SMU football can strengthen New Year’s Six resume vs. Temple

SMU football hosts the Temple Owls in a crucial American Athletic Conference match up. Here’s a preview, prediction and how to watch.

The Mustangs and Owls get together for a critical AAC cross divisional matchup at Gerald J. Ford Field in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday afternoon. This is a must-win, can’t lose situation for each team.

It’s a must-win for Temple because it wants to keep pace with the Cincinnati Bearcats in the AAC East, and the Owls still have an outside shot at the New Year’s Six.

The Mustangs can’t lose because one loss and they fall back in line for the New Year’s Six. They’d lose their lead to the Tulane Green Wave who are also undefeated in the AAC West. Both teams are coming off of close wins in their last games and this one promises to be a close one as well.

Who will come out on top of this AAC game?

Here’s more information on the game:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 19
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Dallas, Texas
Venue: Gerald J. Ford Stadium
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For the Mustangs, it’s all about the system. They need to get the ball on the perimeter to their playmakers as soon as possible. They want to spread the ball around and use tempo when possible.

On defense, they need to force Temple quarterback Anthony Russo into bad throws — he will make bad throws at times. His games against Georgia Tech and Buffalo shows he’s streaky as a passer.

For the Temple Owls, what they want to do offensively begins and ends with the run game. Re’Mahn Davis is the lynchpin of the running attack. They want to get him off early and protect Russo at all costs. They don’t want him throwing 35-plus passes to stay in the game. This one comes down to turnovers and the Owls can be prone to them.

Prediction

Russo isn’t to be trusted in big game situations, and this one isn’t in Philadelphia. SMU doesn’t have a great defense, but Temple hasn’t faced this type of offense either. Shane Buechele is much more trustworthy in these types of situations than Russo. The Owls keep it close, but streaky passing and a key turnover, or two, from Russo is the difference in this game.

Score: Mustangs: 31 Owls: 17