Matchup Preview and Final Score Prediction for Georgia Tech vs Temple

No. 18 Georgia Tech is preparing for its week four game against Temple this Saturday, and the Yellow Jackets are hoping to follow their big win over Clemson with a win over the Owls to get them to 4-0. Temple comes into this game 2-1, with wins over UMass and Howard, as well as a 42-3 defeat against Oklahoma last Saturday. This is only the second ever meeting between the two programs, with Temple beating Georgia Tech in 2019.

So can Georgia Tech avoid the hangover from their win over Clemson and take care of business on Saturday vs the Owls?

Georgia Tech Offense vs Temple Defense

Georgia Tech vs Templ — Sep 13, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Jamal Haynes (1) runs for a touchdown against the Clemson Tigers in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

One of the best offenses in the country should be able to move the ball at will on Saturday vs Temple.

The Owls stats so far are skewed a bit because they have gotten to face UMass and Howard in their first two games, but they could not get a stop against Oklahoma last week, giving up over 500 yards. The Yellow Jackets might not be quite as good as the Sooners on that side of the ball, but they have similar elements.

Georgia Tech comes into this game ranked 45th in the country in PPG, 21st in rushing yards per game, 32nd in passing yards per game, and 19th in total yards per game. Temple's defense comes into this game ranked 61st in PPG allowed, 77th in rushing yards allowed per game, 38th in passing yards allowed per game, and 51st in yards allowed per game. They allowed only 17 points combined in their first two games, but 42 last week vs Oklahoma, which is one of the best teams in the country.

With how much he ran last week, I don't anticipate the Yellow Jackets wanting to give Haynes King too many carries this week. King carried the ball 25 times last week in the win over Clemson, and it would be good for Georgia Tech to be able to save him in this game. I think that this should be a heavy does of Jamal Haynes and Malachi Hosley this week. After combining for only 15 carries in the win over Clemson, I think both backs should see an uptick in carries to try and save King's legs.

The passing game could be utilized more in this game as well. Isiah Canion has shown flashes, Eric Rivers has been a deep threat, and Malik Rutherford is usually steady. In the wins over Colorado and Clemson, the passing attack with Haynes King and the receivers has not been super explosive.

Georgia Tech's offensive line holds a big advantage in this game. The big question up front is who starts at center, as Tana Alo-Tupuola is questionable after leaving the Clemson game with an injury. Could there be some mixing and matching as well? Brent Key talked about that very thing in Thursday's press conference.

""Yeah, it could be Saturday. Could be. Those guys are doing a nice job. Very, very talented young guys, very talented. And you guys, some guys have been in the program a couple of years, they've really come along. It's good to see Ben be back out there healthy. Those young guys are really progressing the right way and on the course, we want them to. I would imagine it'd be sooner than later. You'd see some of those guys."

Overall, Georgia Tech's offense is the better unit as long as they avoid turnovers.

Georgia Tech's defense vs Temple's offense

Temple's offense came out of the gates scorching hot, putting up big numbers in wins over UMass and Howard, but they faced one of the best defenses in the country last week when they played Oklahoma and were held to 107 yards.

The Owls offense is led by quarterback Evan Simonm who has thrown for nine touchdowns this season and zero interceptions. Can Georgia Tech make him uncomfortable and make mistakes, similarly to how they did with Cade Klubnik last week?

Coming into this game, Georgia Tech's defense ranks 45th in PPG allowed, 86th in rushing yards allowed per game, 53rd in passing yards allowed per game, and 69th in total yards allowed per game. On the other side, Temple's offense comes into the game ranked 57th in PPG, 54th in rushing yards per game, 90th in passing yards per game, and 78th in total yards per game.

With the amount of motions and shifts that Georgia Tech is going to see on Saturday, eye discipline is going to be the key and was the No.1 thing that head coach Brent Key talked about this week:

“Eye discipline. It's one of the two most important things we have to get done this week. We have to have great eye discipline on the defensive side of the ball. It's not as much the motion as the fakes within it, right? The rolling over the ball, the carrying out of your fakes. That's something we gotta continue to work tremendously on our fakes and having the same pad level and play action and run game. It's all the deception part of it in order to be able to accomplish what you want to get done. And look, the field is, know, as said, it's 100 yards long, it's 53 and a third wide. Our goal every game is to use every bit of it. And look, you could take the quarterback and put him under center every time, put the running back a little bit closer, and do some of those things. Probably think Coach Johnson was out there coaching. There are a lot of option elements that are involved with it. Being able to put conflict on players on the defensive side of the ball, being able to affect support, affect who sets the edges. And that's another thing they do. Temple does a great job of setting edges in a lot of different ways, right? When you're a team like us, it's understandable why they do it, because then you look on the other side of the ball at what they face every day. So they're every way trying to set the edges and keep that ball contained inside, so this will be a big challenge for us.”

I think Temple is going to attack Georgia Tech's run defense with Jay Ducker, who is averaging nearly seven yards per carry to start the season. Hunter Smith has also shown some big play ability as well, averaging nearly 7.8 yards per carry.

Georgia Tech's defensive line should have the advantage in this game and they are going to need to cause more disruption than they did last week. Despite not having any tackles for loss or sacks this past week, Key is pleased with how they have played and noted the amount of young players that have played up front:

"Yeah, they did a nice job. I think they've gotten better each week. I thought last week was the best game they've played. I'll look at it as far as, are they doing their job? Are they, when we're in a stunt or a movement, are they able to anchor down and not get extended? And that's what I thought early on in the season. We were getting washed out of, washed out when we were moving. I thought those guys has done a really good job of anchoring down and putting their foot down and closing those edges, condensing those gaps, using their hands to redirect and get off blocks.

The thing we got to continue to work on is the pressure. We've upped our TFLs, but we still got to be able to affect the quarterback and I don't look at it as well. It gets the ball out quick or long, holds it. I mean, at the end of the day, it's our job to be able to affect the quarterback, but as a I think they've improved every week.

Another thing is, that's the position on the edge. We've got a lot of young guys playing and it's been good to see those guys out there playing and improving and getting better each week and then come in and taking that to practice and the improvements in practice."

Winning up front and being disciplined is going to be the key to stop the Temple offense. If they do this and win on early downs, I think they can make it a long day for the Owls.

Prediction

Getting off to a fast start, avoiding turnovers, and winning on the lines of scrimmage are the ingredients needed to prevent an upset and that is no different tomorrow vs Temple. Georgia Tech did not turn the ball over last week, but they need to start the first and second half better by getting on the board early. They are the more talented team by a good margin and I think they should win comfortably if they avoid mistakes and have moved on from last week's win over Clemson.

Final Score: Georgia Tech 42, Temple 17

Georgia Tech Offense vs Temple Defense

Georgia Tech's defense vs Temple's offense

Prediction

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