Temple's brutal closing stretch rolls into Annapolis, where a Navy team picked to win the American Conference is breaking in a new starting quarterback of its own.
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TEMNAVY
TEMNAVY
OverUnder
Best BetNavy
Navy's the class of this matchup on paper — a program that's gone 21-5 over the last two seasons and enters 2026 as the preseason pick to win the American, hosting a Temple team still building under K.C. Keeler. Woodson's inexperience at quarterback is the one wrinkle that could keep this closer than expected, but until Temple's defense proves it can slow an option attack, backing the Midshipmen at home makes sense. Temple's season-long ceiling has been competitive, not favored, and this profiles as another test of that ceiling.
Temple
+9 returning starters under Keeler in year 2
+Deep WR corps: Bermudez, Chase, TE Peter Clarke
+Coming off best season of the 2020s (5-7)
−6 straight years without a bowl bid
−Faces 4 bowl-caliber teams in final 5 games
−QB job still unsettled entering fall camp
Navy
+21-5 over the last two seasons
+Back-to-back Commander-in-Chief's Trophy winners
+Picked by multiple outlets to win the American
−Replacing nearly 5,000 yards of lost production
−First year with Woodson as full-time starter
−Losing NFL draftees Robinson and Heidenreich
Braxton Woodson takes over at quarterback for Navy after two years of relieving Blake Horvath, and Saturday, November 7 in Annapolis is exactly the kind of measuring-stick game a first-year starter needs to survive. Woodson isn't the passer Horvath was, but he ran for 414 yards and 6 touchdowns in a part-time role last season, including a start against Notre Dame, so the training wheels are already off. Across the field, Temple's own quarterback picture is still fluid entering fall camp, with Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard competing to run K.C. Keeler's offense in year 2.
This is the third leg of a brutal five-game closing stretch for Temple, which plays 4 bowl-caliber 2025 teams down the stretch and shows up here just a week after a true road trip to East Carolina on Oct. 31 — tough scheduling for a program still chasing its first bowl bid since 2019. Navy has its own uncertainty to sort through, replacing nearly 5,000 yards of offensive production lost to graduation, including NFL draftees Landon Robinson and Eli Heidenreich.
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TEM Temple
NAVY Navy
Stylistically, this is the matchup Temple's defense has been dreading since the schedule came out. Navy's option-based ground attack demands a full week of specialized preparation, and mid-major defenses that face it once a year rarely look comfortable doing it. If Woodson's legs hold up the way they did in spot duty last season, Navy can grind the clock and keep Temple's talented but green offense on the sideline.
Temple Owls
Oct 30?@ East Carolina—
Oct 16?vs Charlotte—
Oct 9?vs UConn—
Oct 2?@ South Florida—
Sep 25?vs Army—
Sep 19?@ Toledo—
Sep 12?vs Penn State—
Sep 5?vs Rhode Island—
Navy Midshipmen
Oct 31?vs Notre Dame—
Oct 16?@ UTSA—
Oct 10?vs Tulsa—
Oct 3?@ Air Force—
Sep 25?@ UAB—
Sep 12?@ Florida Atlantic—
Sep 5?vs Towson—
Recent form.
Temple's actual case for hanging around lives with its skill players. JoJo Bermudez, Colin Chase and All-Conference tight end Peter Clarke give Keeler's offense real speed and size, and running back Hunter Smith averaged 6.5 yards a carry as the No. 2 option last season before inheriting the lead role in 2026. Navy counters with program continuity — Brian Newberry has the Midshipmen at 21-5 over the last two seasons, with back-to-back Commander-in-Chief's Trophy wins over Army and Air Force, and enters this year picked by multiple outlets to win the American outright.
Temple Owls
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Navy Midshipmen
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
By November, both Woodson and whichever quarterback wins Temple's job will have a half-season of tape behind them, but this is still the toughest environment either will have played in — Navy chasing a conference title, Temple fighting to save its season and finally snap that bowl drought.
