UCF Knights football: Know Your Foe for Week 6, Temple Owls

UCF Knights football team is 4-1 and 1-0 in the American Athletic Conference. They beat SMU 41-19 in their last game. Next up, UCF will play Temple Owls in a primetime game in which they have won five straight times.

Temple Owls have alternated wins and losses in its first five games. It lost 24-3 to Memphis in the last game. Ryan Wallen covers Temple for Owl's Daily and 247Sports.

Temple's last played on October 1. The team spent the bye week doing some soul searching. Head coach Stan Drayton wants his team to play a full four quarters of quality play. Drrayton and his staff want to establish more depth behind the defensive starters.

Temple is ranked 126th in scoring and 125th among FBS programs. The team has struggled to establish any offensive rhythm through the first five games. It has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in a game just twice this season. Its run game is averaging an abysmal 2.7 yards per carry. Temple has turned the ball over 11 times and turned it over on downs 10 times. It's a miracle that the team is in four of its five fourth-quarter games despite losing that many drives.

Drayton is Temple's sixth head coach since 2011. Wallen and Boyle discuss how the team has performed in Drayton's first year in charge. Drrayon has built close relationships with the players. The team is now playing better. Drryton knew the job was going to be a challenge. He wanted to build trust with his players and restore the 'Tough' in 'Temple Tough'.

E.J. Warner is Temple's starting quarterback. He has been sacked just twice in three and a half college games. His inexperience has shown in some moments, but he has responded to the challenge with maturity beyond his years. He made some big throws against Rutgers, which nearly led to a Temple win. In the game against UMass, he made a 50-yard touchdown pass. It was his first start at college. The team's offensive success is falling on Warner's shoulders due to their inability to run the football.

Temple's defense is playing well. The team has allowed just 31 points combined in its last four games. It's the program's first shutout since 2016. The defense has improved a lot this season. They have 45 tackles for loss and 20 sacks on the year. Layton Jordan leads the team with eight TFLs and 4.5 sacks. Kobe Wilson leads in tackles (34). Jalen McMurray has six pass breakups.