Reice Griffith's onside kick bounced loose at the Glass Bowl and Toledo linebacker Isaac Prince fell on it, and eleven seconds of game clock later Temple's 42-28 lead was gone. Temple had led by 14 with 6:40 to play. Toledo scored with 1:05 left, recovered the kick, and tied it 42-42 with 54 seconds on the clock, then won 49-48 in overtime. Temple is 1-2, and it allowed 536 yards, including 429 passing, and 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. "We can't let up that many points," K.C. Keeler said afterward.
Now Army comes to Lincoln Financial Field on Friday at 4 p.m. on ESPN, and Army is the worst possible follow-up to that night.
Army does not need explosive plays to do what Toledo did
Toledo beat Temple by throwing for 429 yards. Army will try to beat Temple by never giving the ball back. In last November's 14-13 Army win at Michie Stadium, Cale Hellums ran for 118 yards and a touchdown, Army converted 4 of 5 fourth downs and held the ball roughly 15 minutes longer than Temple, and Temple's last possession ended with a punt at 9:53 of the fourth quarter before Army ran out the final 18 plays of the game. Temple's offense simply stopped existing.
The numbers say Army is better at that now than it was then. The specific seam is third down. Temple's defense ranks 132nd nationally there, allowing conversions on 51.3% of chances, while Army converts 50.0% of its own. A third-down defense that leaky against an offense that patient is how a game disappears without anything dramatic happening.
So the thing to watch early is Army's drive lengths. Six-play possessions that end in punts mean Temple is in this. Thirteen-play possessions that end in field goals mean Friday is already following last November's script.
The one advantage: Temple knew this week was coming
Brian L. Smith is in his second season as Temple's defensive coordinator, Tyler Walker also returns as offensive coordinator, and Brian Ginn serves as the 2026 special teams coordinator, unusual continuity for a program that replaced this much of its roster. It matters here because Temple began preparing for Army's triple-option offense back in spring practice, anticipating the short turnaround this Friday game would create. A normal in-season week does not teach a defense its option responsibilities. Five months can.
It had better, because Temple returns only two primary starters from its 2025 defense: linebacker Curly Ordonez and safety Avery Powell. Nearly everyone else on the field Friday will be playing his first snaps against the option in a Temple uniform. Ordonez and Powell are the two who can diagnose a mesh point and tell the newcomer beside them whose man the pitch back is.
What this rebuilt defense does well is take the ball away. In the opener, Jamarcus Pierre returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown and Tyree Alualu returned another 63 yards for a score, and Jordan Montgomery forced a fumble that Bryson Goodwin recovered. Kevin Hornbeak forced a fumble on Toledo's first snap. This defense creates turnovers. Against Army that is close to the whole ballgame, because a takeaway is the only way to shorten a game Army wants to make long.
Temple can score if Temple gets the ball
Ajani Sheppard will start, after taking all the first-team reps in practice; Jaxon Smolik, who left Toledo with a foot injury, is still working his way back with no timetable. Sheppard earned it, 12 of 22 for 164 yards and three touchdown passes, plus 15 carries for 66 yards and a rushing score, but the one turnover he committed was a fumble on a fourth-quarter sack that Toledo recovered, Temple's only turnover of the game. In a game that may give each side eight possessions, one of those is fatal.
The backfield is settled in a way it was not two weeks ago. Sam Brown V returned from injury and led Temple with 15 carries for 109 yards and two rushing touchdowns plus a 9-yard scoring catch, while Keveun Mason was limited to 15 touches for 49 yards. Brown is the back Army has to account for, and a lead runner who grinds out first downs is exactly the counter to an opponent trying to steal the clock. Temple's red-zone offense has scored on every trip this season, first nationally, and Army's red-zone defense has allowed scores on 100% of opponent trips, 109th nationally. Small samples on both sides. But if Temple crosses the 20 five times Friday, it should come away with 30-plus points.
What Friday is worth
The simulation makes Temple a 35% home underdog. That is a live underdog, not a long shot, and part of the appeal is that Temple spent a spring on the answer sheet for this specific opponent. The conference-title math barely moves either way, a win leaves Temple's American championship-game odds near 1.3%, a loss near 0.2%, so this is not a standings night. It is a schedule night. A 1-2 record turning into 1-3 with South Florida next would put real strain on the home-heavy front half that Keeler's bowl push depends on.
The honest version is that Temple has to defend a formation it has studied longer than anything else on its schedule, with two returning starters and a lot of newcomers, for four quarters instead of three. Full details are in the interactive guide, and the forecasting approach is explained on the methodology page.