Temple tops Tulsa: Five observations

Temple's 31-17 win Thursday night over Tulsa in the American Athletic Conference opener for both teams was a mixed bag. The Owls defense caused five turnovers and scored two touchdowns, but couldn't get off the field for long stretches. The offense struggled, but was bailed out mainly by the running of Ryquell Armstead, who rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.

Temple (2-2) has won two in a row entering the Sept. 29 game at Boston College. Here are five observations from Thursday's game.

For the second straight game, Temple didn't allow a sack. The run blocking was also solid, with Temple averaging 5.3 yards per carry. What made the performance more impressive is that true freshman Adam Klein of Episcopal Academy made his first career start at right tackle. Klein, who replaced injured James McHale, seemed to handle things well, and Jaelin Robinson, in his second game at left tackle after starting the first two at right tackle, was also opening up holes. The rest of the starting unit consisted of center Matt Hennessy and guards Jovahn Fair and Vincent Picozzi.

Statistics don't always tell everything, but Temple's yards per carry have increased each game, from 2.1 against Villanova to 4.0 against Buffalo to 4.3 against Maryland. Granted, against Tulsa, the Owls were boosted by a 28-yard gain by Shaun Bradley on a fake punt, but even without that play, the Owls averaged 4.9 yards per carry.

Anthony Russo made his second start for injured Frank Nutile, and his passing line — 7 for 20 for 112 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions — wasn't great, but he wasn't helped by his receivers.

After having no drops in the 35-14 win over Maryland, the Owls had several against Tulsa. That said, Russo didn't have the best of games, but on one play, a 41-yard bomb to Randle Jones to the Tulsa 1-yard line, he showed both his arm strength and ability to throw the deep ball, something the Owls will need more of to open things up offensively.

The Owls compensated for their inability to get off the field on third down (and some fourth downs) with their big-play ability. Tulsa was 13 for 23 on third-down conversions and 4 for 5 on fourth down. The Golden Hurricane held a 36:51 to 23:09 advantage in time of possession. Again, that can at times be misleading, but Temple's inability to get off the field enabled Tulsa to run 107 plays. Temple made up for it by scoring two defensive touchdowns, which were among the five turnovers caused. That's a dangerous way to keep playing, but Temple has shown a penchant for making big plays on defense.

(Note: This is a constant complaint in our observations.) Temple's most dangerous offensive player is junior receiver Isaiah Wright. The Owls' inability to get him the ball in the passing game has been frustrating. Against Tulsa, he had one reception for -3 yards. In four games, he has just eight catches for 65 yards and one touchdown.

Temple tried to get him more touches against Tulsa, using Wright in two different series as a Wildcat quarterback. He gained 33 yards on four carries. In the first three games, Wright had just three total carries. He also had his best game this season as a return man, averaging 30.5 yards on two kickoff returns and 10 yards on one punt return. Wright appears ready to break one on a return, but there has to be more effort to get him the ball in the passing game because he is Temple's best open-field runner.

The most impressive defensive player was redshirt sophomore defensive end Quincy Roche, who still isn't 100 percent because of an unspecified injury. Roche is the Owls' top pass rusher. At 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, he is simply too quick for many offensive tackles to handle one-on-one.

Against Tulsa, he had eight tackles, including two sacks and a forced fumble that was picked up by Karamo Dioubate and returned 50 yards for a touchdown. One can only imagine what Roche will be like when fully healthy, because in 32 snaps against Maryland, he was also a disruptive force.