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Notre Dame Football
Temple By the Numbers
August 29, 2017
3,131
Temple's former coach and Temple's new coach go way back. Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins were on the same staff at Albright College, a Division III school, twenty years ago. At that time Collins was the defensive coordinator and Rhule worked under him at the linebackers coach.
I bet neither envisioned that one day Collins would be replacing Rhule as the head coach at Temple, but now they are both head coaches in the FBS and have advanced in their careers with similar philosophies. Rhule's Temple teams were built on physicality and so were Collins' defenses at Mississippi State and Florida. It made sense to bring in a guy to replace Rhule who believed in the same kind of mentality when it came to the culture of a football team.
I don't expect Temple to be any easier to play against with Collins than they were when Rhule was there, but Collins isn't keeping everything the same. He'll tweak the defense to what he's done in the past and the ball-control days of old should be over with Dave Patenaude inserted as the new offensive coordinator.
He came from FCS power Coastal Carolina (which has now moved up the FBS) and he ran a spread offense that was quite a bit more dynamic than what Temple ran in the last four years. They also play a lot faster, which leads us right into the numbers.
Temple was 119th in the nation in plays per minute according to CFBAnalytics. That was a clearly intentional choice as they wanted to hold ball, control the clock, and win with a great defense.
Don't expect this to be the case with Patenaude as the OC. His teams play much faster and it's expected they will run some uptempo against the Irish. Notre Dame's defense should be used to it considering they have competed against their own fast-paced offense all spring and summer, but it's something to remember when it comes to substitutions.
That's how many rushing yards per game Coastal Carolina averaged last season. That would have ranked in the top-10 if it was in the FBS. Last year they had issues at the quarterback position and heavily relied on the running game to win 10 games.
It just shows that Patenaude is adaptable to the talent around him when it comes to moving the football. Temple has some questions at quarterback and it wouldn't be shocking to see them go run-heavy if they aren't getting the job done throwing the football versus the Irish.
That's how many yards per game the Coastal Carolina offense put up in 2014. That was when they had an all-conference quarterback to go along with a strong running game. They were much more balanced then and went 12-2 (lost in the FCS playoffs).
They only had 387 per game last year when they were forced to be more one-dimensional.
Ryquell Armstead is technically not the returning starter at running back, but he had a big season and put up 5.9 yards per carry. He also added in 14 touchdowns. Expect him to be the primary back and for him to get a bunch of carries in this game.
That's how many yards Temple is returning from their three leading receivers. The group is led by junior Ventell Bryant. He had 895 and 16.6 per reception.
All three of their top receivers are 6'3".
That's how many offensive linemen they are returning that having starting experience. Three of those players were starters last season so they do have that experience factor on the line. They did lose their left tackle and he was the best player on the line for them.
It will be interesting to see if someone like Daelin Hayes can take advantage of a new player protecting the quarterback.
Speaking of quarterbacks, that's how many career completions they have coming back out of the four in their quarterback room. They lose a four-year starter in PJ Walker and Collins has said they may play as many as three quarterbacks in this game.
The inexperience at quarterback should be something that the Irish defense can take advantage of.
That's the number of returning starters they have coming back on defense. Three of those are in the secondary, though, with a graduate transfer coming in to play the other open spot. That is definitely the strength of the defense heading into the season.
That's where Geoff Collins' Florida defense ranked last year in S&P+. They were really, really good. In fact, Collins has consistently had really good defense. At Mississippi State in 2013 and 2014 his units were ranked 14th and 22nd. In 2015 at Florida his defense was 7th.
They had some personnel losses, which I'll get into, but I think they are going to be strong on defense regardless of those losses.
That's where his Gators ranked in Havoc Rate last season. The two years before his groups were ranked 17th and 12th.
It's not built off of a lot exotic pressures, although he loves to bring defensive backs on blitzes on early downs. It's built off physical man coverage and an aggressive all-around mentality that is the foundation for his defense. That leads to tackles for loss, forced fumbles, and plenty of pass disruptions.
That's how many interceptions that starting safeties Sean Chandler and Delvon Randall combined for last year. They also 9.5 TFLs and 6 pass breakups.
They are all-conference caliber players and those two alone create a lot of havoc.
That's how many tackles for loss Temple has lost from their three top edge rushers. Hasson Reddick (a 1st round NFL Draft choice), Praise Martin-Oguike, and Romond Deloatch also contributed 22 sacks in 2016.
Does Temple have the players who can replace that production? I doubt it, but we'll find out on Saturday if they do.
Phil Steele has put together what he calls an experience chart. It measures more than just returning starters. It also measures returning players on the two deep, percentage of yards returning, percentage of tackles returning and other factors.
Temple is 111th in his experience chart. That's one big reason why Notre Dame fans should feel very confident going into this game.
For many players on their team, this if the first chance to play in a big game. Let me correct that: any college football game.
Temple should be in good hands with Collins in the long run, but they may have too many new faces to have a realistic shot at pulling off an upset in this game.
I bet neither envisioned that one day Collins would be replacing Rhule as the head coach at Temple, but now they are both head coaches in the FBS and have advanced in their careers with similar philosophies. Rhule's Temple teams were built on physicality and so were Collins' defenses at Mississippi State and Florida. It made sense to bring in a guy to replace Rhule who believed in the same kind of mentality when it came to the culture of a football team.
I don't expect Temple to be any easier to play against with Collins than they were when Rhule was there, but Collins isn't keeping everything the same. He'll tweak the defense to what he's done in the past and the ball-control days of old should be over with Dave Patenaude inserted as the new offensive coordinator.
He came from FCS power Coastal Carolina (which has now moved up the FBS) and he ran a spread offense that was quite a bit more dynamic than what Temple ran in the last four years. They also play a lot faster, which leads us right into the numbers.
2.05
Temple was 119th in the nation in plays per minute according to CFBAnalytics. That was a clearly intentional choice as they wanted to hold ball, control the clock, and win with a great defense.
Don't expect this to be the case with Patenaude as the OC. His teams play much faster and it's expected they will run some uptempo against the Irish. Notre Dame's defense should be used to it considering they have competed against their own fast-paced offense all spring and summer, but it's something to remember when it comes to substitutions.
254
That's how many rushing yards per game Coastal Carolina averaged last season. That would have ranked in the top-10 if it was in the FBS. Last year they had issues at the quarterback position and heavily relied on the running game to win 10 games.
It just shows that Patenaude is adaptable to the talent around him when it comes to moving the football. Temple has some questions at quarterback and it wouldn't be shocking to see them go run-heavy if they aren't getting the job done throwing the football versus the Irish.
463
That's how many yards per game the Coastal Carolina offense put up in 2014. That was when they had an all-conference quarterback to go along with a strong running game. They were much more balanced then and went 12-2 (lost in the FCS playoffs).
They only had 387 per game last year when they were forced to be more one-dimensional.
919
Ryquell Armstead is technically not the returning starter at running back, but he had a big season and put up 5.9 yards per carry. He also added in 14 touchdowns. Expect him to be the primary back and for him to get a bunch of carries in this game.
2,017
That's how many yards Temple is returning from their three leading receivers. The group is led by junior Ventell Bryant. He had 895 and 16.6 per reception.
All three of their top receivers are 6'3".
5
That's how many offensive linemen they are returning that having starting experience. Three of those players were starters last season so they do have that experience factor on the line. They did lose their left tackle and he was the best player on the line for them.
It will be interesting to see if someone like Daelin Hayes can take advantage of a new player protecting the quarterback.
5
Speaking of quarterbacks, that's how many career completions they have coming back out of the four in their quarterback room. They lose a four-year starter in PJ Walker and Collins has said they may play as many as three quarterbacks in this game.
The inexperience at quarterback should be something that the Irish defense can take advantage of.
4
That's the number of returning starters they have coming back on defense. Three of those are in the secondary, though, with a graduate transfer coming in to play the other open spot. That is definitely the strength of the defense heading into the season.
4
That's where Geoff Collins' Florida defense ranked last year in S&P+. They were really, really good. In fact, Collins has consistently had really good defense. At Mississippi State in 2013 and 2014 his units were ranked 14th and 22nd. In 2015 at Florida his defense was 7th.
They had some personnel losses, which I'll get into, but I think they are going to be strong on defense regardless of those losses.
27
That's where his Gators ranked in Havoc Rate last season. The two years before his groups were ranked 17th and 12th.
It's not built off of a lot exotic pressures, although he loves to bring defensive backs on blitzes on early downs. It's built off physical man coverage and an aggressive all-around mentality that is the foundation for his defense. That leads to tackles for loss, forced fumbles, and plenty of pass disruptions.
6
That's how many interceptions that starting safeties Sean Chandler and Delvon Randall combined for last year. They also 9.5 TFLs and 6 pass breakups.
They are all-conference caliber players and those two alone create a lot of havoc.
39.5
That's how many tackles for loss Temple has lost from their three top edge rushers. Hasson Reddick (a 1st round NFL Draft choice), Praise Martin-Oguike, and Romond Deloatch also contributed 22 sacks in 2016.
Does Temple have the players who can replace that production? I doubt it, but we'll find out on Saturday if they do.
111
Phil Steele has put together what he calls an experience chart. It measures more than just returning starters. It also measures returning players on the two deep, percentage of yards returning, percentage of tackles returning and other factors.
Temple is 111th in his experience chart. That's one big reason why Notre Dame fans should feel very confident going into this game.
For many players on their team, this if the first chance to play in a big game. Let me correct that: any college football game.
Temple should be in good hands with Collins in the long run, but they may have too many new faces to have a realistic shot at pulling off an upset in this game.
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