Monthly Archives: September 2012

09.28.12
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Fast Forward: 5 TV games TU fans should watch

Whenever TU fans have to watch UConn football, they think of this.

Not that you could tell it by the last two games, but a Saturday without Temple football is a Saturday without sunshine.
Since there will be no sunshine tomorrow (literally, as well as figuratively), I will be out for a three-hour jog during most of the early football games.  I’ll have the headset on set to scan to pick up whatever games I can get on the radio.
When I get home, I hope to check in on some games on TV.
These are five games Temple fans should care about tomorrow since they involve past and future foes (my picks are underlined):

Buffalo at UConn two years ago.

Buffalo at Connecticut (noon, 6ABC) _ Buffalo is pretty putrid this year, even more so than recent years, and this should be an easy UCONN win, something on the order of 36-7. Buffalo lost to a Kent State team that got blown out by Kentucky. UConn lost to a Western Michigan team that got hammered by Illinois, which lost by four touchdowns to Louisiana Tech. We’re talking last-place Big East vs. last-place MAC and even though the top of the MAC has proven to be better than the top of the Big East this year, the BE bottom half is better than the bottom half of the MAC. Huskies should easily cover the 16 1/2.

Penn State at Illinois (noon, ESPN) _ Don’t have the foggiest idea why the Lions are 1 1/2-point underdogs, but I think they should win the game outright. Louisiana Tech’s passing game exposed the Illinois’ defensive backs and I think PSU has enough of an improved quick-strike passing attack to do the same.

Stony Brook at Army (noon, CBS Sports Network) _ Stony Brook gave Syracuse a good game. If that was a one-time deal, I would pick Army but Stony Brook also took UTEP into overtime last year and UTEP took an unbeaten (at the time and for most of last year) Houston team into overtime as well. Army is the FBS program, but this is one time where the FCS program prevails. No line since this is a FCS/FBS matchup.

Virginia Tech at Cincinnati (3:30, ESPNU) _ I previously thought Cincinnati, not Louisville,  was the best team in the Big East and that was reinforced by a 34-10 win over Pitt. But Cincy struggled to a 23-7 team over a Delaware State team Delaware beat by 48-14. Virginia Tech lost to Pitt, but I think that was more an abberation than the Cincy struggle because of the Hokies’ solid body of work elsewhere and I think Frank Beamer and company should have no problem with the touchdown cover.

Florida State at South Florida (6 p.m., ESPN) _ A must-see for all Owls, players and coaches.  Hopefully, the Seminoles running roughshod over the Bulls won’t make the Owls overconfident because any team that loses to Maryland shouldn’t be overconfident against anybody. Still, I’m a little concerned that Temple’s coaches didn’t follow Ohio’s game plan to beat Penn State (short passing game) or William and Mary’s game plan to stay in the game against Maryland (blitzing on defense) so I’m hoping Steve Addazio and Chuck Heater are using this telecast to take copious notes. Florida State should win this game easily, but I wouldn’t bet the 17-point spead. This could be something in the order of 31-14, 37-23. This is a game to stay away from at all cost which, for me, is nothing. For TU’s sake, I hope USF wins but I don’t think that’s possible.

Locks of the week: Ball State (giving 1) at Kent State and Toledo, a pick at Western Michigan.

09.27.12
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Throwback Thursday

Thanks to Jeff Thomas for this video of a great day for Paul Palmer.

Temple football almost killed me.
I’m not talking about the last two games, either.
I’m talking about literally being dead.
Thanks to former great Temple Owl defensive back Jeffrey Thomas, this video brings back a lot of memories, some of them good, some bad.
The good part was a record-setting day by Paul Palmer who was a Heisman Trophy runner-up that year. A great day and I filed what my bosses thought was a terrific story in the Sunday papers.
Little did they know I was sick as a dog.
The bad part was going to the hospital for pneumonia the next day.
In those days, I covered Temple football for Calkins Newspapers, which are a string of papers surrounding Philadelphia, including the Bucks County Courier Times, Doylestown Intelligencer and Burlington County (N.J.) Times.
We went home and away with the team those days and, thanks to an offer from then Sports Information Director Al Shrier, I secured a seat on the football team’s charter to the BYU game.
The plane’s air conditioning unit failed and we sat in about a 100-degree airplane an hour before being cleared for takeoff. I knew this was a bad sign because I was beginning to catch a cold right about then.

Hopefully, the Let’s Go Temple signs and cheers will be out in full force next week. 

When we landed in Utah some six hours, we deplaned and had to wait outside in 40-degree weather for an hour for our stuff.
I was wearing just a golf shirt and sweatpants. The team was in blazers.
The heat and cold combination turned out to be a double knockout punch.
For two weeks, the cold got worse, turned into pneumonia and the fluid surrounded my heart. I still blame myself for not going to the doctor earlier. When you are in your 20s, you think you are indestructible.
So I found myself in Doylestown hospital waiting for an operation.
The first call I got was from former coach Wayne Hardin wishing me well. Right after that, it was Bruce Arians. That meant a lot to me.
The doctors told my mom and dad that I was one of 5,000 people who had this condition and had to have this kind of operation. Lucky me.
Then a doctor with a thick Indian accent explained the risks of the operation.
“And in about 10 percent of the cases, this operation results in death,” he said.
“What was that last word you said?” I stuttered.
“Death.”
“Go ahead, do it,” I said.
I lived.
So that was the closest Temple football ever came to killing me. The second-closest was a 20-game losing streak and the 26-3 halftime deficit to Maryland cut about five years off my life expectancy, too.
After the way this season has gone so far, I just hope to be around in a few weeks should the Owls carry Montel Harris off the field after beating Cincy for the BE title and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
I might faint. You might faint. But, as I write this, it is still possible.
If they had to carry me out in a body bag after that, I couldn’t think of a better way to go.

Tomorrow: Fast Forward Friday

09.26.12
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Daz hearing the call for a rolling pocket

By the time Homecoming comes, the Temple offense could be revamped.

On this website, I have a site meter installed at the bottom.
It helps me get a pulse of what posts people are reading and where they are reading them from. Not surprisingly, the No. 1 place where people read “Temple Football Forever” is from temple.edu web addresses. Now this could be students from the tech center, professors in their offices, administrators, players and even coaches.
I don’t care.

‘Get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand a little quicker so we are not sitting there in the pocket too long. Move the pocket. We are going to address those things.’
_ Steve Addazio

I think it’s great that the Temple community is taking interest in the football team in general and in this website in particular.
That’s one of the reasons why I found this quote to be particularly revealing by Temple head football coach Steve Addazio today from the Philadelphia Inquirer: “So we’ve got to grow there,” Addazio said of the passing game. “Maybe more quick game. Get the ball out of the quarterback’s hand a little quicker so we are not sitting there in the pocket too long. Move the pocket. We are going to address those things.”
The three most important words there are “move the pocket” in my mind.
To me, the key message of my Monday post was “move the pocket.”
The post about that very issue appeared here Monday. Addazio addressed it at the Tuesday media gathering.
Hmm.
Listen, I think there’s a less than one percent chance Steve Addazio read my post and stole my idea, but I’m glad that he figured it out on his own, which I suspect.
Heck, even Stevie Wonder, let alone Stevie Addazio, could see how moving the pocket would help this Temple team as currently constituted.

Heck, even Stevie Wonder, let alone Stevie Addazio, could see how moving the pocket would help this Temple team as currently constituted

My only question is why the Owls didn’t use this approach the first three games. It seemed like they were pounding their heads against a brick wall with this run-first approach.
No matter, the kind of head-pounding that resulted in so many headaches for Owl fans could be over if Daz is serious.
The Owls have a terrific weapon in New Mexico Bowl MVP Chris Coyer, who is a good pocket passer with protection, even under pressure in the pocket. The QB who runs like a tailback could be deadly, though, if you roll him out to his left where he could buy time to see the field and strike fear of his running the ball in the defense.
If DBs come up in run support, Coyer could dump the ball over their heads for big gains to guys like Jalen Fitzpatrick and Deon Miller, let alone an occasional safety valve pass to Montel Harris or Matty Brown.
If the defense blitzes, Coyer can direct Wyatt Benson as the protection. I have not seen a better blocking fullback at Temple since Shelley Poole led Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer through the hole.
Fitpatrick, Harris and Brown are terrific playmakers in space, as is Coyer.
Running Harris and Brown up the middle, where there’s not much space, doesn’t play to their strengths.
The best way for the Owls to move the sticks, maintain possession, turn the scoreboard into an adding machine and keep their defense off the field is to run the offense through Coyer. The beauty of this tweak is that it also plays to the strengths of backups Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome. Coyer rolls left, Juice and Kevin roll right.
Whatever, I’m glad the braintrust at the E-O recognizes this and are using these two weeks to work on it.
I can’t wait until they, err, roll it out Oct. 6.

09.24.12
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Eagles and Owls: Birds of a different feather

“Let’s face it, you want to run the ball all the time and I want to pass it all the time.”

Watching Andy Reid and Steve Addazio the last two days, it suddenly occurred to me that this is a tale of two coaches, same city, two different philosophies.
Reid wants to throw the ball all the time.
Addazio wants to run it all the time.
Well, not all, but you get what I mean.

Have to give it up to Nate Bauer of BWI for this correct prediction.

If you could put Steve Addazio’s head in Andy Reid’s body and Reid’s head in Addazio’s body, probably both teams would be better off.
For purposes of argument, the words never and all mean most.
Reid has a guy, Shady McCoy (almost went to Temple, by the way, but that’s a story for another day), who ran for 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns last year and he never gives the ball to him.
Instead, he leaves his fate in the hands of a turnover-prone quarterback.
Addazio has an offensive line incapable of opening up holes up the middle, but he forces that square peg into the round hole with a stubborn trait of relying on runs up the middle.
Yet Addazio has a quarterback who never turns it over and throws nice balls, most of which are dropped.

Roll Coyer out to the left with the option of passing or throwing. If the pass is there, take it. If the run is there, take it. The fear of what Coyer can do with his feet will open up things for the Temple offense

Chris Coyer is not perfect, but he’s missed only two vital throws in this season in my mind and both were in the Penn State game. Even those might have been timing patterns that were the fault of the receivers.
He’s a kid you can win with if you put the offense in his hands.
Roll Coyer out to the left with the option of passing or throwing. If the pass is there, take it. If the run is there, take it. The fear of what Coyer can do with his feet will open up things for the Temple offense. Have Matt Brown and Montel Harris in space as dump-off options. Put Ryan Alderman near the first-down sticks as a target. Have 4.3 sprinters Jalen Fitzpatrick, Romond Deloatch and Khalif Herbin go deep.  Coyer in the straight dropback should only be a change of pace for Temple. The guys who have been dropping passes for Temple should sit on the bench.
Temple’s spread passing attack should open up lanes for the running game, not the only way around.
Just as importantly, moving those sticks will give the beleaguered defense a needed rest.
Same with Shady McCoy of the Eagles.
Establishing his running should keep the pass rush off Michael Vick and mitigate that team’s recurrent turnover problems.
Andy Reid and Steve Addazio. Both guys are pretty stubborn and I guess that’s one of the reasons why they got to where they are.
Something tells me, though, the first guy who recognizes the need for change will be the most successful this season.
I’m hoping it is both.
I’m praying it’s Addazio.

09.23.12
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No anger, just disappointment


Close-but-no-cigar was typified by how close TU got to sacking McGloin on a 4th and 5 TD pass.

I thought the coaches had a great gameplan. My only question was punting on 4th and 4 late in the third quarter, down 14-3. Kick it into the end zone and you gain only 20  yards of field position. To  me, the correct call was to get a swing pass out there on the sideline near the sticks for four yards and keep the drive going. That’s the logical call and I don’t see giving up that down in exchange for 20 yards of field position. I didn’t see it when the call was made and I didn’t see it after PSU went 80 yards for a 21-3 lead. That’s being Temple Timid, not Temple TUFF.

 UNIVERSITY PARK _ After Temple’s 36-27 loss to Maryland, the predominant feeling from this corner was anger.
Anger, as in, “How can you not blitz the crap out of a true freshman QB who threw three blitz-induced picks against William and Mary?”
That loss was on the coaches.
Now, sitting here getting free wifi in McDonald’s after a 24-13 loss to Penn State, the overwhelming emotion is disappointment.
This one is on the players.
I thought the coaches had a great game plan. My only question was punting on 4th and 4 late in the third quarter, down 14-3. Kick it into the end zone and you gain only 20  yards of field position. To  me, the correct call was to get a swing pass out there on the sideline near the sticks for four yards and keep the drive going. That’s the logical call and I don’t see giving up that down in exchange for 20 yards of field position. I didn’t see it when the call was made and I didn’t see it after PSU went 80 yards for a 21-3 lead. That’s being Temple Timid, not Temple TUFF.
But the plays left on the field before that were the game-changers.
As the only Temple fan sitting in my section (thanks to a free ticket from a PSU supporter and friend) from near the top row of Beaver Stadium, I could see both Cody Booth and Jalen Fitzpatrick CLEARLY being missed on sure-fire touchdown passes.
Had the Owls hit those seemingly easy pitch and catches, the game might have been different. No bigger Chris Coyer supporter than I, but it looked like he missed the Fitzpatrick pass altogether.
On the other one, it looked as if Cody Booth stopped in the pass pattern did not go where the ball was designed to be thrown.

Owlscoop.com’s take on the game plan.

Since Jalen complained to the ref about being held, I think that might have been the case on his play, too.
 Still, I think Chris could have adjusted those throws for two scores.
Adam DiMichele makes both of those throws for scores. He didn’t care about timing patterns. Of course, on the other hand, Chester Stewart throws both balls into the first row, so I guess everything is relative.
That’s easy for me to say because I wasn’t being rushed by 6-foot-5, 300-pound linemen, but those are plays a big-time team makes in a big-time setting.
Temple isn’t a big-time team. At least not yet.
 It really ticks me off that the first Temple win over Penn State will come with an asterisk, but it’s going to happen in Philadelphia on Aug. 30, 2014.
The asterisk, of course, will be Temple having 10 more scholarships than Penn State in each of the next two seasons leading up to that game.
Temple will have a talent and depth edge so pronounced that I would be surprised Penn State gives Temple the kind of game the Owls have given PSU the last three years.
 On Saturday, though, it was just another case of close, but no cigar against PSU.
 I like cigars.
Temple could have given their fans a puff of a primo Havana cigar on Saturday.
Instead, we’ll have to settle for one of those cheap 7-11 cigars in 2014 and that’s a long way away.
That’s the bad news out of Saturday.
Other bad news came from our former MAC brethren against Big 10 teams. While Temple was losing at Penn State, Central Michigan was getting it done at Iowa and lowly Eastern Michigan was throwing a scare into Michigan State.
If them, why not Temple?
 The good news is that these are fixable problems. The defense is not a SEC-level defense, but it certainly is good enough to excel in the Big East.
Here’s the offensive fix: Have Romond Deloatch, Jalen Fitzpatrick, Deon Miller and Ryan Alderman in the receiving rotation. Forget everybody else for now. Get those guys up to speed. I know Deloatch stepped out of bounds on his great catch, but that is a minor problem that’s fixable in practice for a true freshman. He fights for the ball and catches it. I like that. I know Alderman had a drop, but that was his only drop in a three-year career at Temple that I can recall. He’s a great third-and-eight option. Fitzpatrick can make explosive plays downfield and he won’t drop the ball, either.
 Get the ball “in space” to Montel Harris and Matty Brown more. Shovel passes, screens, pitchouts. Those guys are deadly in space, not so much between the tackles.
If you want to run it up the middle, give it to fullback Wyatt Benson.
I think Penn State will prove to be the best team on the Temple schedule not named Louisville and the Lions might even be better than Louisville.
 More good news came from the mighty Big East on Saturday:
South Florida lost at Ball State (in the same stadium Temple beat Ball State, 42-0, last year).
“That’s the kind of team we’d like to be in four years,” Ball State coach Dave Lembo said of Temple after that loss last year. Since then, Ball State has beaten a Big 10 team and South Florida.
Heck, Ball State is the kind of team I’d like Temple to be in two weeks, too. Temple hasn’t fallen that fast in a year, has it? I don’t think so but they’ll have to prove it to me on Oct. 6.
Also, Western Michigan beat UConn.
Again.
Yeah, that transition from the MAC is really going to be tough for the Owls.
They have the blueprint for the fixes and two weeks to do it against South Florida. If Ball State can do it, so can they. There can be no excuses next time. Get ‘er done.
Now for the long ride home for both me and them.

09.21.12
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Penn State fans taking smug attitude again

Temple will be seen on ABC TV in all of the blue areas.

For about 20 years, I’ve had a neighbor who was a Penn State fan.
I always envied him because his football program won all the time and my football program, except for the last few years of those two decades, lost all the time.
The relationship worked this way.
He felt sorry for me.
I envied him.

Then it changed a little bit over the last few months.
I felt sorry for him over the Jerry Sandusky thing.
He envied me because Temple didn’t have to deal with all that crap.
Before all that went down, we tailgated together at last year’s Temple game, his group welcoming me even though I wore my Temple jersey.
I then extolled the virtues of my favorite player, Bernard Pierce, telling them how good he was, that he was a football player who happened to become the Pennsylvania schoolboy 100-meter track champion while messing around with that sport his senior year.
“The great thing about him,” I said, “is that he’s got moves like Barry Sanders, but he’s not afraid of contact. He runs like a fullback. He can go 70 yards on any given play.”
One of the group then said something that pissed me off.
“No, offense, but if he’s so good, why is he playing at Temple?” in a matter-of-fact way and not kiddingly.
I just shook my head. Offense taken.

‘Temple won’t score a touchdown. They’ll get two field goals.’
_Philly sports talk radio host

I said there were a lot of guys who played at Temple who were really good, mentioning All-American and All-Pro Joe Klecko, former Heisman Trophy runner-up Paul Palmer, Big East offensive and defensive players of the year Dan Klecko and Walter Washington, former Redskins’ Tre Johnson and Leslie Shepard, Jets’ first-round draft choice Mo Wilkerson, etc., etc..
Then the game began and it was evident Temple had just as many good players as Penn State and played with a passion and pride Penn State didn’t display except for the final drive. When it was over, most of the Penn State fans in the group showed a lot of class.
“You guys deserved to win,” one of them said.
“One of these days we will,” I replied.
I’m heading up to Penn State with the same group tomorrow. I will bring my laptop and try to find a place to file a post-game report late Saturday night.
There’s a lot of that familiar swag among Penn State fans this year, that Temple can’t possibly win. Mike Missenelli, the sports talk host in town and a Penn State alum, said today on the radio, “Temple won’t score a touchdown. They’ll get two field goals. The score will be 20-6.” I hope Missenelli gets a lot of calls from Temple fans on his show Monday.
Pretty smug attitude about a Penn State team that lost to Virginia and Ohio. Virginia got smoked by Georgia Tech, 56-20, and Ohio struggled to beat Marshall, 27-24.
I know Temple will score a touchdown and I suspect the Owls will score several.
If that happens, and the Owls win, forgive me for not feeling sorry for Penn State.

09.20.12
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Early forecast for Saturday: Temple sunshine

While the rain won’t be coming into Philadelphia until dinner time, it should be at Penn State by kickoff.

The early forecast is for rain on Saturday during Temple’s game at Penn State.
They might as well call it Temple sunshine.
Before the season, Penn State lost its top running back, Silas Redd, to a USC transfer.
Early reports this week indicate his top two replacements, Derek Day and Bill Belton, are banged up and might not play.

Bill O’Brien answers a question about the availability of top tailbacks Derek Day and Bill Belton.

Conversely, Temple lost its top tailback, Bernard Pierce, to the NFL draft but replaced him with an arguably better version of Pierce in Montel Harris. Also, Matty Brown, not Pierce, was Temple’s No. 1 all-purpose runner last year.
Unlike two Penn State tailbacks, Harris and Brown are 100 percent healthy and ready to go Saturday (ABC-TV, Channel 6).
As good as Pierce was, not even the biggest Pierce fan (err, me) is ready to say that Pierce would have been the second-leading all-time rusher in the ACC had he played in that conference.
Harris was and would have been the all-time leader had he remained at Boston College for his senior season.
History shows rain tends to dramatically reduce scoring and teams that can run the ball and have a good field goal kicker have a major advantage.
Temple can run the ball and its field goal kicker, Brandon McManus, is a darn sight better than Penn State’s (Sam Ficken). McManus is also a great punter and field position could be especially important under adverse weather conditions.
One of the most infamous times Penn State played a home game in a pouring rain and mud at Beaver Stadium, Navy posted a big upset win, 7-6, in 1974, one year after Penn State beat Navy in Annapolis, 39-0. In the rain, maybe it is a 10-7, 6-3 game and not in a 24-21 range. The last time Temple played in a steady rain was a 12-6 overtime loss to UConn during Hurricane Hanna.
I’ve never placed a bet on a Temple game and probably never will (it hurts enough to lose straight up and covering in a loss doesn’t make me feel any better), but it’s something to consider for those so inclined.
The under looks very appealing, Still, I’ll take any Temple win over cashing in at the payout window.

09.18.12
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What beating Penn State can do for you ….

Steve Addazio talks some Penn State.

There’s an old UPS commercial about what can Brown do for you, which reminds me of what beating Penn State can do for you, a long-time Temple fan.
A strong argument can be made that beating Penn State would mean more to Temple than any other school in the country.

Owls will have to fly to the football like this to beat PSU.

More to Temple than Pitt, more to Temple than Syracuse, more to Temple than Rutgers.
And it has nothing to do with the fact that Temple’s last win over PSU came the same year the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The reason is simple.
Penn State is 250 miles away from Philadelphia, yet the Philadelphia media has for the past half-century treated Penn State as one of the Philadelphia pro teams, not a college team four hours away.
It’s the same media centered no more than one mile south of Temple’s main campus in the former building of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.
At the same time, Temple’s football team was ignored, comparatively speaking.
You can make an argument that Penn State deserved all this coverage and Temple did not, but that argument doesn’t make the lopsided coverage any less aggravating to the average Temple fan.
Temple is the city of Philadelphia’s largest employer, is the largest school in the region the newspapers, TV and radio stations serve, is the largest educator, has the most alumni.
Penn State is largely an outsider getting insider treatment.
I have a feeling Penn State will be an afterthought very soon, but the Lions’ 34-7 win over a solid Navy program gave them some credibility that it did not have after losses to Ohio and Virginia.
Penn State is credible now.
I don’t think they will be by the time the Owls next face them on Aug. 30, 2014. Two years of 15 scholarships will do that to a program.
So this is the year to beat Penn State.
The Lions can still lose to Temple this year and finish with a respectable season in the Big 10. Despite the defections, they have enough talent leftover to be dangerous the rest of the way.
More defections and lack of scholarships will take a larger toll in ensuing years.
The next time they lose to Temple, they will be struggling to 1- and 2-win seasons.
If the Owls want a win over Penn State to mean anything, they better take advantage of the opportunity now.
They might even win back their own town by doing it.

09.17.12
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Game week: Finally

Hopefully, the Owls will have the last laugh on Saturday at Penn State.

In about six days, we’re going to find out the answer to this question:

Are the 2012 Temple Owls more like the team that opened the season with a 41-10 blowout of Villanova or the team that fumbled and stumbled during a disappointing 36-27 loss to Maryland?

I must admit being surprised at the lack of execution against a Maryland team that was ready to be had.
Temple travels to Penn State on Saturday afternoon (3:30, ABC Regional) and brings with it a couple of “secret” weapons in Kevin Newsome and Montel Harris.
Secret to Temple fans because they only saw Harris play a couple of downs against Villanova and Newsome hasn’t played a down yet on offense or defense.
Both, though, are great athletes and potential playmakers who can make a difference against Penn State.
Temple coach Steve Addazio approached Newsome after the loss to Maryland about playing either wide receiver or safety and Newsome was receptive to the idea.
I found the “either wide receiver or safety” comment interesting.
I’ve always felt that Newsome can help the Owls out most as a safety on defense.
There’s no real history of him catching the ball, either at Penn State or in high school, but there is a solid history of him being a playmaker on defense in high school.
Newsome has been taking snaps with the offense, though.
Harris is back to 100 percent since his hamstring pull against Villanova.
More importantly, though, the Owls are going to have to eliminate the mistakes they made against Maryland in order to have the chance to beat Penn State.
Any help that Harris or Newsome can supply would be a bonus.

09.13.12
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Temple’s new scheduling philosophy

Rutgers and South Florida square off on national TV tonight.

When Temple was in the MAC, the non-conference scheduling philosophy was pretty much this:
“We’ll play anyone, anywhere,” taking a page out of the book that John Chaney used to put Temple basketball back on the national map.
 At the Big East press conference on March 12, Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw indicated that the strategy might change a little in future years due to the BCS nature of the new conference. The implication was clear. Temple would scale down the opponent, while trying to keep Penn State on future schedules.
That makes sense.
Still, I hope that Bradshaw doesn’t go all Rutgers on us. (I think, due to Notre Dame’s ACC deal, Temple will likely lose both back-end games of the three-year deal, one that was due to be played at Temple, but those are the breaks in this crazy conference shuffling era. So Temple will have to replace Notre Dame soon, probably with Villanova.)
Rutgers’ philosophy under Greg Schiano was to play the worst 1AA team imaginable (think Norfolk State and North Carolina Central in past years and Howard this year), build some confidence and then attack the Big East schedule.
That philosophy has resulted in no (zero) Big East titles since, well, Rutgers got into the league.
Their fans, though, act like they’ve won multiple titles.
Right now, Temple plays arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in the Big East. Villanova is better than Howard. The Wildcats are also better than Tennessee-Chattanooga (a team South Florida played and beat, 37-15). Penn State could finish in the middle of the Big 10 pack. Maryland could be decent, although we’ll find out if they are able to cover the 1 1/2-point spread vs. UConn this week. I’m not sold on Maryland. Temple made every football folly play imaginable lost by nine.  In fact, I think Villanova is going to beat William and Mary by double digits this year and W&M held Maryland to seven points before losing to Lafayette, 17-14, last week.
The difference between W&M and Temple was that Bill and Mary blitzed  on defense, while Temple didn’t.
There are no Howards or Tennessee-Chatanoogas on Temple’s schedule and I hope that helps the Owls come Oct. and Nov.
Rutgers played Tulane and won, 24-12, but Tulane went out and laid a 45-10 egg to Tulsa the next week. I like the Nevada team South Florida beat, 32-31, so I will have to take South Florida in tonight’s game as well.
Temple will find out where it stands pretty much in the Big East when South Florida comes to town on Oct. 6.
Until then, though, tonight’s game between Rutgers and South Florida might provide some valuable scouting film. Expect to see a lot of empty seats in Tampa, but that’s seemingly only a story line written about when Temple plays home games. The non-conference schedule of both teams might be an indication of where Temple is headed in future years.
Just don’t bring Howard, North Carolina Central, Norfolk State or Tennessee-Chatanooga to town, please.