South Florida is 13-3 in conference games over the last two seasons, but it was a loss at Temple at sent the Owls, not the Bulls, to the American Athletic Conference title game as the AAC East representative last season. After slow-starting performances in its first two outings, USF ran all over Illinois last week in the program's first-ever win against a Big Ten team (1-5 all-time). Quarterback Quinton Flowers was one of three 100-yard rushers in the game, accounting for 386 total yards and five total touchdowns in three quarters of work against the Illini.
While both teams saw their head coach leave after last season -- Willie Taggart to Oregon, Matt Rhule to Baylor -- Temple has seen far more turnover at key positions. First-year coach Matt Rhule has the Owls at 2-1 heading into the contes,t but Thursday night (on a short week no less) will be the first real challenge for the Owls in their effort to prove they still belong as one of the team's to beat in the division.
Viewing information
Date: Thursday, Sept. 21 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium -- Tampa, Florida
TV: ESPN | Live stream: WatchESPN
Storylines
Temple: Can Temple keep up with USF in a shootout? Last time these two teams met it was a back-and-forth game that saw the Owls win 46-30, and given what we've seen from USF so far this year, it's fair to assume that if Temple is going to pull off this upset they'll need to be able to put some points on the scoreboard. While P.J. Walker and Jahad Thomas are gone, Temple still has a game-breaking star in the offensive backfield with junior Ryquell Armstead. Last year, Armstead ran for a career-high 210 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns against the Bulls, and they might him to repeat that performance on Thursday night.
South Florida: Will the Bulls make the most of this perception-forming spotlight? Thursday night nationally-televised games put teams like USF under the microscope as it pertains to how this team stacks up against the rest of the country. USF not only needs to win this game to stay on track in the conference title race, but it needs to look good as the profiles of the top Group of Five teams start getting compared to each throughout the season with an eye on the reserved spot in a New Year's Six bowl game. This is arguably one of the team's three most important conference games in terms of its perception as one of the top teams in the country, and it would behoove Charlie Strong's team to look the part on Thursday night.
Prediction
To that point, I think USF will put Temple away in a blowout victory that has the country talking about this team, and in particular quarterback Quinton Flowers heading into the weekend. Geoff Collins is a great defensive coach and could have a perfect gameplan cooked up, but after seeing Notre Dame run all over the Owls earlier this season it's hard not to think that USF will be able to have some similar success. Pick: South Florida -21
