Army 21-17 Temple (Sep 25, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Army · Temple

Army2-121

Temple1-317Final

Fri, Sep 25 · Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa. · Crowd 13,449

Army beat Temple 21-17.

We had Army favored. It won.

Next: Army lost to Louisiana Tech 31-29, Sat Oct 3

Next: Temple beat South Florida 17-13, Sat Oct 3

Top comment in the game thread

Disasterclass of clock management

Q4 0:51 · r/CFB game thread · Fri, Sep 25

How it swung

The turning point: Hellums 3-yd TD run, Army goes ahead 21-17 (Q4, 1:41). Army went from 28% to 65% to win. Fans right then: “Disasterclass of clock management” r/CFB game thread

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Army a 67% chance, and the closing betting line (Army was a 4-point favorite) put it at 63%.

Down to 28% in the fourth quarter, Army came back to win.

Up to 72% in the fourth quarter, then Temple lost it.

78-yard TD pass

Temple · Q1 2:17

FinalArmy 21-17 TempleArmy wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.At the airport: gusts to 40 mph

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 2:17Sheppard 78-yd TD pass to Brown, ties it 7-7Army 78% → 52% (−26)
2Q4 1:41Hellums 3-yd TD run, Army goes ahead 21-17airport gusts to 31 mphArmy 28% → 65% (+37)

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 2:17Sheppard 78-yd TD pass to Brown, ties it 7-7Temple 22% → 48% (+26)
2Q4 1:41Hellums 3-yd TD run, Army goes ahead 21-17airport gusts to 31 mphTemple 72% → 35% (−37)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 2:50Temple scores 78-yard touchdown pass to Brown, tying game 7-7This camera quality is terrible. I feel like I am watching an early 2000s game.r/CFB game thread
Q3 3:43Temple ties Army 14-14 with a quick 67-yard touchdown passCool to score, but that Temple D is gonna dier/CFB game thread
Q4 0:51Fans criticize Temple's clock management and short middle passes on the final driveQuoted at the top of the page.Throwing 2 yard routes in the middle of the field is insanityr/CFB game thread

Army’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Army -4), at 50% for Army (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Temple or Army flair (34 and 82); both sides share one scale, regulation only.

The blue strip under the chart is the weather at the airport. A 40 mph gust is stronger than the peak gust in 99% of games since 2018. Measured at Philadelphia International airport, 3.7 miles away. Full conditions below.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Army’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Army scored on 3 of its 9 drives; Temple on 3 of its 8.

Army’s drives are teal, Temple’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Temple’s side

Temple’s best moment: Sheppard 78-yd TD pass to Brown, ties it 7-7 (Q1 2:17). It lifted Temple’s win chance by 26 points.

How Temple fans took it: “I'm absolutely stunned that short passes in the middle of the field behind the line to gain with no timeouts didn't work. It just seemed like such a perfect…” r/CFB game thread

“That seemed like a let them score defense”

A fan of another team

How fans reacted

Steady

Fans peaked right at the end.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was steady; the crowd was steady.

Too close to call on 87% of plays.

What it cost

Temple’s chance to win the conference fell from 4% to 1%.

Win the conference

Army · won0% → ▲1%

Temple · lost4% → ▼1%

Before the game (September 24, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Army 21, Temple 17

The game landed on the closing spread. The total, 38, stayed under 48.5.

Team totals	Army	Temple
Total yards	315	459
Passing	3 of 6, 36 yds	11 of 20, 242 yds
Rushing	57 for 279 yds	32 for 217 yds
First downs	22	17
Third down	6 of 12	3 of 9
Fourth down	2 of 2	0 of 2
Turnovers	0	0
Penalties	4 for 40 yds	6 for 37 yds
Time of possession	38:01	21:59

Army leaders

Passing Cale Hellums 3 of 6, 36 yds
Rushing Cale Hellums 22 for 104 yds, 3 TD; Samari Howard 8 for 69 yds
Receiving Godspower Nwawuihe 1 for 20 yds; Zach Mundell 1 for 8 yds

Temple leaders

Passing Ajani Sheppard 11 of 20, 242 yds, 2 TD
Rushing Samuel Brown V 10 for 96 yds; Keveun Mason 11 for 57 yds
Receiving Samuel Brown V 1 for 78 yds, 1 TD; Colin Chase 2 for 76 yds, 1 TD

Wind all game, gusting to 40 mph at the airport

74° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 18 mph from the north, mostly along the field, gusts to 40

A 40 mph gust is stronger than the peak gust in 99% of games since 2018.

Each gray tick is one game. The black line is the typical game.

September game-day temperatures at Lincoln Financial Field

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Second quarter, 4:46 left5:09 p.m.

Army 7, Temple 7 · Temple 42% to win

no rain · wind 18 mph from the north, mostly along the field, gusts to 40 · 73°

Mason 1-yd run

Measured at Philadelphia International airport, 3.7 miles away, and Philadelphia Ne airport, 15 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last two games

Army · 1-1

Rated 39th in our preseason ratings, 41st now.

1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 24-28 vs South Florida #66 of 668

lost by 4 as a 3-point favorite

W 59-3 vs Bryant #198 of 668

won by 56 as a 37.5-point favorite

Last three games

Temple · 1-2

Rated 90th in our preseason ratings, 95th now.

1-2 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 48-49 @ Toledo #44 of 668

lost by 1 as a 4.5-point underdog

L 9-27 vs Penn StateTop 25 #35 of 668

lost by 18 as a 24.5-point underdog

W 38-14 vs Rhode Island #107 of 668

won by 24 as a 14.5-point favorite

Week by week

Temple

Wk 1Wvs Rhode Island38-14
Wk 2Lvs Penn State9-27
Wk 3Lat Toledo48-49

Army

Wk 1Wvs Bryant59-3
Wk 2Lvs South Florida24-28

Power rating by week

Army is rated 5.6 points ahead as of week 3. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Army’s EPA/play against Temple, 83 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Army’s EPA/play against Temple’s defense
Army offense, 97th percentile · Temple defense, 14th
Army’s rushing EPA against Temple’s defense
Army offense, 100th percentile · Temple defense, 26th
Army’s explosive plays against Temple’s defense
Army offense, 5th percentile · Temple defense, 64th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

ArmyTemple

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Army leads the series 8-7

15 meetings since 1943 · Army has won the last 4

2025Army 14-13
2024Army 42-14
2017Army 31-28
2016Army 28-13
2013Temple 33-14

Each line is Temple’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Temple fans are in a better mood than Army fans (51st vs 26th among FBS fanbases), even with Army favored.

Army favored by 4 · Total 48.5

How games like this usually go

Army by 4, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 377 games since 2025 with a favorite of 3.5 to 7.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 1 point toward Army.

The total fell 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Temple is worth +3.0 points (±4.6) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom third of FBS, 29th percentile.

41% at home, 24% on the road against FBS opponents (19-27 home, 11-34 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.1 at home vs. away over 98 games — inside the ±6.3 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

The visitors travel about 121 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Army 31, Temple 28Oct 21, 2017

Our History pages cover 2 of their meetings since 2016.

Where next

Conference standings

Place in the conference, then conference record.

Temple6th0-0
Army13th0-1

Full American Athletic standings

Army beats Temple 21-17