After Further Review: UCF Rushing Attack Should Dominate Versus Temple

Based on watching the film, UCF’s running game should consistently gash the Temple defense.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Oct 28, 2021 2:10 PM EDT

ORLANDO - When watching a game and concentrating efforts towards how a team defends the run, it’s usually not very difficult to see what the opponent can or cannot do. With Temple coming up for the Knights on Saturday, the results for the Owls from their prior game against USF bring up several questions.

Yes, they were really bad against USF, but why? USF only averages 169.6 yards per game passing, making it easy for opposing teams to stack the line of scrimmage and smother the Bulls’ rushing attack.

So why in the world did a Temple team with at least a moderate level size, athleticism, and experience along the defensive line give up 421 yards to Temple? That’s ridiculous and embarrassing.

Will the Temple defense come out with renewed energy after such a bad performance against USF, or will the UCF offensive line punish them and open up holes for all the UCF running backs and backup quarterback Joey Gatewood when he runs the Wildcat?

Joey Gatewood could be a prime factor versus Temple
UCF Athletics

Here are some thoughts regarding Temple’s front after watching them on film versus USF, and what fans should expect this next Saturday when the Knights take on the Owls.

Undisciplined

The very first thing to notice about Temple’s front (three down linemen, plus a stand-up rusher) would be that it often lost contain against USF. When each and every defensive player holds his gap along the front seven, it’s really hard to gain more than three or four rushing yards on a play.

Against Temple, however, there were several runs where the running back bounced the play to the perimeter because of how poorly the edges were defended, as well as the ability to make cuts and move over one gap from the original area that the football was intended to go.

In short, Temple’s consistent issue of not being a disciplined defense showed itself time and time again. Remember, Temple allowed 421 rushing yards. A major factor stemmed from the lack of gap control and being undisciplined.

Speed at Linebacker?

The Owls are not quite as athletic or speedy as say the UCF linebackers. They can make plays, at times, but this is not a group that looks to be overly fast. There’s one key element to mention here, and it could be a major reason the linebacker core did not look very good against USF.

That would be how badly the USF offensive line dominated the Temple defensive line, oftentimes pushing defensive lineman into the laps of the USF linebackers. Well, of course they were going to look a little slow with their vision hampered by their own players coming towards them, and the angles to the football that they would normally take diminished.

Keep an eye on the Temple linebackers. How good are they? Hard to say. If the Temple defensive line does not play better against UCF, it may not matter how fast the linebackers for the Owls are.

Tackling

When a team gets completely run over like Temple did, there will be issues with tackling. That’s just a given. Consider the following statistics when combining the rushing totals for USF’s top three running backs against Temple:

Play after play, South Florida just ran over Temple. Additionally, tt was common for a Temple defender to be in position to make a play, but either the effort to get the USF runner to the ground was poor, the tackling technique was poor, or a combination of the two took place.

For whatever the reason, Temple is not a good tackling team. With UCF running backs like Isaiah Bowser and Johnny Richardson invading Philadelphia on Saturday, the Owls better tackle better or UCF’s rushing attack, which currently averages 205.7 yards per game, will increase its rushing average significantly.

Effort Must Improve

By the middle of the third quarter against USF, Temple’s defense looked defeated. That’s probably being kind, too. From the opening drive of the game in which USF drove the length of the field and hammered Temple, the Owls never played with an extremely high level of energy.

Will the Temple defensive players show more resolve against UCF? If not, the Knights could just shove the football down the Owls’ throats and walk away from the game with a relatively easy win.

Football starts with effort. Yes, schemes and talent matter, but effort begins the process. There was not nearly enough effort from Temple versus USF.

Final Thoughts

Barring something unforeseen, there’s no reason to believe that UCF will not surpass 200 yards on the ground. The Knights provide an experienced and talented offensive front, and it’s been consistent all season long.

Temple, meanwhile, appears to be just a bad run defense. It’s not disciplined and not overly fast. The effort should be questioned as well. There's strong reason to believe that Temple’s defense is in trouble against UCF’s rushing attack.

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