Temple @ Duke preview

WALK-ON'S INDEPENDENCE BOWL STORYLINES

1. Teams that ended the regular season in different fashions square off Dec. 27 in Shreveport, La., as Temple takes on Duke in the Walk-on's Independence Bowl. The Owls won six of their final seven games, capped by a resounding 57-7 triumph over Connecticut in the regular-season finale to reach a bowl game for the fourth straight year. The Blue Devils lost their final two games by a combined 94-13 and obviously need to be better if they're going to win a bowl game for the third time in four seasons.

2. Temple's hot finish paved the way for coach Geoff Collins to depart the Philadelphia school for a job as Georgia Tech's coach. “I know (Collins) is from Georgia and figured it was his dream job,” tight end Kenny Yeboah said via Philly.com. “You can’t really hate him for it. It (stinks), but it is part of life.” The Owls' last four coaches have landed Power 5 coaching jobs, which is good news for Manny Diaz - currently the defensive coordinator at Miami - who has reportedly agreed to become the Owls' next coach.

3. After going 4-8 in 2016, Duke improved to 7-6 last season and now has a chance to win its third straight bowl game. “We’ve turned the program around,” Duke senior wide receiver Johnathan Lloyd said. “That’s not what we expect. We don’t expect to lose three in a row. We definitely have to win (in order) to turn it around, to fix it.” Prior to stumbling down the stretch, Duke had posted wins over bowl teams such as Army, Northwestern, Baylor, Georgia Tech and Miami.

TV: 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Temple -3.5

ABOUT TEMPLE (8-4, 7-1 American Athletic Conference): Ed Foley will be the interim coach for the Owls, who have scored at least 24 points in every game since their season-opening loss to FCS squad Villanova. Anthony Russo (2,335 yards, 13 touchdowns, 13 interceptions) took over as the starter in late September and spearheaded the 6-1 finish to the season, and will be ready for the bowl game after missing the UConn contest with an undisclosed injury. Russo will once again rely on Ryquell Armstead (1,098 rushing yards), who has recorded all 13 of his rushing TDs in his last seven games.

ABOUT DUKE (7-5, 3-5 ACC): Junior quarterback Daniel Jones has received some interest from NFL scouts, but enters the bowl season having passed for fewer than 160 yards in three of the last four games. Sophomore running back Deon Jackson has seen his rushing yards dwindle gradually, from 162 in a shootout loss versus Pittsburgh to 113 the next week, then to 78, 51 and 30 yards in the regular-season finale against Wake Forest. Among Duke's biggest weaknesses on the other side of the ball is a rush defense that allows 222.3 yards per game on average - 116th in the nation out of 130 teams.



PREDICTION: Temple 34, Duke 31