Memphis Football: 3 takeaways from interdivisional loss at Temple

1. Temple is a legit AP Top 25 team out of the American

Temple proved themselves worthy of consideration for a spot in the AP Top 25 this week after improving to 5-1 through the first half of the season. Their only loss came on what looks more and more like one of the flukiest results of the season, a 38-22 loss at Buffalo, and otherwise the Owls have navigated every other challenge before and after.

Anthony Russo was a solid 20-of-33 at quarterback for Temple, throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown while doing far better than his counterpart at protecting the football. Jager Gardner and Re’Mahn Davis both ran for more than 70 yards out of the backfield, providing necessary balance against a solid Memphis defense.

While the defense gave up 363 yards through the air, they also held the Memphis backfield to only 129 yards on 33 carries. Gainwell and the rest of the backs were kept mostly in check even as they scored a pair of touchdowns.

Temple proved on Saturday that they are right there with UCF-slayer Cincinnati as a legitimate threat out of the AAC East. Look for the Owls to continue pushing for a spot in the polls as they continue to play strong on both sides of the ball.