The Temple Owls will host Army in Philadelphia on Friday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. Behind Michie Stadium, the Linc is Army’s second most played-in venue in recent history with five Temple games and fourteen Army-Navy Games played there since its opening. Friday’s contest will mark Army’s twentieth game at the Linc in the stadium’s twenty-four-year existence.

Last time Army found itself in Philadelphia, then-QB Bryson Daily hurdled a defender on Thursday night en route to a 153-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance. Last year, though, Army couldn’t find the end zone more than twice, winning a 14-13 contest on Veterans Day Weekend at West Point. For the Black Knights, that game’s most important drive didn’t actually result in points, but instead bled out the final 9:53 of game clock over just 53 yards of the field. Given that the Black Knights held a mere one point lead, a touchdown would have given Temple the ball down just 8 points.

Temple Owls

Head Coach K.C. Keeler has the Owls off to a 1-2 start this year with a lot of new faces. As expected, the Owls beat Rhode Island and then lost to Penn State. Now though, Temple is coming off of a 49-48 road loss to Toledo in the Glass Bowl this past Saturday afternoon.

Offense

QB Ajani Sheppard leads Temple’s offense. Sheppard is a transfer from Rutgers in his first year with the Owls. He completes just over 50% of his passes and has thrown 3 touchdowns this year, all last week against Toledo. RB Keveun Mason provides the bulk of the ground game. He’s a sophomore who carried the ball just four times last year at Michie Stadium. RB Samuel Brown V is another Rutgers transfer who should get some carries, but Temple also uses him as a passing threat. Sheppard’s primary target, though, is WR Colin Chase. Chase is a senior who reeled in six catches including a touchdown last year against Army.

Like last year, this year’s Temple team features a rush-first offense that will challenge the defensive line and linebackers. That’s not to say they can’t be a passing threat, but they run twice as much as they throw. Still, this is a potent offense that averages 31 points per game, including a nine-point performance against Penn State. This year’s Over/Under is 21 points higher than last year’s total. There are good reasons why.

3️⃣ total touchdowns on the day for @SjbV5 #TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/4yVVqDAtUH

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 19, 2026

Defense

LB Curly Ordonez leads Temple’s defense. We saw him reach double-digit tackles in last year’s matchup. He and fellow LB Eric Stuart will be asked to provide the lion’s share of defensive production on Friday.

This defense gives up 3.97 yards per rush, just above average for an FBS program. Against Toledo, though, they gave up 4.3 yards per rush. Army fans should be looking for Army to at least match that this week given that the Black Knights should have nearly double the rushing attempts.

We'll take that 👍#TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/II3uDH7nRz

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 19, 2026

Special Teams

K Carl Hardin has gone 14/16 inside the 50 and 1/4 when spotted outside of the 40 yard line in his career. So, Temple will be looking for about the 30 yard line before they feel comfortable attempting a kick. Hardin has notably missed both of his attempts from 50+ this season. Meanwhile, P Dante Atton is the second-best punter in the American by yards per punt behind Army’s James Wagenseller. 

Key Takeaways

The Owls had 6 drives in last year’s game, and in the second half, they possessed the ball for just 7:40. It is hard to think of a game where ball control and time of possession mattered more than they did in last year’s contest, especially outside the CIC games. But this Temple team should make the Army coaching staff want to outdo themselves.

Friends, this Temple team is good. Don’t expect to see the Black Knights’ backups. Which means Army could have to play prevent defense to protect a late lead again this week. We’ll have to see what the staff has come up with to get that done after coming off the bye.

With how good the Special Teams have been on both sides, combined with the rush-heavy nature of both offenses, this match-up feels like a game where the team that turns the ball over first loses. Thus, the Black Knights will have to limit mistakes in this one if they want to get a critical road win.

Final Thoughts

The game kicks at 4 PM on ESPN, so if you have a half-day of Paid Time Off or the ability to take a “nooner,” you might consider cashing that in this week. The 2024 Thursday night game had an announced attendance of 13,225 in Philadelphia. Given this game’s odd scheduling, we’ll be shocked to see the Owls get anywhere near that number on Friday.

As usual, check The Varsity app for radio coverage. AFF’s Firstie Club has the best gameday chat in the land. Join us!

Your Need to Know heading into Friday's @American_Conf matchup in Philly against the Owls. #GoArmy pic.twitter.com/e3WqAVZRKf

— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 22, 2026

Go Army! Beat Temple!!!