Scouting Temple: Talkin' offense
Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2005 10:43 am
OK, time to get serious about the Owls.
On offense, you can expect them to do what everyone else has done against us - run.
Temple has totally revamped its offensive game plan, ditching the spread it employed last year in favor of a more traditional strategy, so they will be in a better position to exploit our defensive weakness.
That task will fall to Umar Ferguson and Michael Billops.
Ferguson is the banger. At 6-0, 215, he's the type of physical back that overpower linebackers. He didn't play against Toledo, then got 33 carries against WMU and churned out 110 yards. In 230 career carries, he has yet to fumble the ball.
Billops is more of the scatback at 5-8, 185. Billops didn't play against WMU, but against Toledo, he carried 18 times for 121 yards.
You'll note that the Owls have had 100-yard rushers against both MAC opponents.
The Owls have the beef up front, too. Their starting O-line goes 6-6/295, 6-4/315, 6-4/280, 6-4/310, 6-7/300. Their center is a freshman, but the rest of the line has plenty of experience, as do the second stringers.
Like the Falcons, the Owls have a ton of receivers on their roster, more than 15. But that's mostly residue from the former spread offense. Bruce Gordon is the most productive receiver (17 catches), but the Owls have been thinking run first. They lost their top receiver from last year.
Mike McGann is the quarterback. He was actually the starter two years ago before Walter Washington was inserted into the lineup, relegating McGann to backup status through all of last year.
McGann is no scrambler. At 6-6/225, he'll remind other BG old-timers more of Brian McClure than Josh Harris. He's a streak passer. When he's hot, which he hasn't been much this year, he's deadly. When he's off, he's deadly to his own team. He's a career 49% passer with a 28/32 TD to INT ratio. On the year, he's 44 of 109 (40.4%) with one TD and 6 INT. He's been sacked six times.
If you think those numbers warrant a change, it's important to note that there's not much behind McGann. He and Washington owned all the snaps the last few years and now McGann is backed up by three freshmen and a sophomore (BTW, he's 6-2, 255!).
So there shouldn't be a lot of surprises from the Temple offense. They'll line up behind their big offensive line and run the football.
On offense, you can expect them to do what everyone else has done against us - run.
Temple has totally revamped its offensive game plan, ditching the spread it employed last year in favor of a more traditional strategy, so they will be in a better position to exploit our defensive weakness.
That task will fall to Umar Ferguson and Michael Billops.
Ferguson is the banger. At 6-0, 215, he's the type of physical back that overpower linebackers. He didn't play against Toledo, then got 33 carries against WMU and churned out 110 yards. In 230 career carries, he has yet to fumble the ball.
Billops is more of the scatback at 5-8, 185. Billops didn't play against WMU, but against Toledo, he carried 18 times for 121 yards.
You'll note that the Owls have had 100-yard rushers against both MAC opponents.
The Owls have the beef up front, too. Their starting O-line goes 6-6/295, 6-4/315, 6-4/280, 6-4/310, 6-7/300. Their center is a freshman, but the rest of the line has plenty of experience, as do the second stringers.
Like the Falcons, the Owls have a ton of receivers on their roster, more than 15. But that's mostly residue from the former spread offense. Bruce Gordon is the most productive receiver (17 catches), but the Owls have been thinking run first. They lost their top receiver from last year.
Mike McGann is the quarterback. He was actually the starter two years ago before Walter Washington was inserted into the lineup, relegating McGann to backup status through all of last year.
McGann is no scrambler. At 6-6/225, he'll remind other BG old-timers more of Brian McClure than Josh Harris. He's a streak passer. When he's hot, which he hasn't been much this year, he's deadly. When he's off, he's deadly to his own team. He's a career 49% passer with a 28/32 TD to INT ratio. On the year, he's 44 of 109 (40.4%) with one TD and 6 INT. He's been sacked six times.
If you think those numbers warrant a change, it's important to note that there's not much behind McGann. He and Washington owned all the snaps the last few years and now McGann is backed up by three freshmen and a sophomore (BTW, he's 6-2, 255!).
So there shouldn't be a lot of surprises from the Temple offense. They'll line up behind their big offensive line and run the football.
I really see him as more of a Josh Harris type than an Omar type. He is noticeably smaller than Omar (as was Josh), and as such will not be as able to sit in the pocket and toss it around.