Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: TEMPLE through Oct. 10. Temple has held its opponents to 3.1 yards per rush and just two rushing touchdowns. In its season opener, Temple held Penn State to 80 rushing yards and 2.9 yards per run. In a 49‑10 victory over Tulane, the Owls limited the Green Wave to a mere eight yards on 27 attempts. Temple is led by senior linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who was placed on the preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award (top interior player), Butkus Award (top linebacker), Bednarik Award (top defen‑ sive player) and the Nagurski Award (top defensive player). Through the first five games of this season, Matakevich had totaled 399 tackles and 30.5 tackles for loss in his career. ADVANTAGE: Even NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. TEMPLE PASS DEFENSE The Irish passing game has steadily improved, while sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer has gained more experience. Kizer threw for 1,051 yards and accounted for nine touchdowns in his first four starts. Having a big‑play threat like Will Fuller has cer‑ tainly made life more comfortable for Kizer. The standout junior wide receiver hauled in 29 passes for 571 yards and seven touchdowns in the first six games. Fuller has been helped by the rise of senior wideout Chris Brown, who chipped in 24 receptions for 317 yards and a career‑high two touchdowns. Temple allowed 820 passing yards and five touch‑ downs in back‑to‑back road wins over Cincinnati and UMass. In its three other games to start the season, the Owl defense gave up a total of 336 yards and just one touchdown. The Owls ranked 75th in the coun‑ try in yards allowed through Oct. 10, but the more telling statistic is the defense's 105.24 pass efficiency rating — which was 10th nationally. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS The Owls have been strong all season with their coverage units, allowing opponents to average just