# 2021 Temple Owls football team

The 2021 Temple Owls football team represented Temple University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Owls were led by third-year head coach Rod Carey and played their home games at Lincoln Financial Field, competing as a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

## Preseason
### American Athletic Conference preseason media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021. Cincinnati, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Cincinnati | 262 (22) |
| 2 | UCF | 241 (2) |
| 3 | SMU | 188 |
| 4 | Houston | 181 |
| 5 | Memphis | 168 |
| 6 | Tulsa | 153 |
| 7 | Tulane | 132 |
| т-8 | East Carolina | 85 |
| т-8 | Navy | 85 |
| 10 | Temple | 46 |
| 11 | South Florida | 43 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 12:00 p.m. | at Rutgers* | SHI StadiumPiscataway, NJ | BTN | L 14–61 | 52,519 |
| September 11 | 3:30 p.m. | at Akron* | InfoCision StadiumAkron, OH | ESPN+ | W 45–24 | 14,474 |
| September 18 | 12:00 p.m. | Boston College* | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPNU | L 3–28 | 25,290 |
| September 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Wagner* | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | W 41–7 | 20,179 |
| October 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Memphis | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPNU | W 34–31 | 28,573 |
| October 8 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 5 Cincinnati | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH | ESPN | L 3–52 | 37,978 |
| October 23 | 7:00 p.m. | at South Florida | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN+ | L 14–34 | 25,430 |
| October 30 | 12:00 p.m. | UCF | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | L 7–49 | 19,595 |
| November 6 | 3:00 p.m. | at East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ESPN+ | L 3–45 | 32,817 |
| November 13 | 12:00 p.m. | Houston | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | L 8–37 | 18,440 |
| November 20 | 4:00 p.m. | at Tulsa | H.A. Chapman StadiumTulsa, OK | ESPN+ | L 10–44 | 16,731 |
| November 27 | 12:00 p.m. | Navy | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPNU | L 14–38 | 16,708 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
Source:

## Game summaries
### At Rutgers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Scarlet Knights | 12 | 14 | 14 | 21 | 61 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| RUT –14.5 | 52 |
| Statistics | Temple | Rutgers |
| First downs | 12 | 21 |
| Total yards | 261 | 365 |
| Rushing yards | 113 | 220 |
| Passing yards | 148 | 145 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 24:23 | 35:37 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Temple | Passing | D'Wan Mathis | 8/24, 148 yards, 1 INT |
| Temple | Rushing | Edward Saydee | 12 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD |
| Temple | Receiving | Jose Barbon | 2 receptions, 48 yards |
| Rutgers | Passing | Noah Vedral | 15/27, 138 yards, 1 TD |
| Rutgers | Rushing | Noah Vedral | 9 carries, 71 yards |
| Rutgers | Receiving | Bo Melton | 6 receptions, 59 yards, 1 TD |

### At Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Owls | 7 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Zips | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TEM –6.5 | 52 |
| Statistics | Temple | Akron |
| First downs | 19 | 26 |
| Total yards | 432 | 362 |
| Rushing yards | 177 | 171 |
| Passing yards | 255 | 191 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 27:51 | 32:09 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Temple | Passing | Justin Lynch | 19/23, 255 yards, 2 TDs |
| Temple | Rushing | Tayvon Ruley | 6 carries, 62 yards |
| Temple | Receiving | Randle Jones | 7 receptions, 170 yards, 2 TDs |
| Akron | Passing | DJ Irons | 12/22, 109 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Akron | Rushing | Jonzell Norrils | 15 carries, 66 yards |
| Akron | Receiving | Michael Mathison | 8 receptions, 101 yards |

### Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • RV Eagles | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Owls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| BC –15.0 | 56 |
| Statistics | Boston College | Temple |
| First downs | 13 | 13 |
| Total yards | 221 | 245 |
| Rushing yards | 179 | 84 |
| Passing yards | 59 | 161 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 28:40 | 31:20 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Boston College | Passing | Dennis Grosel | 7/15, 59 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Boston College | Rushing | Pat Garwo III | 17 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD |
| Boston College | Receiving | CJ Lewis | 2 receptions, 21 yards |
| Temple | Passing | Justin Lynch | 17/24, 161 yards |
| Temple | Rushing | Justin Lynch | 21 carries, 27 yards |
| Temple | Receiving | Jadan Blue | 3 receptions, 40 yards |

### Wagner

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seahawks | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Owls | 0 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 41 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TEM –36.5 | 55 |
| Statistics | Wagner | Temple |
| First downs | 8 | 22 |
| Total yards | 159 | 407 |
| Rushing yards | 123 | 115 |
| Passing yards | 36 | 292 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:54 | 29:06 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Wagner | Passing | Guenson Alexis | 4/8, 36 yards, 1 INT |
| Wagner | Rushing | Rickey Spruill | 14 carries, 73 yards |
| Wagner | Receiving | Jeremiah Lorick | 3 receptions, 33 yards |
| Temple | Passing | D'Wan Mathis | 22/32, 292 yards, 2 TDs |
| Temple | Rushing | Kyle Dobbins | 13 carries, 61 yards, 3 TDs |
| Temple | Receiving | Jose Barbon | 8 receptions, 130 yards |

### Memphis

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tigers | 3 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 31 |
| • Owls | 0 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Memphis | Passing |
| Memphis | Rushing |
| Memphis | Receiving |
| Temple | Passing |
| Temple | Rushing |
| Temple | Receiving |

### At No. 5 Cincinnati

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • No. 5 Bearcats | 10 | 7 | 28 | 7 | 52 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| CIN −28 | 54.5 |
| Statistics | Temple | Cincinnati |
| First downs | 14 | 23 |
| Total yards | 235 | 542 |
| Rushing yards | 85 | 279 |
| Passing yards | 150 | 263 |
| Time of possession | 31:59 | 28:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Temple | Passing | D'Wan Mathis | 16/27, 120 yards, 1 INT |
| Temple | Rushing | Justin Lynch | 3 carries, 29 yards |
| Temple | Receiving | Jose Barbon | 5 receptions, 45 yards |
| Cincinnati | Passing | Desmond Ridder | 22/30, 259 yards, 3 TD |
| Cincinnati | Rushing | Jerome Ford | 15 carries, 149 yards, 2 TD |
| Cincinnati | Receiving | Alec Pierce | 6 receptions, 93 yards, 1 TD |

### At South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Owls | | | 0 |
| Bulls | | | 0 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Temple | Passing |
| Temple | Rushing |
| Temple | Receiving |
| South Florida | Passing |
| South Florida | Rushing |
| South Florida | Receiving |

### UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Knights | 7 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 49 |
| Owls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| UCF | Passing |
| UCF | Rushing |
| UCF | Receiving |
| Temple | Passing |
| Temple | Rushing |
| Temple | Receiving |

### At East Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Owls | | | 0 |
| Pirates | | | 0 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Temple | Passing |
| Temple | Rushing |
| Temple | Receiving |
| East Carolina | Passing |
| East Carolina | Rushing |
| East Carolina | Receiving |

### Houston

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Cougars | 7 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 37 |
| Owls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Line | Over/under |
| HOU –25.0 | 53 |
| Statistics | Houston | Temple |
| First downs | 24 | 10 |
| Total yards | 446 | 218 |
| Rushing yards | 217 | 99 |
| Passing yards | 229 | 119 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 39:22 | 20:38 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Houston | Passing | Clayton Tune | 21/34, 224 yards, 2 TDs |
| Houston | Rushing | Alton McCaskill | 21 rushes, 129 yards, 2 TDs |
| Houston | Receiving | Seth Green | 7 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD |
| Temple | Passing | Justin Lynch | 11/24, 119 yards, 2 INTs |
| Temple | Rushing | Justin Lynch | 14 rushes, 78 yards |
| Temple | Receiving | Randle Jones | 5 receptions, 36 yards |

### At Tulsa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Owls | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| • Golden Hurricane | 10 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 44 |
* Over/under
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| Temple | Passing |
| Temple | Rushing |
| Temple | Receiving |
| Tulsa | Passing |
| Tulsa | Rushing |
| Tulsa | Receiving |

### Navy

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Midshipmen | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
| Owls | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| NAVY –13.5 | 42.5 |
| Statistics | Navy | Temple |
| First downs | 21 | 11 |
| Total yards | 291 | 182 |
| Rushing yards | 219 | 84 |
| Passing yards | 72 | 98 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 37:11 | 22:49 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Navy | Passing | Tai Lavatai | 5/11, 57 yards, TD |
| Navy | Rushing | Carlinos Acie | 10 carries, 86 yards, TD |
| Navy | Receiving | Chance Warren | 3 receptions, 43 yards, 2 TD |
| Temple | Passing | Mariano Valenti | 10/14, 73 yards |
| Temple | Rushing | Tayvon Ruley | 9 carries, 68 yards, TD |
| Temple | Receiving | Jose Barbon | 5 receptions, 34 yards |