has to change. Matt Rhule isn’t asking Walker to do much, but if the Owls want any chance of beating Notre Dame on Halloween, they need to find a passing game.
There’s no better time than Saturday for the Owls to do that. It’s homecoming, and it’s their first home game since taking down Penn State in the season opener. Let’s see if Walker can do a little more this game than he has. He’s made some good decisions this season, but it would be nice for TU to see him have a big game and take some of the pressure off of Thomas.
What's at stake?
Simple. The Owls’ first 5-0 start since 1974.