Temple @ East Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 26, 2016 ) East Carolina 10, Temple 37

Temple will look to get its struggling offense on track when it visits East Carolina in an American Athletic Conference game Saturday. The Owls are averaging a meager 16.2 points but find themselves in a good place to improve those numbers as the Pirates have allowed more than 50 points three times this season.



Quarterback Thomas Sirk passed for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns and ran for 87 yards and two scores in East Carolina's 61-31 home loss to No. 16 South Florida last week. The Pirates, whose lone win was a 41-38 shootout at Connecticut, are allowing 50.6 points per game -- second-worst in the nation. Temple has been much stingier defensively, allowing 29.2 points but the Owls continue to struggle to score. First-year quarterback Logan Marchi, who was benched the week before, had three costly interceptions in last week's loss to Houston.
TV: Noon ET, ESPNU. LINE: Temple -2.5

ABOUT TEMPLE (2-3, 0-2 AAC): The Owls have lost two straight, both coming in conference play, including last week's 20-13 setback against visiting Houston. Marchi was 20-for-41 passing for Temple, which trailed 20-0 and cut the deficit to one score with 8:37 to play but could get no closer. Temple will be without defensive back Cequan Jefferson, running back Jager Gardner and standout placekicker Austin Jones, all of whom suffered injuries in the past two outings.
ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (1-4, 1-1): The Pirates allowed 575 yards of offense to South Florida last week, lowering their season average to 614.8. “I really do think that the speed, the overall team speed of USF, put us on our heels when we shouldn’t have been,” East Carolina coach Scottie Montgomery told reporters. “We should have been much more aggressive." Temple will try to lessen the burden on the struggling Marchi by running the ball against the Pirates, who have yielded 297.6 rushing yards per game -- third-worst in the country.

EXTRA POINTS
1. East Carolina's average home attendance in three games is 39,609, which leads the American Athletic Conference
2. Temple has won three straight in the series, including last year's 37-10 victory in Philadelphia.
3. Marchi has a 42.6 percent completion percentage with 214 yards, six interceptions and one touchdown in conference play.

PREDICTION: East Carolina 35, Temple 30