Football Flies Up to Boston College to Take on Eagles

THIS WEEK
The Temple Owls kept on rolling as they opened American Athletic Conference play with a win against Tulsa on Thursday. This week, the Owls are concluding non-conference play on the road against former Temple coach, Steve Addazio, and the Boston College Eagles. Kickoff is set for Saturday, September 29, 2018, at 12:00 ET and will air on ESPNU and 97.5 The Fanatic.

Temple and Boston College first met in October, 1936. The game took place in Boston and resulted in a 14-0 win for the Owls. The Eagles have the upper-hand in the series 4-28-2, but the two teams haven't met since the last week of 2004.

This past weekend, RB Ryquell Armstead rushed 24 times for 108 yards. That was his seventh career 100-yard rushing game and third straight 100-yard rushing game. He is the first Temple Owl to accomplish this feat since Bernard Pierce in 2011. He also scored his first touchdown this season, the 22nd of his career. Anthony Russo threw for 112-yards in his second career start and first start at the Linc. Russo was able to set up a QB sneak for a touchdown after throwing a long pass to WR Randle Jones. Isaiah Wright continues to prove his versatility totaling 101 all-purpose yards while playing a variety of positions.

Defensively the Owls played their expected brand of football again. Although Temple gave up 403 total yards on 107 plays, the Owls had five takeaways and scored 17 points off turnovers. The Owls got to the quarterback six times and are currently fifth in the nation with 3.75 sacks per game. The yards given up haven't meant much, because the defense is creating opportunities to score themselves.

LB Shaun Bradley led the team with 11 tackles, CB Rock Ya-Sin had 10 tackles and an interception, DE Quincy Roche had eight tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles, and DE Karamo Dioubate had six tackles and recovered a fumble and took it 50 yards for a touchdown. LB Sam Franklin continues to mix in at DE and got two sacks and 2.5 TFLs to go with eight total tackles. Armstead even got in the mix by getting a sack himself while playing a little DE. It was Armstead's first career sack.

Addazio will be the first former head coach Temple has faced off against since Henry J. Miller in 1936. Miller coached at Temple from 1925-32 and then went to coach at St. Joesph's University. Temple won both games easily 51-0 and 18-0.

LAST TIME vs. BOSTON COLLEGE

The last time Temple and Boston College faced off was on November 20, 2004. Boston College was #19 in the country at the time and beat the Owls 34-17. The Owls had a productive day on offense but couldn't seem to find the endzone despite 408 total yards. As a freshman QB for Boston College, Exton, Pa., native, Matt Ryan, saw limited action in the game but went on to become the starter due to multiple injuries. Ryan is now the QB for the Atlanta Falcons.

LAST TIME @ BOSTON COLLEGE

The last time Temple and Boston College faced off in Chestnut Hill was on October 6, 2001. At the time, both teams were members of the Big East Conference and this was the first conference game of the year. The game resulted in a 33-10 loss for Temple. The Owls had a chance to make a comeback with the score at 26-10 in the fourth. A Temple touchdown made the score 26-17 with seven minutes to play, but the touchdown would be called back for holding and the Eagles would score again to seal the game 33-10.

UP NEXT

Temple hosts conference opponent ECU for the second conference game of the season after the battle in Boston. Temple will aim to be 2-0 in conference play.