The Temple Owls face the Toledo Rockets at FAU Stadium in the Boca Raton Bowl tonight. The Owls finished in first place in the East division of the AAC, but fell short against the Houston Cougars in the championship game. The Rockets finished their regular season with a 9-2 record, but interim head coach Jon Heacock will look for his team to bounce back after ending the regular season with a loss to Western Michigan.
Toledo's head coach Matt Campbell left the program to become Iowa State's next head coach, and it will be interesting to see how the Rockets players respond under Heacock. Quarterback Phillip Ely leads Toledo's offense, and has thrown for 2,680 yards with 21 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. The senior quarterback struggled in their regular season finale against Western Michigan, completing only 48.5 percent of his passes, but did manage to throw two touchdowns. Ely will want to end his college career on a high note, and will look to make smart decisions Tuesday night.
The Rockets have two dominant running backs in Kareem Hunt and Terry Swanson, and Heacock will look to feed the hot hand. Hunt leads the team with 894 yards this season and has scored 10 touchdowns. The junior running back has rushed over 110 yards in each of the Rockets last four games, and can be an impact player for Toledo's offense.
While Toledo's offense can score points quickly, they will need to keep their eyes on Temple's star senior linebacker Tyler Matakevich. The 6-foot-1, 232-pound linebacker is consistently all over the field for the Owls and has recorded 126 total tackles, as well as 15.5 tackles for a loss. Matakevich is a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks, as he has recorded 4.5 sacks and five interceptions on the year.
While Matakevich is the leader of the Owls' defense, quarterback P.J. Walker is the leader of the offense. The junior quarterback has thrown for 2,737 yards with 19 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Walker keeps defenses on their heels and is a dual threat, and has 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the year.
Temple head coach Matt Rhule will make sure running back Jahad Thomas gets plenty of touches Tuesday, as he can open holes for the Owls offense. Thomas leads the team with 1,257 yards with 17 touchdowns, and will look to bounce back after struggling against Houston.
The Boca Raton Bowl features two top programs outside the power five conferences, and is arguably the most interesting bowl matchup of the week. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Owls' radio broadcast, click here, and for the Rockets' radio broadcast, go here.
