The Black Knights took a tough last-second home loss to South Florida two weeks ago and then had to sit with that loss through the bye this past weekend. I can’t speak for the team, obviously, but I’ve personally found the intervening weeks nervewracking. If, as fans, we were playing, we could be in the meetings and in practice, preparing and building confidence ahead of tonight’s game. As things stand, however, all we can do is sit at home and hope for the best.
Adding to all of this, the team travels to take on Temple at the Linc in Philadelphia this evening, starting at the extremely odd time of 4:00 pm on a Friday afternoon. That scheduling gives ESPN, the game’s broadcast network, a full Friday night college football triple-header. This is insane! As we’ve pointed out numerous times on the AFF Army Football Show, half the Army Team’s fanbase will be walking back from the motorpool when this game kicks. If the Linc hosts more than a smattering of fans this evening, it’ll surprise everyone. More to the point, we might actually see more Army fans than fans of Temple in the stadium itself. Sensing an opportunity, West Point’s Association of Graduates has put billboards up in Philly to try to bring more Army fans out for the game. We’ll see how that goes.
OPERATION: BILLBOARD BLACK KNIGHT
— West Point AOG (@WPAOG) September 23, 2026
MISSION:
AOG has deployed billboard assets across the Philadelphia Area of Operations in support of the Army Team as they advance into town to engage the Temple Owls on Friday. pic.twitter.com/6R9XwrV5gO
For better or worse, friends, I can’t go. I’ll be in the office all day, and indeed, unless something goes wrong, I’ll be on my bike heading for the train ride home shortly after kickoff. So it’s Rich DeMarco and the Varsity Network for me this time, and here’s hoping that I can hear them over Manhattan’s traffic sounds through the game’s first quarter or so.
All that aside, Army and Temple both need this game badly. As we noted, the Black Knights got off to an 0-1 start in conference play, while Temple now sits 1-2 overall, having dropped games to Penn State and Toledo after beating FCS Rhode Island in Week 1. Despite that, the Owls have a strong running game and a decent defense.
Let’s talk about what the Black Knights can do to walk out of Philly with a win.
A Philadelphia Homecoming this Friday for members of the Brotherhood 🏴☠️
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 24, 2026
Kickoff vs. Temple is set for 4 PM on Friday on ESPN and the Army Sports Network on the Varsity Network App.#GoArmyhttps://t.co/Dz7a0SxS0x
Four Keys to Beating the Owls
Stop the Run
We said this against USF, and for most of the game, Army’s defense looked like they were getting it done. But then they let USF QB Michael Van Buren Jr. reel off a 24-yard touchdown run to cap a 1-minute scoring drive late in the fourth quarter, and it was the start of a four-minute disaster movie. In all, the Bulls finished with 130 yards rushing on 5.2 yards/carry. Take away that one run, and we would’ve had a decent performance.
Temple, though, is entirely more aggressive on the ground. RB Keveun Mason has 283 yards rushing and 2 rushing touchdowns this season, averaging fully 5.8 yards/carry. RB Samuel Brown V also has 2 rushing touchdowns while averaging a whopping 7.8 yards/carry. Finally, QB Ajani Sheppard has taken 23 carries for 99 yards (4.4 yards/carry) and 2 more rushing touchdowns. Overall, this Owls team is putting up an outstanding 221 yards rushing/game on 5.2 yards/carry.
If the Black Knights can’t slow these guys down on the ground, they’re gonna get beat. As a quarterback, Sheppard completes just 52.6% of his passes. However, he threw for 3 touchdowns with no interceptions last week at Toledo. If Temple gets their ground game going, it’ll open up their downfield passing game, and then we’re in for a long afternoon. By comparison, if Army can stop the run, Sheppard probably doesn’t have the accuracy to consistently move the chains just on the strength of his arm.
Congrats Parker 🫡
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 23, 2026
Poloskey named a Semifinalist for the @NFFNetwork's William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football's premier scholar-athlete award.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/6Kl43CaWTI
Rush the Quarterback Without Breaking Contain
Army needs to rush the quarterback to get pressure and break up the flow of Temple’s passing game, but if they break contain, they could allow Sheppard to scramble and wind up getting beat by a truly excellent running quarterback. We’re already looking at a healthy dose of read-option rushing this week. If Sheppard can also escape the pocket and either extend plays or just pick up first downs with his legs, Army’s defense will really struggle. However, if they play disciplined defense, stop the run, and force Sheppard to make plays from the pocket, he’ll be playing well away from his strengths. That will give the Black Knights a significant advantage.
Turning garbage into gold 🌟 @ajani_sheppard #TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/IA8SJj4rBp
— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 19, 2026
Control the Football
Army held the ball for 37:38 last year and wound up beating a good Temple team by a point at Michie Stadium. That might be harder to do against this year’s much stronger Temple rushing attack, but it remains the obvious winning formula.
Just as importantly, Army needs to maintain control of the football and avoid turnovers. As a team, Temple has thrown an interception and fumbled 3 times, losing 2. Given that both of these teams run the ball well and can control the clock, the winning team will almost certainly be the one that takes better care of the football overall.
If Army can control the ball and force a turnover or two, they’ll have an excellent chance of winning this afternoon.
Team Captain Owen Walter discusses going through the West Point experience with his brothers on the team and his opportunity to lead.
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 24, 2026
Fans can listen to Walter's interview during the Black Knights pregame show on the Varsity Network App at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/YMXFIrhBUW
Stay Aggressive
We saw the Black Knights lose a winnable game two weeks ago, and in retrospect, the team needed to be more aggressive on offense late in that contest. No one expected USF to score two touchdowns in just over four minutes, but at the same time, we knew that Army brought a young defense into that game, and that the offense would need to do its part to keep from putting that defense into bad spots.
We may very well see Army take the lead again this week, and if they do, they’re gonna absolutely have to keep the pedal to the floor and play to win. Temple might be a run-first team, but they’re plenty explosive, and they’ve scored a lot of points this season.
The Black Knights cannot afford to give these guys the chance to steal a win late. They have to remove all doubt at every opportunity. That’s their only chance this week, and indeed, it’s been their only chance over the last year-plus. They’ve blown seven second-half leads since the start of last season. With that, they either murder the other team when they have the ball, or they lose. This is where we are.
UNREAL 😱#TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/SKNOJl5zn6
— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 19, 2026
Final Thoughts
I sent this to a friend before publishing it, and he added, “No personal foul penalties.” In reality, Army has been the least penalized team in college football for a good long while now, so it’s hard to worry that penalties will become a recurring theme this season. However, the personal foul we saw on the punt that should have set USF up on their own 2-yard-line to start their final drive two weeks ago did arguably cost Army that game, so we can at least mention it here.
Overall, Army cannot afford to beat themselves. That’s true with both turnovers and stupid penalties. Beating Temple will be hard enough as it is.
Knight Vision. All eyes on Philly this Friday.#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/Zu2fm7lFzG
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 23, 2026
As we noted in the opening, this game kicks at 4 pm ET at the Linc in Philly. ESPN has television coverage, but for most of us, we’ll have to stream it on either the Varsity app or via satellite radio on our way home from work. The good news is that Army has a truly excellent play-by-play radio crew in DeMarco and company. It won’t hurt any of us to listen to him call the game.
Friends, Army has an opportunity to get back on the good foot this week. They just need to play tough, aggressive, disciplined football, and we can all have a great weekend.
Go Army! Beat Temple!!!
