3. Shane Buechele is among the best in the country
Texas might end up regretting the decision to stick with Sam Ehlinger and let Shane Buechele transfer away from Austin. Buechele has blossomed in the SMU offense, and he put everything together right out of the gate as he broke down the Temple defense early and often.
By the end of the first half, Buechele had stats that most quarterbacks would be proud to post over a full 60 minutes. The SMU quarterback went into the locker room at halftime with 330 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air on 19-of-31 passing. Temple had few answers as he carved them up with a variety of throws, pushing the ball downfield and finding three different receivers for completions of 20 or more yards.
He did not let up in the second half, setting new career highs in passing yards and touchdowns as Buechele finished with 457 yards and a half-dozen scores on 30-of-53 passing. Temple was unable to make the necessary halftime adjustments to slow down the Mustangs leader, and while his half-over-half productivity dipped a bit that was more the product of an otherworldly start than anything the Owls were able to do on the field.
As long as Buechele stays healthy, SMU will remain the team with the best chance to overtake Boise State for the Group of Five berth in a New Year’s Six bowl.