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FACTS & STATS: Site: Lincoln Financial Field (67,594) -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Television: None. Home Record: Buffalo 2-1, Temple 1-2. Away Record: Buffalo 0-3, Temple 3-0. Neutral Record: Buffalo 0-0, Temple 0-0. Conference Record: Buffalo 1-1, Temple 2-1. Series Record: Buffalo leads, 12-3.

GAME NOTES: Temple was able to shake off its embarrassing performance against Toledo two weeks ago, by pummeling Ball State this past weekend, 42-0 and now Temple will try to get back on track at home when they host the Buffalo Bulls this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Bulls are also coming off a terrific win of their own, as they snapped a three-game slide with a narrow 38-37 decision over Ohio. It was only the second win on the year for Buffalo, with the only other one coming against Stony Brook. Buffalo has clearly been overmatched on the road and comes into this hostile environment winless in three games outside of Buffalo.

As for the Owls, they were crushed on their home field by Toledo on the first of October. However, Steve Addazio's squad proved to have a short memory, as the Owls whitewashed Ball State. It was the second MAC win on the year for Temple, which has surprisingly struggled at home, posting a mere 1-2 ledger.

The Bulls have dominated the all-time series against Temple, winning 12 of the 15 games, but two of those victories for Temple came over the last two seasons, as the Owls clobbered the Bulls, 37-13 and then 42-0.

During the Bulls' three-game slide the team totaled just 38 points, but improvement came last week as the team posted that exact number in a win over Ohio.

Branden Oliver has been the most consistent player for the Bulls this season and continued his successful campaign by rushing for 179 yards and three touchdowns against the Bobcats. That made things a lot easier for quarterback Chazz Anderson, who threw for 343 yards and two scores.

It was a fantastic effort by Anderson, who has been erratic for most of the year. The quarterback comes into this weekend with just 1,224 yards and only five touchdowns against three interceptions.

With the passing attack struggling for most of the season, the bulk of the offensive workload has fallen on the shoulders of Oliver, who is currently pacing the team with 679 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Look for Oliver to see a ton of work again this Saturday, to keep the Temple offense off the field.

Buffalo needed every single point posted by the offense, because the defense struggled for the second straight week. Like most weeks the Bulls came up short against the run, as the Bobcats clawed out 239 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Clearly stopping the run is a problem for the Bulls and one that this unit does not seem likely to solve. Through six games, teams are churning out 183.7 ypg against Buffalo and have found the end zone 10 times on the ground.

Buffalo has also surrendered 11 touchdowns through the air, so there is definitely work to be done there as well. If Buffalo intends on improving in that area the team will need to apply more pressure, with only 13 sacks over the first six games. Three and a half of those sacks have come from Khalil Mack, who is also leading the team with 12.0 TFLs.

The Bulls' inability to stop the run could be a major problem for them this weekend because they will have to deal with Temple star tailback Bernard Pierce, who is not just running through the competition, but through Temple's record books as well.

Pierce has rumbled for 692 yards and 15 touchdowns in six games already and is coming off another strong performance against Ball State. In the win over the Cardinals, Pierce finished with 121 yards and found the end zone three times. Those scores gave him 41 for his career, which puts him ahead of Paul Palmer (1983-86), who finished his career at Temple with a school-record 39 rushing touchdowns.

However, Pierce was not the only player to gash the Cardinals, as Matt Brown finished with 114 yards on only 15 totes. What made it easier for Temple to find running room was the performance of Chester Stewart, who completed 10- of-13 passes for 160 yards and one score.

The passing game has been inconsistent for Temple, leaving Pierce as a true workhorse on the offensive side of things. Keeping Pierce healthy is the key to any success Temple will have the rest of the way.

Pierce gets the majority of the Temple headlines, but the defense deserves credit as well in 2011. Sure the defense did allow 36 points in a loss to Toledo, but in the other five matchups, the unit has surrendered a total of 31 points.

The defense was clearly left with a sour taste in its mouth after losing to Toledo and the unit took out its anger on Ball State, and did not allow a single point. It was the third shutout for Temple in its last 11 games.

Temple suffocated Ball State's rushing attack, limiting the Cardinals to just 81 yards on 3.2 yards per attempt. The defense was also up to the task of shutting down Ball State's passing attack. The Owls held the Cardinals to just 155 yards and finished with two interceptions and three sacks.

One of those sacks were claimed by Tahir Whitehead, who now has a team-best four on the season, to go along with a team-high 10 TFLs. However, Whitehead has to share the limelight with Stephen Johnson, who racked up 16 tackles against Ball State and now has a team-best 52 stops on the year.

Buffalo is coming off an impressive win, but do not expect a similar effort against Temple. The Owls have lost twice at home already and that is a habit the team is eager to break. Behind their talented running back and fearless defense, the Owls should have no trouble taking care of business Saturday.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Temple 45, Buffalo 10