Temple 56, Akron 17: Owls unleash nuclear-type weapons

By Mike Gibson
The 2008 edition of the Princeton Review ranked Temple as the most diverse undergraduate student population in the nation.
There is much to like about that.
Last night, in a 56-17 win at Akron the Owls proved that there is even more to like about diversity in an offense.
In what was Matt Rhule’s finest hour as an offensive coordinator, the Owls found every conceivable way to diversify their offense.
They scored on a reverse (twice, one was called back on a penalty), they scored on a long bomb, they scored on an intermediate pass, they scored on running plays.
They established their quarterback, Chester Stewart, as a dual threat.
They even scored on special teams, a terrific punt return by the steady (and now spectacular) Delano Green.
For almost all of the seven wins prior to this one, Bernard Pierce has been carrying the Owls on his broad shoulders.
While it had been fun to watch, you kind of knew that his back would break somewhere along the way if things didn’t change.
That would have been an OK plan if the Owls had no other weapons but you and I and Al Golden and Rhule all know that Edberg-Olson Hall if filled with extremely talented players who can do great things with the ball.

”Personally, I really think Temple has the best D-line I have played against since I have been at Akron and I have played against Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State.”
_ Senior guard Zack Anderson

Pierce is a good one, the best, but he’s not the only one.
I’ve been saying all year that Temple’s No. 1 priority on offense should be feature the talents of Pierce, sure, but to also play off the fear of him by throwing the ball to their edge weapons downfield.
They did that on a long touchdown pass from Stewart to Michael Campbell. They did it on long reverse by Jason Harper and 4.3-40 sprinter James Nixon.
Now the Owls have planted a needed seed in the minds of their future foes: Load up and try to take away Pierce at your own peril.
It was a great night for Temple and proof that this team is getting better as crunch time approaches. The defense was great (49-0 over the last three quarters), but it’s been that way all season.
The No. 1 concern was a lack of diversity on offense and it appears that the Owls have now found a pretty good formula going forward.
Last night, they showed that diversity can be a beautiful thing.

9 thoughts on “Temple 56, Akron 17: Owls unleash nuclear-type weapons

  1. Great night, showed that the Owls have many weapons beside Bernard. Lets get a big crowd at the Linc on Saturday. Lots of good football ahead this year and for hopefully many more years.

  2. They are really starting to look like a complete team. I think all that's left is to end the stupid mistakes, shore up the pass defense a bit and continue to show its offensive diversity. They have two more games to do this. I wish I had been able to see the game. Kudos Mike for getting your recap up quickly on a work night.Tony_d

  3. It was a solid performance by the Owl's. Temple teams in previous years would have folded up after Akron went up 17-7 on the fumble recovery.

  4. Good points all around.Thanks Tony, Tim and David.Tony,Reports of a guy being bleep-faced in the pre-game parking lot of the Miami game were greatly exaggerated.I looked around.I didn't see any overly intoxicated fans.Just regularly intoxicated ones.

  5. I couldn't have asked for a better result. The Owls didn't just steamroll Akron, they did it without handing the ball to Bernard Pierce 50 times. Plus. Chester Stewart has played well enough to keep the starting job. Stewart might be the starter for the next year, but failing that, the Owls have Charlton as a backup. It's the bestof both worlds – Charlton can still compete with Stewart in practice and work on getting his touch back, and if something happens to Chester Stewart, the Owls have a proven backup.This was practically a day off for Pierce and, Mike, I think you are spot on. Rhule could only keep going to the Bernard Pierce well so many times before something bad was going to happen. Pierce got relieved today and the involvement of other players, like Matt Brown and Jason Harper, just makes Temple more dangerous going into the final stretch of the season.As for winning the MAC East, I am not sure how the tiebreakers work, but if Temple beats Kent State, does that guarantee them the title? (because Kent State beat Ohio and, then Temple would have at least a tie with Ohio in the conference standings)Anyway, if you think about it, Temple is having a remarkable year. OK, that's stating the obvious. But, did anybody think we'd see an 8-game winning streak this season? The other thing is that, for both the fans and the players, we get to enjoy something that hasn't been enjoyed at Temple since Jimmy Carter was POTUS. We get meaningful games in late November.

  6. If Temple beats Kent State, that doesn't insure the title. If Temple beats Kent State and NIU beats Ohio (which I believe is very, very possible), then the Owls clinch the East with a week to play.If Ohio and TU wins, that sets up an all-or-nothing showdown (11 a.m., ESPNU) the Friday after Thanksgiving. That would mean that YOU would have to get up at 8 a.m. to watch the game.(TU and Ohio would finish with 6-1 league records if the Owls lost that one and Ohio would be crowned champion based on that head-to-head tie-breaker.)Hopefully, the LA alumni will have breakfast set up somewhere.

  7. Captain Mike,Where are the best TU tailgates on gameday? I'm getting a group together and the Owls needs to stick together on gameday!

  8. I have a couple thoughts about the final stretch of the season.First, to me, the most significant thing about the Temple football team right now is not Bernard Pierce and it's not Chester Stewart. It's something that's a lot bigger than any individual player. I'm sure you've noticed (and practically every coach that has faced Temple this season has commented on it) that the Owls are flat out beating people up. Both lines, on offense and on defense, are so strong and so tough and in such great shape that they have been wearing down the opponents. In almost every game during the winning streak, by the 4th quarter, Temple has pretty much had their way. And it's been getting more obvious as the season goes on. Because football is such a brutal sport, lesser teams simply wear out. They start racking up the injuries and they end up limping through the end of the season. We've seen that a lot with Temple in the past. This year, Temple is on the other end of the hurtin'. Which brings me to my second observation. . .Temple has, until now, played all the worst teams in the MAC and none of the good teams. This final stretch of the season is unquestionably the toughest part of Temple's schedule. They have Kent State first (and though they have faded a bit in the standings, they are a tough team), then Ohio (a very tough team). And if Temple gets to the MAC championship game, they will have to face CMU (and we all know how good the Chips are!). Then, Temple gets a bowl game. So, all the stuff I talked about before – strength, toughness, endurance – is going to be tested from here on out. They will be facing teams that are also very strong, tough, and in great shape, instead of the lesser teams that are fading toward the end of the season.

  9. Best tailgates are in lot K (around K3, specifically) …. lot K can get very spaced out and that troubles me… Hippoears and his group are at the far fence closer to the old Vet … Coolowl (Ken) sets up on the pavement by the portapottys … as does a group of football alumni (Steve Conjar and his group) closer to Citizens Bank Park… Schmitty (who looks a little like Stephen King) is the white/tan van with the large Temple styroform trademark T on top.I wish everybody was more grouped together, but everybody is super friendly.

Leave a reply to Bull-Run Cancel reply