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Temple Hosts Army Friday In 2016 Opener

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Temple Owls will open their 2016 season under the lights on Friday as they welcome Army to the Linc.

The Owls are coming off a wildly successful 2015 season which saw them go 10-4 (beating Penn State for the first time since 1941), advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship Game and play in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Head coach Matt Rhule is happy with what he's seen leading up to Friday's opener.

"I think it's been a really great preseason," Rhule tells KYW Newsradio. "We have a great group of kids that have played a lot of football. And we have a lot of young talented players that had to be sort of inducted into our way of doing things."

Listen to the entire interview with Temple's Matt Rhule:

 

Quarterback Phillip Walker will lead the offense once again for the Owls. The senior threw for 2,973 yards last season and 19 touchdowns.

"I like the experience of a guy like Phillip," Rhule says. "He's a guy who has played a lot of football for us. He's unselfish, he's courageous, he's extremely talented, has a great arm. And I think we have a good receiving corps, I think we have a bunch of guys that can play, that can catch the football that he can really count on. Then I feel good about our running backs. Jahad Thomas, Ryquell Armstead, Jager Gardner, David Hood. We have four guys that played a lot of football for us. So whether it's throwing or running, I think we have guys that we trust with the ball in their hands."

Thomas led the Owls in rushing last season, finishing with 1,262 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Defensively, Temple lost one of the greatest players in program history in linebacker Tyler Matakevich (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers), but Rhule says they still have a lot of talent on that side of the ball.

"I feel really good about our defensive line," Rhule says. "We have a lot of depth. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of football, especially at the defensive end position. Haason Reddick, Sharif Finch, Praise Martin-Oguike, Avery Ellis, Jacob Martin, all those guys have started for us. So we have five guys playing at one position that have started for us over the years. I think we have a lot of linebackers who've played a lot of football. There will be some questions in the secondary, they're all young, but they are extremely talented. So I feel good about our mix of experience and talented young players."

Army went 2-10 in 2015. The Black Knights run the triple-option on offense and Rhule says they are aggressive on defense.

"They are like the old Pittsburgh Steelers 'Blitzburgh' defense," Rhule says. "Because they are going to bring safeties, bring corners and they are going to try and disrupt you. They are put together really well. They run the ball, they run the option, then on defense they try to blitz you, make you throw the ball, make a mistake and get the ball back. They present a lot of challenges schematically for us, both offensively and defensively."

Temple and Army last met on October 19th, 2013. The Owls won 33-14, it was the first win as Temple head coach for Rhule and first win as Temple starting quarterback for Walker.

Friday night's game kicks off at 7:00pm.

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