Temple Returns Home Saturday to Host UConn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Temple Owls will be back at the Linc on Saturday for another American Athletic Conference match-up as they host UConn.

The Owls improved to 3-3 on the season and picked up their first conference win in three tries this past weekend as they traveled to East Carolina and smacked the Pirates, 34-10.

"We told [the team] going into the game, every single play mattered," Temple head coach Geoff Collins tells KYW Newsradio. "Just get the call, get lined up, execute whatever play we're running, offensively, defensively or special teams. Do not look at the scoreboard, and at the end of the game if you've played hard and you've executed, the scoreboard will take care of itself. And I thought you saw the kids do that on Saturday. We came out and the scoreboard was in our favor. So that's something really positive to build on."

The Owls continued to run the football effectively as they finished with 179 yards on the ground against ECU. Leading that attack was redshirt junior running back David Hood who had a career high 106 yards on twenty carries including a two-yard touchdown run. Collins says Hood's success isn't hard to explain.

"It's the way he practices," Collins says. "The way he has practiced every single day. [He] had an unbelievable week of practice last week and he had confidence to just follow the process, here's what we do, here's how we do it and he exploded on Saturday."

The Owls will face a UConn team that is 1-4 (0-3 in the AAC) and coming off a 70-31 loss at Memphis. The Huskies are allowing 43.6 points per game this season, but Collins says he has a lot of respect for their defense.

"They run a unique scheme," he says, "one that we've only seen a little bit of in one game. So they do some unique things coverage-wise, front-wise and some pressures. So we understand we have to be on our 'A' game."

UConn can put points on the board, as they score 28.4 a game.

"They've got three really good tailbacks," Collins says, "some really good skill players and a quarterback that makes good decisions. Big offensive line that does a nice job and a tight end that can get out in space and create plays on his own."

Temple beat UConn last year in East Hartford, 21-0.

Saturday's game will kick off at noon.