Last donations: William B., Phoenixville (12/9/25, thanks William, our first contribution since Oct.) Ed S., New Hope, and Joe S., Drexel Hill thanks to both Ed and Joe; David N., Silver Spring, Md. 10/10/25 (thanks so much, Dave) Brian C., North Philly 9/27/25 ; John from Landenberg (who we sat next to when Temple beat Maryland, 38-7) at the game today 9/6/25 (thanks, John); Jon E., Cincinnati (8/30/25), thanks, Jon; David K., Glen Mills, 8/25/25; Eric B., San Diego 8/23/25; Jay M., Salem Ore. 8/15/25 (proving that Temple Owls are everywhere. Thanks, Jay). Another anonymous donation from the same source (thanks a bunch), 8/10/2025; Anonymous (your generosity is greatly appreciated, much thanks) and Joe F., Nashville, Tenn,, 8/5//25 (thanks, Joe, our first contribution in over a month); Steve B., Rose Valley, Pa., a Temple fan (thanks, Steve, that goes in the pot for a backup laptop if this one goes down Only $300 away), 7/6/25:
Earlier:
6/15/25 (Ed S., New Hope–thanks Ed!!!)
Earlier:
Michael A., Havertown, PA (thanks, Mike); 5/14/25 Anoymous (thanks, much appreciated) 4/25/25, David B., Delaware (owner of the most photogenic dog on the internet and someone who I and the late Phil M. had a great conversation with at the 2012 UConn game… can’t believe how time flies, thanks, Dave!!! will definitely meet up again at the next Temple at Delaware game); Matt P. (former Temple player under Al Golden), 4/21/2025 (thanks, Matt, could not have come at a better time because we have a bill for this site coming 4/30 and did not know how we were going to pay it); Brian, Philadelphia (thanks, Brian for being a long-time reader, sorry I missed you at C&W this year) 4/15/25; Ed S., New Hope, PA (4/6/25; thanks Ed, our first donation in nearly two months);
2/8/25: Anonymous.
Robert G., Quakertown, 12/17/24 and Joe F., Philadelphia, 12/16/24.. thanks for taking some of the sting out of paying to fix this laptop. Much appreciated.
Others:
Brian C., Philadelphia.
Anonymous, Anywhere USA (thanks for the generous donation), 9/2/24; David B., Delaware (8/24/24), thanks, David!) Ed P., Yardley, Pa. (6/20/24) …. thanks, Ed!!
David E., Philadelphia, Pa., 6/19/24 (thanks David); Zamani F., Philadelphia, Pa. June 7 (thanks, Z) Michael A., Havertown, Pa, May 9; John J., South Bloomingville, Ohio May 5; Hill Studios, Paulsboro, N.J. (thanks for breaking the longest time between contributions in TFF history), May 1, 2024 (the three May contributions will keep us afloat through the summer, thanks, Mike, John and Hill Studios it’s great to know people care); Jon E., Cincinnati, 10/11/23 (thanks, Jon); John from Landenburg at the Miami game (in the parking lot no less), 9/23/23. Thanks, John. Great conversation as always.
Two donations on opening day against Akron, one at the game from Ed of Perkasie and one from the greatest punter in Temple history, Eddie L., of the same hometown of Bruce Springsteen (our first contributions since April and they keep this site going; much appreciated); Heriberto S., McDonough, GA, 4/24/23 (thanks, Heriberto!!) Two on 4/14/23 (thanks to Joe F. and Ross M. ); Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla. 2/18/23 (thanks, Tom!!!)Ed P., Yardley, Pa. (1/9/23; thanks, Ed,) Lawrence S., West Chester, Pa., 12/28/22, our first contribution in over a month (thanks Larry, this will help in having to replace the printer we purchased in the summer that went on the fritz); Bob C., Chadds Ford, Pa., 11/27/22 (thanks Bob, our first contribution since September) Ed P., Perkasie, Pa. who donated 9/24/22 at the UMass game and Ed and I both remember and love Pennridge coach Wayne Helman; Joe S. (Delaware County), 9/3/22 (thanks Joe, hope to see you at Lafayette or RU); James G. (thanks James and for all the great posts you make on this site),, 7/29/22: Matt P. (former Al Golden player, thank you Matt for the generous donation it will be put to good use as we will explain in Monday’s post), 6/9/22; Matt F., Horsham, Pa. (thanks, Matt!!), June 6, 2022; David, B., Milton, DE (thanks, Dave), April 11, 2022: Andy B., Philadelphia, Pa. (our first donation of 2022, thanks Andy), March 3, 2022; Ed P., Yardley, Pa. 12/25/21 (thanks, Ed for the Christmas donation); Matt F., no hometown found (“a celebratory donation for Carey’s firing”), 11/30/21 thanks, Matt; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio, 11/29/21 (thanks, Jon for the donation and the great comments on this site); James G., Royersford, Pa. 11/28/21 (thanks, Jim, for the donations and your comments on the website); Anonymous (no home town given but donation really appreciated), 11/20/2021; Roger D., Rehoboth Beach,, Del., 10/24/21; Joe S., Drexel Hill, Pa. 10/3/21 (thanks, Joe) At the BC game (9/18), John from Landenburg (thanks, John for being a great friend of this site for so many years); Three Aug. 21 donations: Eric A (former player), Atlanta, Ga; Anonymous (by request), Cincinnati, Oh; Tim R., Buffalo, N.Y. (sincere thanks to all); David N., Silver Springs, Md (thanks Dave) 7/10/21; former Temple player Matt P., who lives in Columbus, GA now (thanks Matt) 7/9/21; Joe F., Philadelphia (4/7/11, thanks Joe) Matt F., Horsham, Pa., 3/27/21 (thanks, Matt); Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio (1/31/21, thanks Jon) Ed P.,, Yardley, Pa. (thanks, Ed, much appredicated), 1/16/21; Mitchell S. , 12/21/20, our first contribution since (10/8) earlier, Former Owl Bruce G., Flourtown, Pa, who generously donated $100 in “honor” of the Ambler guy 10/8/20; (if they hate you in Ambler, we love you in Flortown,” BG says). Thanks, BG, we appreciate it; Earlier: James G., Philadelphia (7/21/20, thanks James) Robert B., Philadelphia (7/13/20, thanks, Bob, hope to see you at the tailgates again this fall); Previous: Jon E. from Cincinnati 6/15/20, our first donation this calendar year (thanks, Jon); Earlier, John from Landenberg; Kurt B., Wyomissing Hills, PA (former Temple player, 10-15-19) Earlier: David B. , Springfield, PA (9/26/19 … thanks, Dave!) also John from Landenberg (9/21/19); Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla. (8/22/19, thanks Tom!! Also, 10 days earlier, Bob. C and Joe S. and, on June 26, first bowl MVP Mark B.
Earlier: Matt F., Philadelphia; Matt P. (former Temple player) John from Landenberg and Jon E. from Cincinnati
Jay M. no hometown found ; Earlier: William B. Chicago; John from Landenberg, ; Mark B, South Jersey, Joe S, Springfield, PA…,
Also:
Ed P., Perkasie, Pa; and Richard W. (no hometown given); Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Tim C., no hometown available; Bob C., David B., Springfield (Montco); Mark B., from South Jersey; John from Landenberg, Pa.; Joe S., Primos, PA; Thomas W., Palm Coast Fla; Jon E., Cincinnati; Mike S.,no hometown; Ed P., Yardley; William B., Chicago; Matt M., Philadelphia; Matt T.., Oreland; Kevin H., Philadelphia; John from Landenberg, Pa.; Carl M, Silver Spring, Md.;; Brett K., Swedesboro, N.J.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, NY; David K., Malvern; Jon E., Cincinnati ; Jon, SE Ohio; Cordalia and Jim S., Eastampton, NJ.; Herb G., Newport News, Va.; Richard W., Royersford; Matt T., Philadelphia, Pa.; MWB, Mechanicsville, Va.; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; K.J., Alexandria, Va.; Jeff D., Philadelphia,; Michael R., Philadelphia,Matt T, Philadelphia, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.(8 in a row for 8 in a row, thanks EM); Jake and Diane Gicker, Dunmore, Pa.; Ed M., Paoli, Pa.; Adrian R. Sr., Harrisburg, Pa.; Frank M., Marlton, N.J.; Ernie, Millville, N.J.; ; Jay M., Salem, Ore.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Phil E., Lorton, Va; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Matt M., (five donations in a row); Kevin F., Philadelphia, Pa.;Matt M. (three donations in a row, thanks, Matt); Matt M.; Matt M.; Brian C., Philadelphia, Pa.; Matt M., Hometown ;Unknown; David N., Silver Spring, Md.; Matt M., hometown unknown; Frank K., Horseheads, N.Y.; Mike F., Montauk, N.Y.; John, Landenberg, Pa.; Michael B, D.C.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; James G., Philadelphia, Pa.; Michael R., Philadelphia, Pa.; David N., Silver Spring (Md.);
Mark H., Gilbertsville, Pa.; Lisa M., Hummelstown, Pa.; Johnny Who, West Chester, Pa.; John T., Medford, N.J. (formerly North Catholic, Philly); Jon, SE Ohio; Jay M., Salem, Ore.; Dan M., Moscow, Pa.; Cyrus, Oklahoma City; Jon E., Cincinnati; Chris K., Harrisburg, Pa.; Chip M., Silver Spring, Md.; Dave B., Springfield, Pa.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, N.Y.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Ed F., Philadelphia, Pa.; Frank P., Jamison, Pa.; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Matt G., Haddonfield, N.J.; Tom L., Charlottesville, Va.; Thomas S., Landisville, Pa.; Jack D., Haddonfield, N.J.; Heriberto S., McDonough, Ga; Dr. Jim S., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Dick White, Milton, Del.; Matt T., Philadelphia; Jerome S., North Caldwell, N.J.; Mike D., Fairview, N.C.; Tim W., Myerstown, Pa.; Edward P., Yardley, Pa.; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Kurt B., Wyomissing, Pa.; Joe S., Primos, Pa.; Tom S., East Norriton, Pa.; Jon E., Cincinnati, Ohio; Matt T., Yardley, Pa.; Steve C., West Chester, Pa.; Floyd, Blackwood, N.J.; Jim J., Chalfont, Pa.; John, Landenberg, Pa; Jon E., Cincinnati; Ron A., Camp Hill, Pa.; Jay S., Jenkintown, Mr. John H.; Jonathan N., Atlanta, Ga.; Michael E., Levittown, Pa.; Ted D., Media, Pa. Nick and Sharon, Upper Bucks County; Phil E., Lorton, Va.; Todd H., New York City; Alex H., Westport, CT; Joe S., Primos, PA; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Ross M., Garden City, N.Y.; Stanley G., Mountain Top, Pa.; David N., Silver Spring, Md.; Micah F., Philadelphia, Pa.; James S., Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Tom W., Palm Coast, Fla.; Johnny B. at the Hill Studio, Paulsboro, N.J.; Nick C., Philadelphia; Tom C., Birmingham, Ala.; Phil. E. (Fast Phil), Lorton, Va; Jerome S., North Caldwell, N.J.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; George P., Downingtown, Pa.; Edward F., Philadelphia; Bryan S., North East, Pa.; Josh P., West Chester, Pa.; Brent Z., Atlanta, Ga.; David B., Springfield (D), Pa; Lisa M., Hummelstown, Pa.; David H., Pottstown, Pa.; Brian O., Ambler, Pa; Frank P., Jamison, Pa.; Brian C., Philadelphia; Mark B., Manlius, N.Y.; Ted D., Media; Scott J., Columbus, Ohio; Thomas H., Mullica Hill, N.J.; George T., Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Rob G., Fleetwood, Pa; Steve C., West Chester, Pa.; Fred A., St. Augustine, Fla.; Michael S., Westfield, N.J.; John, Landenberg, Pa.; Kent J., Alexandria, Va.; Frank P., Jamison, Pa; Matt G., Basking Ridge, N.J.; Joe S., Primos, PA; Nick and Sharon, Upper Bucks County; John T., Medford, N.J.; Cap P., Finksburg, Md; Coolowl, New York City; Michael B., Washington, D.C.; Oakee, Salem, VA; Rob from Fleetwood; John from New Kensington; Kathyrn, Bloomingville, Ohio; Rockland Owl; Matt, Haddonfield, N.J.; Anthony, New York City; Jason F., Berlin (N.J.); Ed, New Hope; Mark B., Manlius, N.Y.; Mike, Lindenwold, N.J.; Tom C., Birmingham, Ala. Jim, Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Kurt, Wyomissing Hills, PA;
Dave, Ocean City, N.J.; James, Chalfont; Ross, Garden City (N.Y.); Schmitty, Ocean City, N.J.; Sarge (via Schmitty);
Broad Street Leon; Martin, Encino (Calif.); John, Boston; Mike, Susannanoa, N.C.; Francis, Lansdale; Tom L., Charlottesville, Va.; Mark, Gilbertsville, Pa.; Frank, Sebastian, Fla.; George, Toms River, N.J.; Tom, Branchburg, N.J.; Chris, Philly (our first Philly donation!); John, Landenberg, Pa.; Tom S. East Norriton, Pa.;
Temple Football Forever 
After last year i will take any win no matter how we get it. We held a team that put up 70 on NC earlier this year to just 10 points. amazing turnaround from last year where the defense couldn’t stop a pee wee team. Kudos to Snow for turning things around. and just think that the entire starting defense comes back next year.
the offense has to get it together. Walker has regressed a lil bit but he’s just a sophomore. he will improve. the offense did put up 500 yards a game earlier this year. i did notice a few I back sets with Tyson as the blocker.
Matakevich is a beast. and remember he was only a 2 star recruit. Praise Martin, Tavon Young, Alex Wells have stabilized the defense.
Now Mike i noticed u didn’t give Coach Rhule any props for this win. i think your “storm” comment was an underhanded shot at this W. i expected this. Your disdain for him is so obvious. last week he was vilified on here. interesting to see the response he gets this week from the folks on this site who killed him last week.
but i’m not counting my eggs b4 they hatch. we still need one more victory. honestly this team can win all the remaining games. the offense doesn’t have to be great as long as they don’t turn the ball over.
And just remember that this team only has 8 seniors. the top player in the city (Shareef Miller) is seriously considering the Owls. The future is bright.
Way to call it like . It is the other JD
The best nickname I can think of for Tyler off the top of my head is the Mat Truck.
give Rhule credit for his outburst on the officials after they made a bad call on the late out of bounds hit on the ECU QB…, we got every call after…, that was huge
So Temple knocks off a ranked team and all you can give coach credit for is yelling at the official. Unreal. The folks on this board never surprise me with the Matt Rhule is the devil attitude.
You folks that are so touchy whenever you think Rhule is slighted need to give it a rest. I think kj’s point was how Rhule got in the ref’s face right away on that call and set a tone for the game. I sit right above the TU bench and you could see he was pissed and fired up. Not sure if your seat had as good a view of the bench area
Haha…you mean he lost that deer in the headlight look he was accused of by you and the blog posse? Quite frankly we don’t need you jumping on and off the program to soothe your child like ego. You support the coach cause he has the job, not you. RHULE continues to do ok and needs to continue to recruit better talent. That is what wins most football games at the college level.
This game was won because the D played well and the O took care of the ball. The weakness of this team continues to be the O line. Very difficult to get any rhythm when the line gets no push. We had 135 total yards yesterday. We need to recruit some big O linemen this year.
Weather or not….the owls were ready for this game led by the defense. Props to the coaching staff for having the team ready to go against a legit D-1 national power.
I’ve changed my thinking on PJW to being happy he’s not costing us games with bad decisions. I’d like to see him more effectively go through his progressions and find the open receivers but he also doesn’t have any Larry Fitzgerald types running around out there. I also wish he was a step faster so he could better take advantage of the open space that exists in front of him and put the fear of god in opposing DCs but I’m happy with him so long as we’re winning…not just competing.
Congrats owls! Great win.
The biggest win in 16 years. Probably and even bigger win the vtech bc it actually means something. Matt rhule and snow were buried by most of us last season. Its time to give credit were credit is due!! Coach Rhule is bringing in great recruiting classes. He has continued built a solid foundation (in temple terms). And looks to me like the guy that can get this program to the next stage. Competing for confrence titles and cracking the top 25. This season has been exciting. I hate to look ahead but next year maybe something special. All I want now is that HUGE W against penn state. If he gets that this year. This could very well be the single greatest season in temple history. Image 7_5 or 8_4 and wins against vandy, a top 25 team (ECU) and the first win in what 50+ trys against PSU. To me that is more satisfying then the good seasons of al golden and the B.Peirce era!!!! #TEMPLETUFF
will be interesting to see what happens on Friday nite…, can the program put this historic win in the rear view mirror on Monday morning and focus 110% on Memphis? we now know Memphis we re-double their efforts this week in practice
Don’t worry, win or lose the posse will not acknowledge Rhule’s part if they win and vilify him if they lose. Kind of like the old game heads I win tails you lose. In any event I am here on Sunday morning having breakfast listening to Sinatra after a BIG temple win. Now it does not get any better than that and yes I have high hopes for my beloved owls.
JT, kind of like your crowd, every loss is the players fault and the coaching staff is the greatest in all of college football. I was critical of Phil Snow last season and not just because of last seasons defensive performance but his body of work since his time at UCLA, wouldn’t expect your group to know anything about that because it might take a little research. This season I’ve given him kudos for doing a good job with the defense, both in personnel selection and schemes. I’ve the team overall has improved as well I still think Rhule needs to improve as a game day coach and based on just offensive numbers this year compared to last, yes I have some doubts about Satterfield. I do like how your group of posters here can’t just sit back and enjoy the win without going on your usual tirades. No I’m not the coach as you say, the difference I want him to do well but don’t live through him and am emotionally invested in him as you are
Watch the game dude the offense stinks because the o line stinks. Dangerfield calls the plays but players have to execute. The o line is one of the worst I’ve seen in quite a long time at Temple. That is why we have no run game and PJ is struggling. The coaches have figured out that they have to go vanilla on offense and hope the d and special teams can carry the day….like yesterday.
Watch the game dude the offense stinks because the o line stinks. Coach calls the plays but players have to execute. The o line is one of the worst I’ve seen in quite a long time at Temple. That is why we have no run game and PJ is struggling. The coaches have figured out that they have to go vanilla on offense and hope the d and special teams can carry the day….like yesterday.
Before the game yesterday we were all like “the pain was tremendous” and now after the win it’s “there was a hole. I’d never seen a hole playing for Temple, but wait, maybe it’s a mirage.” Oh, the up and down emotions following Temple football! At least at this point we really are having some ups – only the 4th top 25 win in school history. But it still remains to be seen if it’s a mirage or not. Our collective pain sure was evident these last 2 weeks. Now we have hope (after seeing a hole?) that the season really can be a success. I agree Temple can, theoretically, win the rest if they keep playing as they did yesterday – and after watching PSU, they’re for the taking too (our D can smother them). But the big question mark is the O. That long time-consuming drive, mid-3rd quarter really made the win more assured. A few of them a game and Temple really can win (most of) the rest of the games. Also, there were few mistakes, no turnovers, few penalties, few coaching flubs (NO penalties for delay of game, hallalujah!) and just enough (run) offense to do the trick. But the D and special teams were very, very good. Wells was awesome on pass D and Matakevich was, well, just Big Mat. And Mike, maybe, just maybe, Mr. Rhule is listening? (Thanks Mr. Cosby for the “Hofstra” skit lines.)
Love your reference to the old Cosby routine re the pain and the hole! very funny
No JT, I support the university. I know clowns like you were all sitting at home yeaterday watching the game sitting next to your Rhule shrine all smug but answer me this. You and your ilk are always making it a point that superior talent is all that is needed to win in college football. If that is the case why do you even need a coach just recruiters the “top” talent will figure out what to do.
Dude you ever strap on a hat or lace up a cleat at a high level? Didn’t think so. It’s nice to lob hand grenades at something you know little about. Playing Madden makes it look so easy. Hey but you could see the fire in his eyes from the stands. Unreal.
Dude you ever strap on a hat or lace up a cleat at a high level? Didn’t think so. It’s nice to lob hand grenades at something you know little about. Playing Madden makes it look so easy. Hey but you could see the fire in his eyes from the stands. Unreal. You win as a team and . Lose as a team.
Yes I have, but I’m sure your some kind of Madden All-Pro, maybe not with all the double message entries maybe you should have mom come down to the basement and help with the keyboard. So looks like you would even have trouble making that look easy. You just strike me as a prime example of the clueless fools who disagree with criticism of the team but never offer anything but insults back. No I could see how he was acting on the sideline jackass maybe you should ask your parents to put a bigger screen in the basement. I love you clueless fool when you disagree with people here all you do is toss the insults never really state any case. But then again you seem pretty dense about the game
You should coach the team. I am sure they would undefeated. LOL
Another MRA irrelevant response.
Exactly right. Look what’s happening at Michigan and Florida (yesterday excluded) two teams that year in year out have top twenty recruiting classes. Coaching does matter. Yesterday, Ruhle called plays and formations (and please don’t say that he doesn’t call the plays-he’s the head coach and thus is ultimately responsible for what occurs on the field) that were not used previously and that led to two scores. In the last two games they got inside the five six times and kicked two field goals and only got 1 td. If people on this web site saw that he needed to use a two back set and get the tight end more involved, why didn’t the coaches? That’s why the coaches are criticized by many of us on this site.
Oh, and by the way, the kids didn’t play at all like they were shaken. They played tough, aggressive and careful football. The coaching gets a lot of of the credit for that.
Heck, Rhule went 2 backs (at least 40 percent of the time, maybe between 40-50) and won. maybe he is learning on the job. love to see him go two backs 100 percent of the time against Memphis, then throw off play-action. I think he’ll find Temple receivers getting open A LOT more in that scheme than in the strictly all-spread he ran against Houston and UCF. Uconn proved that you can beat UCF by running the ball and throwing off the run. We may have learned that lesson a week late, but better late than never. It’s not always about the Jimmies and Joe’s; it’s ALSO about the x’s and o’s. the two backs give us one extra blocker and we need that.
As point out below, that’s why the coaches deserved criticism because they adopted a strategy that many on this site have been calling for for weeks.
Good point, even with the yardage ECU was gaining you just never got the feeling that the D would break
JT, YAWN, now you’re just getting tedious, no surprise there. I would suggest you coach the team being the Hall of Fame material you portray yourself as, but I get the feeling you would have a hard time finding the stadium….ZZZZZZ
Last week it was posted on here that anyone who was praiseful of the coaches should shut up. Wouldn’t the reverse be true this week? Better yet, how about if we just enjoy the ride? Maybe it is a process.
It’s sort of nuts to praise coaches when it’s clear that they are doing a poor job. This week they deserve praise because they changed things up and implemented schemes more conducive to success. The problem is that they should have used a two back scheme, threw to the tight-end, rolled out PJ, and took time off the clock to give the D a break three games ago. Had they done that against Navy it would have been a win. So you keep making excuses for bad coaching. That’ll really advance the coachin. .
If Rhule actually listens to what is said on this board, then his classification as a “blockhead” is right on the money.
I’m with you at least on the enjoy the ride.
I will be the first to admit that I am no expert, but I see improvement in this team in a number of areas. First, PJ finally started throwing the ball away out of bounds when he was in trouble instead of trying to make plays that were not really there leading to interceptions. That was a big improvement.
Second, the deep pass defense has improved. Our defenders were right there with the receiver on the deep passes and broke them up. Last year the deep passes killed us.
Third, the defensive line is much better in passing situations. I think we still have too many three man rushes, but there is much more pressure on the opposing quarterbacks than last year.
I think there is still need for improvement in both the play on the field and the coaching. First, as is mentioned here frequently, the O line is not playing very well, particularly in run blocking. There are ways to compensate for this and I think John and Mike’s ideas about two back sets are helpful in this regard.
Second, the defense still plays way off of the wide receivers allowing teams to get open looks in short passes. We were lucky that the ECU defenders were having trouble catching the ball on Saturday.
Third, the tackling, particularly against the run, with a few exceptions such as Matakevich, is still poor. There are many broken tackles, leading to many extra yards for the other team. I think this is a combination of poor training and poor execution.
Yesterday’s game leaves me optimistic that we can get bowl eligible, however be careful about reading too much into that victory. 5 times their drives were stopped by their inability to hold onto the ball, not by our defense. Yes, we were trying to strip the ball, and took advantage of the miscues, but I think the rain and the wet ball helped us, something we cannot count on regularly. They still were able to get over 400 yards offense. We were lucky they could not put together an error free drive until the game was virtually over.
Let us enjoy the win. Congratulate the players and coaches for the victory, but not assume there is no room for improvement by both the players and the coaches.
Geerson do you read what you write. No one said he reads the board and adopts strategy from it although he should have weeks ago. He was a blockhead for failing to do it sooner and for not recognizing the advantages of the strategy advocated here.
Do you proofread your own posts?
Didn’t know we were being graded on typing. Yet another irrelevant comment.
Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles are working miracles in Arizona.
so they call folks who think Coach Rhule should be giving time to implement his process, players, systems, MRA. Then i have a name for the folks who blasted the Rhule hiring. blasted him all last year (although a lot of was justified) and continue to blast him this year even though we are one win from a bowl game. lets refer to them as MRH. Matt Rhule Haters!
MRH! those who have so much disdain for our coach no matter what he does. Temple loses then place all blame on him and his coordinators. those who will never get over Temple hiring him. those who don’t believe in giving a coach 3/4 years to get his recruits, systems, process in place. those who thought he shoulda been fired last year.
and if Temple wins then its somehow because of the weather. or the teams we played were horrible. or he finally listened to Mike or John ideas.
i don’t know what these MRH gonna do if he turns this program around because i will be here to remind them every single win of there previous disdain for Coach Rhule.
The other JD, I don;t hate Matt Rhule, he seems like he sincerely wants to build a successful program here unlike his predecessor. With this post I wouldn’t put you in the MRA category.To me MRAs wouldn’t make the statement you had in parenthesis above, on the flip side of how you categorize MRHs, for MRAs it always the players fault and never put any blame or tolerate any criticism of the coaches. I’ll be honest given a choice when Temple made the hire my preference was Todd Bowles, for the simple fact that between the 2 there wasn’t a whole lot to go on as to who would be the better coach and I liked the idea of hiring a Temple guy for a change.
I had posted here at the time of his hire what those who were totally gaga about it, why they felt that way and you could never get more than “he wants to be here” and “won’t leave if successful”. They also wouldn’t say “if he turns the program around. On 3/4 years, I guess it’s splitting hairs with you but I think in this day and age year 3 needs to be showing major progress in a program. Right now, if the best the team does is 6-6 (after yesterday I think 7-5 is a solid possibility) I’ll still say the program made significant progress based on the following:
1. I figure a 6-6 record has them beating Tulane, in that case they improved over last year by beating the teams they “should” beat.
2. Beat a top team in the conference
3. Beat a team they weren’t supposed to. I don’t care if Vanderbilt has turned out to be a bad team, Temple was the underdog, it was at Vanderbilt and they just came off a 9 win season
Next year I would look for the team to get more competitive at the upper end of the conference. One last point, if some of the folks posting here don’t like the tone of this blog why don’t you pony up the $99 and just subscribe to Owlscoop. Anyone who has read this post for any length knows Mike’s position on Temple football and I disagree I don;t think you will have to remind him after every single win. The one big difference between MRA and MRHs is that most MRHs will man up and give kudos to the staff and the process when a larger body of work shows the program has really turned the corner. If on the other hand things would go south, after all Jerry Berndt even had a 7-4 season, MRAs will never question the process.
What the MRAs don’t get is that the criticism isn’t personal. In fact, most of those who write and have had the pleasure of meeting Coach Ruhle and the other coaches would say that they are some of the nicest guys around. And if they were coaching your kids’ teams one couldn’t be happier. Nevertheless, Matt Ruhle is making in excess of a million dollars a year and through him the team has done things that defy football logic. It took to the ECU game to employ a bend but not break defensive strategy even though there were four hail marys last year. It took to the ECU game to run a two back set even though the personnel was there the whole time and likely would have made a difference against Navy, Houston and CFU. It took to the ECU game to take time off the clock and give the defense a rest. That was fatal against Navy and most of the people I watched the game with, many of whom are high school coaches, pointed out the brevity of the offense’s drives, which has a deleterious effect on the defense. Yesterday, the announcers on TV noticed the change of pace. Savvy coaches would have adopted a different strategy after the Navy game not the ECU game. And when non-coaches can see things that would only better the team before the coaches do, it is only fair to criticize the coach in his role of a coach. Most, if not all, of those who criticize him uniformly praised him for the job he did yesterday and rightly so. So please, go to the other web site so you and the other clueless people can bemoan what the meanies here are saying when the coaches so obviously screw up.
Amen John.
Absolutely well said John. That perfectly sums up my feelings as well. It has nothing to do with him personally. What MRA’s don’t seem to get is that we arent asking him to make us a top 10 team overnight. It’s a complete lack of fixing the low hanging fruit on a week to week basis.
can we focus on Memphis? Even with a loss to Temple, Memphis will probably finish the year at 8-4…, now that is how you turn a program around…, worse case Temple losses to Memphis and finishes the season at 6-6.., is that progress? certainly yes, but compared to what? Memphis beats Temple and finishes at 9-3.., the same Memphis team Temple crushed last year…, what is the difference? Robbie Anderson
hey guys, Memphis beat Cincinnatti this year
kj, I do think if the team ends up 6-6 that does show progress. It would be a little disappointing after beating ECU getting so close to a winning record and not being able to achieve it. That being said and 6-6 finish puts Temple probably 6th up from 10th in conference standings from last year. plus beat 2 teams were Temple was underdog including the top team in the conference. So from a year over year perspective, we’re progressing. Losing to Memphis, I guess the question would be how, tight game or blow out and does even a loss overshadow beating ECU. As far as Memphis turning things around, and while I’m sure to the clueless minority whining on this blog I’m an MRH, the one difference that I think is big with Memphis vs. TU is that this is Fuente’s 3rd year. That being said if Memphis ends up 9-3 then after a 6-6 season at Temple, would be totally realistic to expect a 9 maybe 10 win season for 2015 from the Owls.
I don’t care if MR reads this site or not. all I know is that I’ve been screaming for him to run the football, go 2 backs, roll p.j. out and hit the te off play action and he did all of those things–for the first time–against ecu. if that formula continues, we will have a winning team. if we fall back into the three wides philosophy with no protection for p.j. and try to make him a stationary target, we will limp to 5-7. I don’t care how rhule figured it out. I’m just glad he did before it got too late.
Mike, offense used the I a good bit, plus the roll outs with PJ throwing to Thompson looked good, hit for one big pass and just missed on another. Mix that up with the screen series and suddenly you start to get a little diversity in the offensive scheme. I think the ECU game was the most I’ve seen the TE as a target this season.
Western Michigan is 6-3…., ESPN said it best… college football is about coaching the talent you have and devising schemes for the talent you coach…, I watched TCU beat WVU…, talent level was just about dead even.., same for ol Miss vs Auburn….,
we will beat Memphis if we do these three things:
1. don’t turn the ball over
2. have less than 50 yards in penalties
3. make all of our FGAs
we only accomplished one of those three things and still beat ECU. this is the kind of football team we have this year. we are a team minus a game breaker so we must play fundamentally sound football. we have the talent to win ugly.
been watching college football for 40 years, so heck what do I know?
But kj, have you ever strapped on a hat or laced up a cleat……LOL
Great points by the way
great points, too. there are no Matt Rhule Haters. Our criticism of him was scheme-oriented, not personal. Now that he has (seemingly) adopted the really only scheme that can work with this present personnel grouping, we can move on to Memphis, which might be a bigger challenge than PSU. I’m excited to see what a Temple team that rolls out P.J., hits the tight end, uses a blocking back to lead the way for Jahad can do … not excited with the Tennessee-Chattanooga offense we rolled out for Houston and UCF.
Fastphil, a sensible accounting. The O still did a poor job but they made very few mistakes – just look at the stat comparisons and not breaking 200 yards is pretty bad. But that 3rd quarter drive should be the example of what to strive for – it ate up clock, no turnover and resulted in a TD. Do that just a few times a game instead of just once and the wins will come.
This MRA vs MRH thing is getting ridiculous – even stupid. C’mon guys we ALL are frustrated Temple fans who just want to see some success, even sustained success. But calling each other names and turning this blog into a personal debate forum is just silly. Look, MRAs get giddy when something, anything, good happens and MRHs, while very practical or analytical, are more negative . But like I said we all want the same results. I truly believe because of all facets of the situation (poor fan base, limited funds for facilities and player bennies, poor history, etc., etc. Temple will probably never have a truly top program year after year. And I for one can live with that. But what gets old is sustainably lousy seasons! Moderate success would make me (a 45+ year fan) very happy. What that means is winning seasons (even if just barely), bowl games (even if lower level ones), cracking the top 25 fairly often (even if not every season or the entire season), etc. You know, bring some respectability to the university instead of feeling embarrassed most of the time but at once hoping for better. If Temple wants a Div. 1 program and spend all that money doing it, it should meet the criteria I outlined here, because I really feel it’s possible at Temple. To me the jury is still out on Rhule. We all need to wait out the season and see what happens. There are some good things happening but results are what count and we’re just not done getting the results. So, patience to see what’s going to happen is what we all need.
Just wanted to point out that when we ran out of 2-back sets…we had little success. I think virtually all of those runs either went for 0,1, or 2 yards. But the emphasis on the run, esp with PJ struggling, is exactly what I was hoping for…and I was pleasantly surprised to see it. I think the two biggest problems with the offense is the offensive line and our WRs. Our WRs get little to no separation, outside of Fitzpatrick occasionally. Thankfully, Thompson seems to be returning to his old form and we desperately need his play-making ability going forward. Most people like to blame Satterfield’s scheme, but the play doesn’t matter if the players can’t get open. Just watch all the patterns during the play, everyone is blanketed almost every time.
Coaching AND recruiting are immensely important at the college level. Mike always likes to point out several small school coaches that have had success recently. However, put Temple in the Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC, etc and tell me we wouldn’t win at least 8 games a season with this this current team and coaching staff…just look at our season in the MAC previously. The point is that no matter how good the coach is, if he doesn’t have the adequate players, the team can only be so good. Similarly, if the players are talented, without good coaching, the team can only be so good (see Florida). While I think Rhule is pretty far from being a great coach and has many areas to improve on, I do believe in where he is taking Temple and the improvement he has made in his own coaching and the recruiting classes.
Also, this whole labeling people a “MRA” is so petty and childish. Most of you guys are probably in your 40s and argue like your 5 years old, I was labeled a “MRA” even though I have openly criticized Rhule and his staff when warranted. So basically, if you show any support or facts in favor of Rhule you are an “MRA”, Even though there is far more biased Rhule hate than Rhule love on this site. It is time for us to be a more unified fan base and stop with all the divisive terminology all the time. A large part of why I don’t post much on here is because I got tire of all my opinions being labeled “MRA” even when I took a lot of time to support them with actually facts and statistics.
Great win against ECU…now on to Memphis!
Both of Jon and Matt’s posts really have some great points. Jon, I agree with you on coach Rhule, don’t know yet how well he will do long term, I think he is moving in the right direction from an overall program perspective and I think 2015 will give a really good indicator as far as results go. I am probably in the same position as you as to what I can live with as well, a level of success like Schiano was able to achieve at Rutgers. If you look at his record over 11 years he basically achieved a .500 record. If Rhule can build a program here that is consistent winning 4/5 (you are going to have those years where you have to “reload”) to 8 games consistently, with maybe an occasional ranked season, over the 40 years I’ve been following Temple football that would be fine. As I said to folks during the Bobby Wallace nightmare, just put together a program that is competitive and not an embarrassment, one where you at least feel that you are going to be in every game and have a chance to win.
Matt, as I’ve said in previous posts, I don’t consider poster like you to be an MRA. I may disagree with you but you always support your position. So maybe at times I can convince you of mine, you convince me of yours or we just agree to disagree. It’s the people who post disagreeing with any and all criticism of the coaching yet never support their position with any facts, metrics, etc. that are just plain annoying. I do think the problems on offense are a combination of both poor execution, especially the offensive line and some bad play calling, a couple of series in the red zone against UCF were just dreadful regardless of execution. On the flip side, as you said not a lot of yardage gained from the 2 back sets Saturday but it shows the staff being flexible and doing something different. Something like those sets only need to be used enough to give the opposing defense something else to think about.
Again, I don’t think it’s Rhule hate, you can’t tell anyone who posts here or the other boards wants him to fail. It’s just that I know having been a student during the Hardin era and getting a taste of being respectable again under Golden, it does get tough at time hearing non stop excuses from some.
i respect everyone takes. The only things that kills me about this site is after every loss this season Rhule is short of the devil. he’s an idiot. a blockhead. a fool. a moron. he has no clue what he’s doing. etc, etc.
but after every (5) wins its the usual well he finally ran a 2 back set or well they supposed to have won, or the weather helped the team, or the teams they beat r bad.
i feel its a sense of delusion by some folks. a delusion that thinks that Temple is the type of program that can fire a coach after one season. like Temple with all its winning tradition has that type of clout.
This team was in the MAC 3 years ago. i think about 40% of the players are MAC recruited players. but the delusion has folks thinking we are supposed to enter a better conference and just win every game.
last year was a disaster. thats why u guys never heard from me even though i read this site faithfully. but i understood there were gonna be growing pains (although losing to Fordham/Idaho was unexplainable)
i came into this season looking for progress from the coaching staff & players. i figured if we could make a bowl game that would be a huge improvement. so far i see huge improvement from Snow & the defense. and by the way as bad as he was vilified last year (Snow) i don’t see a lot of praise for his defense this year. the offense has regressed but as long as they don’t turn the ball over we can be in the game. and sooner or later PJ is gonna breakout of his slump. and i also notice that no int is PG fault. its all the coach fault. which is funny bcuz I’m also a Eagles fan and every Foles INT is his fault. i never hear Eagles fans say that its Chips fault. he put Foles in a bad position. but i digress.
Lastly i’m not a MRA or a MRH. Iike i said b4 i’m a give any coach 3/4 years to get his recruits, implement his plan and work his process. next year i’m expecting even bigger success with just 8 seniors on our current roster. after next season i will then start making judgement on Coach Rhule and his staff.
but if he gets us to a bowl this year with this young team then hopefully he will FINALLY get some props from some folks on this site.
Other JD: This may sounds all kumbaya but I’m just glad everyone on here is active in the discussion, passionate about Temple Football, and showing up on gameday. I too read the website vigorously for quite some time and only recently began commenting.
I have no qualm with anyone waiting to form their opinion nor forming one now based on what evidence we have. Fact of the matter is Rhule won’t be fired and I don’t think anyone on here is asking for that. They just want to see a ROI (return on investment) on his $1million contract, which I’m sure a bowl eligibility would alleviate.
With ECU now behind us we need to focus on Memphis. This season could well mark a change in Temple Football and I can’t wait to go to the game and support our team!
Though fans cry “We the T” I always like “Tempel Tuff” much better. And that’s exactly what we will need to be to win on Friday!
At this point, I’m just going to enjoy playing meaningful games in November and December for the first time in 3 years.
Speaking of “beasts” on defense, no one has mentioned Ionnidis. He’s been doing a great job, even runs guys down from behind and helps clog things up in the middle. I think he’s an NFL prospect.
I was so excited at the end of the game I’m not sure if I saw this right. Did Rhule run the clock down, get a delay of game penalty just to take no chances? I think that’s smart. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it before, though I have thought about it as a strategy. Whatever it takes. I have to admit I was nervous right to the end since Temple has a history of unbelievable things happening to lose close games. So I’m glad he did that ,if that actually happened. Geeesh, this is sounding stupid.
It did appear that way Jon, everybody on the TU sideline had a look of no urgency with the clock running down. Agree smart move to make why take a chance to put the ball in play one last time when you don’t have to.