Morning Six Pack: Temple Hosts Woefully Shorthanded Maryland

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Fresh off a 41-10 win over Villanova, Temple takes on its first FBS opponent of the season Saturday when it hosts Maryland at the Linc (Noon / ESPNU).

A win would give the Owls their third straight 2-0 start, their sixth consecutive win at home dating back to 2011, their sixth consecutive win overall and just their second-ever victory over an ACC program.

Click here for the game preview and check out these six quick-hitters to get you prepped for kickoff:

1. Immediate History
Temple's first win over an ACC opponent came against the Terps last year in the form of a 35-7 thrashing in College Park. Bernard Pierce set a single-game program record with all five touchdowns in the victory. Also of note, Chester Stewart went 9 of 9 passing.

2. Where'd Everybody Go?
Twenty-five transfers. Head coach Randy Edsall has lost 25 players to transfer since taking over the Maryland program in Jan. 2011. 

Included in that list is quarterback Danny O'Brien, who lost his job as the starter at some point last year but parlayed that into another starting gig at Wisconsin.

Anyhow, as if they weren't already a little short on experience given the departures, the Terps had 13 guys get injured in the preseason, including two who are done for the year. The other 11 missed last Saturday's 7-6 win over William & Mary. Thus, they have 27 freshman and sophomores on their current two-deep depth chart, with the 14 true freshman on that chart serving as the third most in the nation. They had a whopping 14 guys see their very first college action last week.

Maryland will have two of its defensive lineman, Keith Bowers and Isaiah Ross, back against Temple, though the rest of those who missed Week 1 remain more than likely out.

3. Running up that Hills
One of the Terps whose out for the entirety of 2012 is O'Brien's would-have-been replacement, C.J. Brown. But Brown has a torn ACL, leaving true freshman Perry Hills to run the offense.

Hills went 16 for 24 against William & Mary, throwing three interceptions and zero touchdowns. He was sacked just once.

4. Expanded Offense?
The Temple offense was pretty boring against Villanova, because running the ball over and over was really just a good option. That and it didn't show much to future opponents.

Temple coach Steve Addazio said after Tuesday's practice that he tried to open a bit more of the offense earlier that morning, but that he wasn't satisfied with the team's performance, as guys had trouble re-adjusting to sets they hadn't worked on in two weeks.

Keep an eye on whether Temple chooses or is forced to go the pass more often this week.

5. Will You Show Up?
The Mayor's Cup set its third straight attendance record last Friday night and made for the largest crowd to watch a Temple game at the Linc that did not involve Penn State.

It's not unusual for the Owls to start off strong on opening night, just like it's not unusual to see the attendance figure suffer soon thereafter. For reference, even after Temple started 3-1 last season and rolled Maryland the week before, only 21,000 showed up for Week 5 against Toledo. In 2010, only 15,000 showed up Week 2, after 31,000 had been present opening night.

6. Odds and Ends
Vegas Insider lists the Owls as a 10.5-point favorite. If you're betting the money line, you'll need to throw down $375 on the Owls to win $100 or $100 on Maryland to win $290. The over/under is set at an even 45.

Bonus Brew
We're back with the musical outros this season:

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