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Temple will host Rhode Island on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.   In the transactional world of college football, Saturday's season opener between Temple and Rhode Island features an increasingly uncommon characteristic: Continuity. The Owls didn't lose a single eligible starter to the transfer portal last winter, while the Rams returned a record-setting quarterback and wide receiver and eight defensive starters from a team coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons. The continuity reaches further to the coaching staffs on both sides of Saturday's contest.  While it's only year two for Coach K.C. Keeler at Temple, he retained every position coach from year one.  Rhode Island Coach Jim Fleming is in his 13th year on the job and beyond 40 years in college coaching.  Keeler is two months older than Fleming. On the Rhode Island side, defensive coordinator Chris Lorenti is in his fourth season, though it's only year two calling plays for offensive coordinator Mike Flanagan.  The interesting note on them is that both were promoted from within.  They've been on Fleming's staff since before COVID. As a longtime coach on the East Coast, Fleming has crossed paths with Temple several times.  He faced the Owls while a member of the East Carolina staff in 1994 and 1995, and was the defensive coordinator at Akron for three MAC matchups in 2007, 2008, and 2009.  Fleming jumped to Kent State in 2010 and was the defensive coordinator for UCF in 2013, when the Knights beat the Owls, 39-36, on a walk-off field goal. Keeler and Fleming haven't faced off before.  Keeler exited Delaware two years before Fleming landed at Rhode Island.  But Keeler did say this week that he knew Fleming from his time on Coach John Bunting's staff at North Carolina in 2002 and 2003.  Keeler worked for Bunting at Rowan. The coaches in Saturday's matchup are the embodiment of continuity.  The rosters offer a mix of old and new. The newest of the new are Temple quarterbacks Jaxon Smolik and Ajani Sheppard, who are likely to split duties, while Rams QB Tyler Budge is set for his second college start in place of returning All-American candidate Devin Farrell, who is sidelined following offseason surgery on his lower body. Budge was rarely pressured and never sacked in leading the team to a 34-7 victory at Merrimack last weekend.  The Rams were outgained in the contest but rode a 4-0 turnover edge that included two long interception returns to a runaway victory. The other new pieces that will figure heavily into Saturday's outcome are the three or four new starters on Rhode Island's offensive line battling the seven newcomers on Temple's defensive line that Keeler says could go 10 deep.  One potential factor: Rams guard Damon McMillian, an FCS Freshman All-American last season, was injured late in last week's victory and seen on crutches at the end of the game. "A lot of gap scheme, we've been looking at that," Temple defensive tackle Russ Sykes said of the Rhode Island gameplan earlier this week.  "But a solid team overall and I'm excited to see what we can do against them." The Rams are especially solid on defense, and that's whether or not they get FCS All-American linebacker A.J. Pena and experienced safety Justin Carcel back for a fifth season.  Both are pursuing an additional year of eligibility through state court action, Fleming said following the win at Merrimack, but there has been no update since then. The Rams are a bit undersized on a defensive front that switches between four-down and three-down looks, but they have tons of experience with nine fourth-year or fifth-year players lining up from front to back. "I think it's continuity of the program, our kids know how to operate," Fleming said this week of his defense, which ranked in the Top 25 in total defense, scoring defense, and red zone defense at the FCS level last season.  "I think there was zero panic in that game (at Merrimack).  We gave up a touchdown early.  They brushed it off and then went about their business and shut them out the rest of the game.  So it's very favorable when you've got that kind of experience and that kind of mentality." Temple wide receiver Colin Chase watched the Rhode Island-Merrimack game with his teammates last Friday night before getting into film review with the coaches. "They made plays," he said.  "First game, we never know exactly who we're going to be until the first game.  So I know we're all excited.  We're going to take care of ourselves and make sure that we do what we've got to do.  But they looked good." Following a month of preseason practice, coming after summer workouts, spring training, winter workouts, and everything else, Chase didn't hide his anticipation for Saturday's opener. "I'm so excited," he said.  "We practice year-round for this moment, all the offseason grind, blood, sweat and tears with our brothers.  We're all excited to showcase what Temple football is about on Saturday." Fleming expressed hope that the Owls might be looking ahead to their opponent next Saturday. "It's their first game and they've got Penn State the next week, so it lines up good," he said.  "We've just got to be able to play our very best and hopefully we can come out with a victory."