Navy, Temple reach AAC championship game on the run
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A power rushing game designed to chew up the clock and wear down opposing defenses.
That is the definition of Navy's triple-option attack. It also accurately describes what Temple wants to do on offense.
The Midshipmen (9-2, 7-1) and Owls (9-3, 7-1) will bring similar styles to the field Saturday in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
Navy ranks second nationally in rushing offense with 342 yards per game and holds the ball an average of 32 minutes, 40 seconds. Temple ranks fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision in time of possession at 34 minutes per game.
"They're a power running football team. They're going to get downhill," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. "As you start to get people involved in the run game, they have really good play-action stuff that compliments."
Just like Navy.
With quarterback Will Worth leading the way, the Midshipmen amassed a season-high 496 yards rushing in last Saturday's 75-31 win at SMU. One week earlier, Navy rolled up 480 rushing yards in a rout of East Carolina .
"It's a great offense and they've done a terrific job of wearing teams down and winning the war of attrition," Temple coach Matt Rhule said. "That's something we pride ourselves on. It's not often that we play other teams that run, run, run and pound people until they submit, but that's what Navy has done."
Worth has been a real workhouse in leading Navy in rushing with 1,181 yards and 25 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior has racked up 258 carries, a whopping 187 more than anyone else.
"I give a lot of credit to the quarterback. He's not afraid to run the football," Rhule said of Worth. "He makes tremendous decisions, but is also making a lot of plays. He's a physical, competitive kid."
HOW THEY GOT THERE: Navy clinched the West Division title and a berth in the AAC championship with a game to spare by beating East Carolina on Nov. 19. The Midshipmen maintained their momentum last Saturday by shellacking SMU for their fourth straight win.
Temple, which started the season 1-2, beat East Carolina last Saturday night to secure the East Division crown for the second straight season. The Owls, who previously played in the Big East and Mid-American, are seeking the first conference championship in program history.
"It's been an up and down year, but a great year," said Rhule, whose club lost to Houston in lastseason's American Athletic Conference championship game.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Navy earned home-field advantage for the championship game because it was ranked by the College Football Playoff Committee and Temple was not. The Midshipmen, who are 19th in the latest CFP rankings, have won 15 straight games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"It's really exciting for our program to have the championship game here in a venue where we've had a lot of success," Niumatalolo said.
MEASURING STICKS: Navy and Temple split with two common opponents this season in South Florida and Memphis.
The Midshipmen came out on the short end of a shootout with the Bulls, losing 52-45 in Tampa on Oct. 28. Temple was the only AAC member to slow down the league's most potent offense, beating USF 46-30 in Philadelphia just one week earlier.
Navy registered a relatively comfortable 42-28 victory over Memphis in Annapolis. The Owls, on the other hand, were beaten by the Tigers, 34-27, at the Liberty Bowl.
DISRUPTIVE FORCE: Temple defensive end Haason Reddick has wreaked havoc all season, leading the FBS with 21ˆ½ tackles for loss. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder needs two more tackles for loss to set the single-season school record.
There have been times in the past when a dominant defensive lineman has torpedoed the triple-option with repeated penetration. However, Navy also has the ability to take a defensive end out of the game by using him as a ready key.
CHINK IN ARMOR?: Temple ranks third nationally in total defense, allowing only 237.4 yards per game. The Owls have the nation's No. 2 pass defense, which proved important in a conference loaded with spread offenses that predominantly throw the ball.
Temple faced a triple-option offense to start the season and things did not go so well: Army amassed 329 rushing yards in a 28-13 upset. Navy rushed for 487 yards during a 2014 meeting with Temple.