The last time Oklahoma traveled as far as the East Coast to play a college football game was in the Orange Bowl in Miami as part of the 2015 College Football Playoff.
The 2015 game didn't go that well, with Brent Venables' Clemson defense shutting down Baker Mayfield and the high-octane Oklahoma offense in the national semifinals.
The 13th-ranked Sooners are looking for a much different outcome on this East Coast trip as they take on an undefeated Temple Owls team in Philadelphia on Saturday. Temple plays its home games at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
The game on Saturday will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools and the back half of a home-and-home series. The two schools played last season in Norman in a game won by Oklahoma 51-3. The Sooners hold a 2-1 edge in the overall series, with the lone Temple win coming back in 1942, the last time OU played Temple in Philadelphia.
Saturday will be the seventh time the Sooners have played a game in the state of Pennsylvania. Five of the previous six games were with the University of Pittsburgh, including the last time OU played in the Keystone State, a 1984 win over Pitt, 42-10.
Oklahoma moved up five spots in the Associated Press Top 25 this week following its impressive 24-13 win over then-No. 15 Michigan to go 2-0 on the season. Temple is also off to a 2-0 start, the first time the Owls have opened the season with two straight wins since the 2019 season.
After two straight home night games to open the 2025 campaign, the Sooners get the opening television window of the day and an 11 a.m. CT kickoff for the road game at Temple. The game will be television on ESPN2 with Roy Philpott doing play-by-play, Sam Acho providing analysis and Marilyn Payne doing sideline reporting.
What to know about Temple Owls
- Temple has opened the 2025 season firing on all cylinders offensively. The Owls have averaged nearly 50 points a game in their two wins, while allowing just 17 total points. They rank first in the American Conference in passing efficiency and total offense, averaging 513.5 yards per game through two games. Defensively, Temple has allowed only 211.5 yards per game and has not given up a single point in the second half. The Owls rank in the top-20 nationally among FBS teams in both categories.
- The Temple offense is directed by redshirt senior quarterback Evan Simon, who is tied for third nationally with nine touchdown passes. Through two games, he has more TD passes than incompletions (8). When the Owls run the ball, the primary ball carrier is Sam Houston State transfer Jevyon Ducker, who has 215 total yards and a 7.4-yard average through the first two games.
- Head coach K.C. Keeler is in his first season at Temple, but he is a veteran college head coach of 32 seasons. Before coming to Temple, Keeler spent 11 seasons at Sam Houston State, where he compiled an overall record of 97-39 (.713). Saturday's game against Oklahoma will be Keeler's first game against a top-25 opponent.
- The last time Temple beat a top-25 team was in 2019. The Owls recorded two top-25 wins that season, defeating No. 21 Maryland 20-17 and No. 23 Memphis 30-28. Both games were at Temple.
What to know about Oklahoma
- Through two games, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has been everything Sooner fans had hoped he would be. The Washington State transfer jumped up the 2025 Heisman favorite Trophy list with his stellar performance in the Sooners' win over Michigan. He ranks second nationally and leads the SEC with 380 yards of total offense per game. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass and run for one or more scores in eight consecutive games, the longest active streak nationally.
- Oklahoma is the only team in the country that ranks in the top 15 in both passing offense and passing defense. The Sooners are averaging 331 passing yards per game, while allowing an average of 88 yards through the air in two games.
- The Sooners are hoping to get much more out of their run game. Mateer leads the Oklahoma ground attack through two games averaging nearly 50 yards per game. No other OU running back, however, averages more than 33 yards per game, which is not a sustainable number if the Sooners are going to have a successful season. Several seasons ago, Oklahoma averaged over 7.0 yards per rush, but so far this season, that number is just 3.3. The Sooners are still trying to find out what they have in Cal transfer Jaydn Ott, who was considered the top running back in the transfer portal. Ott carried the ball just once in the season opener, resulting in a three-yard loss, and picked up only nine yards on four carries against Michigan.
- Tight end was a major concern for Oklahoma entering the season, but converted linebacker Jaren Kanak appears to have stepped up to fill that role. Kanak has 10 catches and is averaging nearly 80 receiving yards per game. The Sooners were not sure of what they were going to get out of that position to begin the season. Through the first two games, however, Kanak has shown that he can be an impact player at that position.
Key matchups
- John Mateer and Oklahoma's 14th-ranked passing offense (331 yards per game) vs. Temple's 15th-ranked pass defense (119 yards allowed per game).
- Temple's No. 2-ranked third-down conversion percentage on offense against Oklahoma's No. 8-ranked third-down conversion percentage defense.
Numbers to know
Since the start of the 2012 season, Oklahoma is 93-7 when scoring 35 points or more, but the Sooners are also just 10-11 in true road games the past five seasons and just 6-8 under Brent Venables.
Prediction
Statistically speaking, Oklahoma and Temple appear to be fairly evenly matched through the opening two games of the season. But that won't be the case after Saturday because the talent level of the two programs is diametrically opposite. Temple's average winning margin in its first two games was 40 points, but the opponents were UMass and Howard. The only team that will be scoring as many as 40 points this Saturday is Oklahoma.
Oklahoma 42, Temple 16
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