Temple opens American Conference play at Lincoln Financial Field against an Army team built to run the clock and the scoreboard — a Friday night test of whether the Owls' new-look offense can keep pace.
Bush’s Picks
ARMYTEM
ARMYTEM
OverUnder
Best BetArmy
Army brings back its starting quarterback and most of an offensive line that won a national award, while Temple is trusting an unproven starter behind a defense that still has to prove it belongs in this league. That gap in continuity is the whole ballgame here, and it points toward the Black Knights on the road.
Army
+QB Cale Hellums returns after 1,223 rushing yards
+Four starters back from Joe Moore Award line
+Rushing attack ranked 5th nationally last season
−New defensive coordinator taking over
−Only 15 sacks, 46 tackles for loss last year
Temple
+Nine offensive starters return, 80% of O-line back
+Receiving corps keeps Bermudez, Chase and Clarke
+Coach Keeler improved program to best finish in years
−Unproven starter Jaxon Smolik replacing production
−Missed bowl eligibility by one game last season
−Six straight years without a bowl bid
This one doubles as a conference-opener for both sides, and the styles couldn't be more different. Army returns senior QB Cale Hellums, who ran for 1,223 yards last season behind an offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award in 2024, and four of those linemen are back. Temple, meanwhile, is banking on Jaxon Smolik at quarterback after last year's group struggled to hold onto the ball, with head coach K.C. Keeler trying to build off a 5-7 debut season that was still the program's best finish of the decade.
The bigger question for Army isn't the offense — it's what a defense with a new coordinator in Darryl Dixon looks like after managing just 15 sacks and 46 tackles for loss a year ago. That's the kind of number that keeps a rushing-and-clock-control team from putting games away. Temple's counter is a receiving corps that didn't lose much: JoJo Bermudez, Colin Chase and All-Conference tight end Peter Clarke are all back, giving Smolik weapons even if his QB1 job is new.
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ARMY Army
TEM Temple
Neither team is walking in with much betting buzz yet — this is an early line, months out, and it'll move plenty before kickoff. What's already set is the stage: ESPN has the broadcast, and it's a Friday night showcase for both programs' conference openers.
Army Black Knights
Sep 12?vs South Florida—
Sep 5?vs Bryant—
Temple Owls
Sep 19?@ Toledo—
Sep 12?vs Penn State—
Sep 5?vs Rhode Island—
Recent form.
Army's path is built on volume — that offensive line, that many returning starters, and a proven QB who already has a full season of tape running the option-style attack. Temple's counter is more projection than certainty: nine returning offensive starters and 80% of the O-line back sound great on paper, but none of it means much until Smolik proves he can protect the ball behind it.
Army Black Knights
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Temple Owls
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Temple missed bowl eligibility by one game last season and now has to answer for it against a schedule loaded with 10 teams that reached the postseason in 2025 — Army among them. For a program that hasn't sniffed a bowl in six years, an opening loss at home in front of the Linc crowd would be a rough way to start climbing out of that hole.
