TULSA, Okla. – Temple will head to Tulsa on Saturday, October 25 to take on the Golden Hurricane at H.A. Chapman Stadium. The American Conference contest will kickoff at 3:30 pm and will be streamed on ESPN+. The game can be heard at OwlSports.com/Listen. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Temple Owls (4-3, 2-1 AMER) stormed into Charlotte, N.C. and walked away with a resounding 49-14 win over the 49ers on its homecoming. This win marked a significant milestone for head coach K.C. Keeler as it now brings his all-time win total up to 275. Keeler now sits inside the top-20 all-time in career wins in all of college football. The opening quarter was a bit of a feeling-out period for both sides. Temple’s offense tried to establish itself on the ground, running the ball early and often that would ultimately end in six different Owls running the rock throughout the day. Temple opened the scoring on the third possession of the game with a quick four-play, 64-yard scoring drive. Each play on the drive was 11-yards or more and ended with quarterback Evan Simon finding wide receiver Colin Chase in the flat from 11-yards out to put Temple up 7-0. Charlotte would respond to Temple’s score in a big way as the Niners constructed an 11-play, 75-yard drive in what would be the best offensive drive of the day for Charlotte. The drive would end with a two-yard passing touchdown from Grayson Loftis to Gus McGee that would tie things up at seven with 7:38 left in the first.
 
Temple would punt on its following drive, and would then force the Niners to punt as well. Simon would march the Owls’ offense down the field in just four plays again to get Temple back on top. The big play on the drive was a 29-yard play from Simon to JoJo Bermudez that would set up the five-yard rushing touchdown by Simon. Simon’s passing and running touchdown in the first half marks the second-straight week that he has scored both on the ground and through the air. He is the first Temple quarterback to accomplish that feat in consecutive games since P.J. Walker in 2014. The following possession, the Temple defense had perhaps its biggest play of the season thus far. Cornerback Adrian Laing jumped a route by the 49ers quarterback and took it 64-yards to the house. That pick-six marked the first one for Temple since 2022 against Tulsa and would put Temple on top 21-7. After yet another Charlotte punt, Temple would get it done through the air in a big way. From 46-yards out, Simon dropped a dime to Kajiya Hollawayne that allowed him to strut into the end zone to further extend the Temple lead to 28-7.
 

Two of the three offensive drives for the Temple offense in the third quarter resulted in touchdowns, while the Temple defense forced Charlotte to punt four times.  Another quick and explosive drive for the Cherry & White extended the lead to 35-7. Simon hit Peter Clarke from eight yards out to cap off a three-play, 68-yard touchdown drive. The Temple defense held the Niner offense deep in its own territory, which would set up the Owls’ offense up with fantastic field position. Running back Jay Ducker would join in on the scoring party as he put Temple up 42-7 after a one-yard rushing score. The Temple defense continued to make big plays throughout the game, and added another score of its own. After Charlotte drove down the field, Khalil Poteat and the defense put an end to that. Poteat forced running back Cameren Smith to fumble the ball that was subsequently picked up by Louis Frye for a 73-yard scoop and score. Charlotte would add on a touchdown in the final frame of the day, but it was far too little, too late. Temple would walk away with its first road conference win since 2019 and pick its record back above .500 at 4-3.
 
TULSA IN 2025
Tulsa enters the week nine contest against Temple 2-5 overall and 0-4 in conference play. The Golden Hurricane is sitting on a three game losing skid that dates back to September 27 against Tulane. The first of the two wins for Tulsa came in week one in a 35-7 rout of Abilene Christian. Two weeks later, the Golden Hurricane earned perhaps what was one of the biggest wins in recent years, and especially of the Tre Lamb era. Tulsa stormed into Stillwater, Okla. for a battle with Oklahoma State and knocked off the Big 12 member 19-12 in a defensive showdown. Tulsa started American Conference play back in week two against Navy and fell to the Midshipmen 42-23 in Oklahoma. The Golden Hurricane is fully in the swing of conference play now and is still in search of its first win in American play. In the past three weeks, Tulsa has been outscored by three American teams 117-48. Quarterback Baylor Hayes has started a majority of the games for the Golden Hurricane this season. His last time out against East Carolina he finished the day 23/41 for 251 yards and two touchdown passes as Tulsa fell to ECU 41-27.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday’s matchup will be the tenth all-time between the two programs. The Owls hold a 3-2 record in Philadelphia over the Golden Hurricane. When playing in Oklahoma, however, Tulsa leads the series 3-1. In last year’s meeting in Philadelphia, Temple came out with the 20-10 win and Evan Simon was 30-46 for 297 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Peter Clarke hauled in a touchdown from Simon on the offenzive side of the ball, and cornerback Ben Osueke had four solo tackles and one forced fumble in the win. Temple is in search of its first win against Tulsa in the Sooner State since the 2017 season. The Owls have an all-time 1-5 record in games played in the state of Oklahoma.
 
UP NEXT
Temple will return to Lincoln Financial Field and the City of Brotherly Love after two straight road games to host the East Carolina Pirates. The game will begin at 2:00 pm and will be streamed on ESPN+. The game can be heard at OwlSports.com/listen.