Idaho-Temple preview
For the first time, the Idaho and Temple football teams will meet today. Both teams are looking for their first breakthrough of the season, and it's homecoming in Moscow.
We've got our usual preview in capsule form below.
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KICKOFF: 2 p.m. at the Kibbie Dome
RECORDS: Temple 0-3; UI 0-4
TV: SWX/Altitude
OVERVIEW: Aside from the obvious differences between these two schools – Temple's campus is in urban Philadelphia; Idaho's campus is in the rural Palouse – their football programs are in similar positions.
The Owls and Vandals both have first-year coaches and starting quarterbacks. They both are winless after having had recent FBS success, though Temple's has been more recent than Idaho's. And both play host to ranked teams next week.
That last point should bring a sense of urgency, if there wasn't already one, to two clubs looking for footing after early season struggles.
Next week Idaho takes on 25th-ranked Fresno State before traveling to Arkansas State and 21st-ranked Mississippi. So today's homecoming game represents perhaps the Vandals' most winnable matchup in the first two months of the season.
Temple, coming off a bye, hung with Notre Dame in the first half before falling 28-6 to open the season and has since lost to Houston and Fordham. Junior QB Connor Reilly came back from a knee injury to spark Temple's offense two weeks ago against Fordham, but the Owls couldn't hold on to a late lead.
LINE: Temple by 7 or 7.5
KEY MATCHUP: Idaho place-kicker Austin Rehkow vs. Temple's Jim Cooper and Paul Layton. Sounds strange, but in a game that could be close, the Vandals and Owls' struggling kicking games should loom large. Rehkow, a true freshman from Spokane, is 1-for-5 on field goal attempts; Cooper and Layton are a combined 0-for-4. Partly because of Rehkow's inconsistency, the Vandals have gone for it on fourth down 14 times -- the most in the nation. They've been successful six times.
STATS TO KNOW: The Vandals have given up 26 sacks, 10 more than any other FBS team. ... Idaho is also last in the nation in fumbles lost (9), which is just behind West Virginia. ... Temple is 119th in the FBS in total defense (529 yards per game), one spot behind Idaho (520 yards per game). And Temple is 112th in scoring offense (16 points per game). That's slightly better than Idaho, which is 117th in scoring offense with 12.8 points per game