Temple University Athletics
Temple to Play UNC in 2019 Military Bowl
12.12.19 | Football
PHILADELPHIA – The Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman announced today that Temple (8-4, 5-3 American) has been selected to play in its bowl against UNC (6-6, 4-4 ACC). The game will be played on Friday, December 27, at 12:00 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md., and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. This will be the first-ever matchup between the two schools.
This is Temple's fifth straight bowl game and the ninth in school history. Temple has been bowl eligible for six consecutive seasons, tied with Memphis for the longest streak in the American Athletic Conference, and nine times in the past 11 years. This is Temple's third time playing in the Military Bowl. The Owls last played in 2016 and originally played in 2009 when the bowl was known as the EagleBank Bowl.
"We are very excited to participate in the Military Bowl and we are looking forward to spending time in our nation's capital to see all it has to offer," said Temple head coach Rod Carey. "I've really enjoyed my first season here at Temple and only wish that I can spend more time with this outstanding senior class. We want to try and send them off on the right note by being the first group in Temple history to win two bowl games."
For the latest updates on the 2019 Military Bowl, please visit militarybowl.org, follow on Twitter and Instagram @MilitaryBowl, like the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman on Facebook or download the Military Bowl app.
2019 Season Review
The Owls finished the 2019 regular season with an 8-4 record and 5-3 in the American Athletic Conference record under first year head coach Rod Carey. The senior class is the third winningest in program history with 33 victories. They are just the second senior class to play in a bowl game in every year they have been an Owl, the other class being last year. This eight win season ranks tied for seventh on Temple's all-time list. The Owls have won 10 games three times (1979, 2015, 2016) and nine games three times (1973, 2009, 2011).
Sixteen players will dress for their last game as Temple Owls on December 27th. A bunch of different players are approaching milestones in their careers and in Temple's record books. LB Sam Franklin will play in his 53rd game in the Cherry & White, one game shy of tying the school record held by his former teammates SAF Delvon Randall and DT Michael Dogbe. WR Jadan Blue already holds both the single-season receiving yards and receptions record, but with 975 yards this season Blue is on the cusp of becoming the first ever receiver to have 1,000 yards at Temple in a season. QB Anthony Russo has thrown for 2,733 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Both rank third all-time for a single-season performance in program history. Russo also moved into fourth place on both of those career lists with 5,296 yards and 35 TD passes. DE Quincy Roche has 13 sacks on the season and is tied for the single-season program record. He is also two sacks away from owning the conference record for sacks in a season. Roche has 26 sacks in his career which is second all-time in the Temple record books.
The Owls started off the 2019 season flying high after a 56-12 routing of Bucknell in the home opener. Following a bye, Temple hosted #21 Maryland who had just posted two blowout victories scoring 79 and 63 points in those games before coming to Philadelphia. The defense proved to be the difference maker as the Owls knocked off the Terrapins 20-17, highlighted by two goal line stands late in the game to prevent a go-ahead touchdown. Temple got its first wake-up call the next week, going up to Buffalo and losing to the Bulls to get to 2-1 on the season. The Owls then hosted former head coach Geoff Collins and Georgia Tech the next week and dominated wire-to-wire allowing a highly calculated safety that ended the game, 24-2, in favor of Temple. They continued their winning ways with a Thursday night primetime victory at ECU before hosting another ranked opponent at home, #23 Memphis. The Owls handed Memphis their first and only loss of the season in a dramatic 30-28 win on homecoming. Temple then faced two top-ten offenses in the nation in #19 SMU and UCF, who proved to be too potent for the Owls to keep up with and suffered two conference losses in the process. They headed down to Tampa to take on USF in another Thursday night matchup, with bowl eligibility at stake. The Owls grinded out a 17-7 win against USF, highlighted by the defensive effort, to get to 6-3 and bowl eligible for a sixth straight season. Tulane came to town the following week and were handed a 29-21 loss at the hands of the Owls who continued to shine while playing at home in South Philly. In the final road game of the season, the Owls headed to #19 Cincinnati for a matchup that had AAC East division implications that could have ended with Temple taking both Cincinnati and UCF to a three way tie-breaker to determine the conference championship representative. This situation was negated as the Bearcats narrowly beat the Owls 15-13 in a sloppy game from both sides. Temple finished off the season with a dominant second half win against UConn. The Owls sent off their seniors with a 49-17 win on Senior Day to reach eight wins for the second straight season.
On offense this season, Russo and QB Todd Centeio both played and had very different roles on offense. Russo completed 234 passes for 2,733 yards and 21 touchdowns. Centeio completed 28 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 42 times for 185 yards. True freshman RB Re'Mahn Davis had the second best season for a Temple running back in program history. He rushed for 900 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games played. His senior counterpart, Jager Gardner, had his best season rushing for 585 yards and five touchdowns before suffering a season ending injury against Cincinnati. WR Jadan Blue set Temple single-season records with 87 catches for 975 yards and he also added four touchdowns. WR Branden Mack was the tall target on offense this season, he had 56 catches for 886 yards and a team leading five touchdowns. WR Isaiah Wright and TE Kenny Yeboah also had career highs with five touchdowns apiece this season. In total, eight different Owls caught touchdowns this year. The Owls combined for 11 100+ yard receiving performances this season, another program record. Blue and Mack both had five and Wright had one of his own. All of this production was assisted in part by a solid corps of offensive linemen. Led by upperclassmen Matt Hennessy, Jovahn Fair, and Vincent Picozzi, the Owls were able to have historically one of the most productive seasons in the pass game and help a freshman running back average 5.1 yards per carry. Sophomores Isaac Moore and Adam Klein protected the edges at the tackle positions for a second straight season allowing for both quarterbacks to have clean pockets. After Picozzi suffered a season ending injury, Joseph Hooper helped fill the void on the line of scrimmage.
On defense, the Owls continued to shut down some high-flying offenses throughout the season. The defense ranked first in the conference and third in the nation in the red zone, and proved countless time that inside the 20s is the hardest place to score on them. All three single-digit linebackers were the top tacklers on defense. LB Shaun Bradley led the defense with 79 tackles, eight TFLs, three PBUs, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery this season. Chapelle Russell had 63 tackles, eight TFLs, and three PBUs. Sam Franklin has 61 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, a sack, a pick six, and two fumble recoveries. DE Quincy Roche had a great second half of the season and registered 44 tackles, 18 TFLs, and a conference leading 13 sacks. He is regarded as one of the best edge rushers in FBS. DT Ifeanyi Maijeh had a breakout season in his first season starting on the defensive line. He had 50 tackles, 10 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in 11 games played. CB Harrison Hand registered 59 tackles and had a team leading three interceptions in his first season after transferring from Baylor. SAF Benny Walls had an outstanding season for himself. Despite an injury holding him out of four games, Walls had 45 tackles, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery that he took 74 yards for a touchdown.
This is Temple's fifth straight bowl game and the ninth in school history. Temple has been bowl eligible for six consecutive seasons, tied with Memphis for the longest streak in the American Athletic Conference, and nine times in the past 11 years. This is Temple's third time playing in the Military Bowl. The Owls last played in 2016 and originally played in 2009 when the bowl was known as the EagleBank Bowl.
"We are very excited to participate in the Military Bowl and we are looking forward to spending time in our nation's capital to see all it has to offer," said Temple head coach Rod Carey. "I've really enjoyed my first season here at Temple and only wish that I can spend more time with this outstanding senior class. We want to try and send them off on the right note by being the first group in Temple history to win two bowl games."
For the latest updates on the 2019 Military Bowl, please visit militarybowl.org, follow on Twitter and Instagram @MilitaryBowl, like the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman on Facebook or download the Military Bowl app.
2019 Season Review
The Owls finished the 2019 regular season with an 8-4 record and 5-3 in the American Athletic Conference record under first year head coach Rod Carey. The senior class is the third winningest in program history with 33 victories. They are just the second senior class to play in a bowl game in every year they have been an Owl, the other class being last year. This eight win season ranks tied for seventh on Temple's all-time list. The Owls have won 10 games three times (1979, 2015, 2016) and nine games three times (1973, 2009, 2011).
Sixteen players will dress for their last game as Temple Owls on December 27th. A bunch of different players are approaching milestones in their careers and in Temple's record books. LB Sam Franklin will play in his 53rd game in the Cherry & White, one game shy of tying the school record held by his former teammates SAF Delvon Randall and DT Michael Dogbe. WR Jadan Blue already holds both the single-season receiving yards and receptions record, but with 975 yards this season Blue is on the cusp of becoming the first ever receiver to have 1,000 yards at Temple in a season. QB Anthony Russo has thrown for 2,733 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Both rank third all-time for a single-season performance in program history. Russo also moved into fourth place on both of those career lists with 5,296 yards and 35 TD passes. DE Quincy Roche has 13 sacks on the season and is tied for the single-season program record. He is also two sacks away from owning the conference record for sacks in a season. Roche has 26 sacks in his career which is second all-time in the Temple record books.
The Owls started off the 2019 season flying high after a 56-12 routing of Bucknell in the home opener. Following a bye, Temple hosted #21 Maryland who had just posted two blowout victories scoring 79 and 63 points in those games before coming to Philadelphia. The defense proved to be the difference maker as the Owls knocked off the Terrapins 20-17, highlighted by two goal line stands late in the game to prevent a go-ahead touchdown. Temple got its first wake-up call the next week, going up to Buffalo and losing to the Bulls to get to 2-1 on the season. The Owls then hosted former head coach Geoff Collins and Georgia Tech the next week and dominated wire-to-wire allowing a highly calculated safety that ended the game, 24-2, in favor of Temple. They continued their winning ways with a Thursday night primetime victory at ECU before hosting another ranked opponent at home, #23 Memphis. The Owls handed Memphis their first and only loss of the season in a dramatic 30-28 win on homecoming. Temple then faced two top-ten offenses in the nation in #19 SMU and UCF, who proved to be too potent for the Owls to keep up with and suffered two conference losses in the process. They headed down to Tampa to take on USF in another Thursday night matchup, with bowl eligibility at stake. The Owls grinded out a 17-7 win against USF, highlighted by the defensive effort, to get to 6-3 and bowl eligible for a sixth straight season. Tulane came to town the following week and were handed a 29-21 loss at the hands of the Owls who continued to shine while playing at home in South Philly. In the final road game of the season, the Owls headed to #19 Cincinnati for a matchup that had AAC East division implications that could have ended with Temple taking both Cincinnati and UCF to a three way tie-breaker to determine the conference championship representative. This situation was negated as the Bearcats narrowly beat the Owls 15-13 in a sloppy game from both sides. Temple finished off the season with a dominant second half win against UConn. The Owls sent off their seniors with a 49-17 win on Senior Day to reach eight wins for the second straight season.
On offense this season, Russo and QB Todd Centeio both played and had very different roles on offense. Russo completed 234 passes for 2,733 yards and 21 touchdowns. Centeio completed 28 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 42 times for 185 yards. True freshman RB Re'Mahn Davis had the second best season for a Temple running back in program history. He rushed for 900 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games played. His senior counterpart, Jager Gardner, had his best season rushing for 585 yards and five touchdowns before suffering a season ending injury against Cincinnati. WR Jadan Blue set Temple single-season records with 87 catches for 975 yards and he also added four touchdowns. WR Branden Mack was the tall target on offense this season, he had 56 catches for 886 yards and a team leading five touchdowns. WR Isaiah Wright and TE Kenny Yeboah also had career highs with five touchdowns apiece this season. In total, eight different Owls caught touchdowns this year. The Owls combined for 11 100+ yard receiving performances this season, another program record. Blue and Mack both had five and Wright had one of his own. All of this production was assisted in part by a solid corps of offensive linemen. Led by upperclassmen Matt Hennessy, Jovahn Fair, and Vincent Picozzi, the Owls were able to have historically one of the most productive seasons in the pass game and help a freshman running back average 5.1 yards per carry. Sophomores Isaac Moore and Adam Klein protected the edges at the tackle positions for a second straight season allowing for both quarterbacks to have clean pockets. After Picozzi suffered a season ending injury, Joseph Hooper helped fill the void on the line of scrimmage.
On defense, the Owls continued to shut down some high-flying offenses throughout the season. The defense ranked first in the conference and third in the nation in the red zone, and proved countless time that inside the 20s is the hardest place to score on them. All three single-digit linebackers were the top tacklers on defense. LB Shaun Bradley led the defense with 79 tackles, eight TFLs, three PBUs, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery this season. Chapelle Russell had 63 tackles, eight TFLs, and three PBUs. Sam Franklin has 61 tackles, 7.5 TFLs, a sack, a pick six, and two fumble recoveries. DE Quincy Roche had a great second half of the season and registered 44 tackles, 18 TFLs, and a conference leading 13 sacks. He is regarded as one of the best edge rushers in FBS. DT Ifeanyi Maijeh had a breakout season in his first season starting on the defensive line. He had 50 tackles, 10 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and a fumble recovery in 11 games played. CB Harrison Hand registered 59 tackles and had a team leading three interceptions in his first season after transferring from Baylor. SAF Benny Walls had an outstanding season for himself. Despite an injury holding him out of four games, Walls had 45 tackles, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery that he took 74 yards for a touchdown.
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
OL
/ Football
BUBO
/ Football
RB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
OL
/ FootballOL
/ FootballOL
/ FootballWR
/ FootballDT
/ FootballOL
/ FootballOL
/ Football
SAF
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
SAF
/ Football
WR
/ Football
TE
/ FootballStrip 16 - Coach Nikki Franke Classic '25
Friday, October 24
Strip 9 - Coach Nikki Franke Classic '25
Friday, October 24
Strip 8 - Coach Nikki Franke Classic '25
Friday, October 24
Strip 1 - Coach Nikki Franke Classic '25
Friday, October 24
