UCF's Defense Facing Temple's True Freshman Quarterback E.J. Warner
With the upcoming game of the Temple Owls at the UCF Knights, it’s one where quarterback play should hold even more importance than normal. Considering how quarterbacks often dictate the outcome to begin with, that’s unique.
Temple is going through a quarterback transition that includes a true freshman, and that’s not easy. After seeing UCF utilize Mikey Keene as its starting quarterback for 10 of its 13 games last season, fans of the Knights understand the trials and tribulations of a true freshman signal caller. Well, that’s what the Owls and their fans are going through as well.
After being crushed 30-0 against Duke to open the 2022 season, it is not surprising a switch took place. Temple is now starting a young man fresh out of his school. E.J. Warner has been the starting quarterback during the past three games for the Owls, with the team going 1-2 during that stretch. He actually began his time as the primary quarterback against Lafayette in Game 2.
With D’Wan Mathis being ineffective, Temple head coach Stan Drayton made the switch to Warner in the first half of that game. It’s been a mixed bag of results.
He helped a struggling Temple offense get going and the Owls eventually defeated Lafayette 30-14. Warner went 14 of 19, for 73.7%, 173 yards, 9.1 yards per attempt, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
That’s impressive for a true freshman’s first time behind center. Playing better competition, however, has shown different statistics and overall on-field results.
The next game against Rutgers, Warner was 19 of 32, 59.4%, 215 yards, 6.7 yards per attempt, one touchdown and one interception. Of note, notice the drop in yards per attempt. Warner’s average went from 9.1 to 6.7.
UCF’s defense only allows 6.2 yards per pass. Warner will likely struggle with UCF’s defense, especially one that’s ranked No. 1 in the nation in the red zone efficiency by allowing just 44.4% of trips inside its own 20 to end up with points. Additionally, the Knights allow only 14.6 points per contest. There’s another primary concern for Temple and Warner against UCF.
He’s not a runner by way of no runs during the Lafayette or Rutgers games, and just two rushing attempts coming in the Memphis game. UCF’s defensive speed could be an issue and Warner might be a sitting duck in the pocket.
From that point, being under pressure could lead Warner to throw a few passes up for grabs. Memphis came away with three interceptions during its 24-3 win over Temple last weekend.
Will Warner play better against UCF than he did during his first three starts? Plausible. The odds are still stacking up against him and Temple and that’s a big advantage for the Knights in this year’s Space Game on Thursday.
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