BEAVERS GO ON THE ROAD IN A BIG WAY - TEMPLE UNIVERSITY IN PHILADELPHIA

The Beavers traveled today to Temple University in Philadelphia, PA to take on the Big East Conference Owls.

Temple played division 1-AA Richmond in their first game and defeated Richmond 34-7 at Temple. The Owls are a team on the rise and the Beavers need to be prepared for this one and not let down after the win last week and the long plane flight back east.

Temple has a balanced attack. Last week against Richmond they rushed the ball 45 times and passed the ball 31 times for a total of 379 yards offense. They have a standout running back in Tanardo Sharps who rushed for 121 yards on 30 carries. Owl QB Mike McGann was 18 of 31 for 213 yards with 3 interceptions. Temples All-America candidate at Defensive lineman, Dan Klecko missed last weeks game with an ankle sprain but is expected to play on Thursday.

This is the first meeting between the two schools and I expect this to be a tough game for the Beavers to win. Temple is in a similar position to what OSU was in a few years back in that the conference feels they should move out. They have something to prove and are hungry. A win over a PAC-10 team would go along way to prove that they belong in the Big East. The last time that OSU had to deal with Big East Refs the outcome was not pretty (Fiesta Bowl).

The Beavers are coming off a big win and have learned a few things about how the offense is working and just how good the defense is. I expect them to come out throwing again to stretch the defense of Temple and back that up with a strong running game from Jackson.

BY THE NUMBERS

The numbers show big advantages with OSU in this game due to the big offensive show last week. Temple is a possession team and the Beavers will have to be patient on defense and look for opportunities. The question is can Temple stop the newly arrived offense of the Beavers and can the Beavers repeat the offensive performance of last week. With Newsom and now Farley at receiver and the one two punch of Jackson and Wright in rushing, along with the strong arm of Anderson I think if the Beavers show up for the game and are not tired from the long trip that this show be a good win for the Beavers. I expect the Beavers to start fast again and take an early lead and then hold off Temple for the win.

Final Score

OSU 31 Temple 14

The game will start at 4pm pacific time and will be live on Fox Sports NW. So get off work early and tune in for a great game. My post game recap will be back on schedule and be out on Friday this week. I hope to see many of you at the game next week when the Beavers return home.

GO BEAVS!