01.01.16
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Owls’ Top Plays of 2015

Penn State v Temple

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

In a long but historic season, limiting the great plays Temple’s football team to just five is an impossible task. Some just made the cutting-room floor, like All-American linebacker Tyler Matakevich’s two tipped interceptions against Cincinnati and a clutch fourth-down catch against Notre Dame by Robby Anderson. These five plays stood out as the team tied a school record for 10 wins.

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  1. John Christopher’s Throwback Pass

After Penn State took a 10-0 lead, the Owls scored 27-str

to win, 27-10. The key play in the drive that tied the game at 10-10 was a wide receiver throwback from John Christopher to quarterback P.J. Walker that was good for 25 yards and a first down on their second drive in the second half.

Memphis v Temple

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Kip Patton’s Tight End Reverse

The Owls absolutely had to win a late-season game against visiting Memphis and Kip Patton’s 13-yard score on a tight-end reverse sealed it in the fourth quarter. That put the Owls up, 21-12, and Austin Jones added a 35-yard field goal to make it 24-12 on the next drive. Patton is the kind of athlete who the Owls will have to get in space in 2016.

Notre Dame v Temple

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

  1. Brandon Shippen’s Spin

In the highest-rated college football game in the history of Philadelphia television, senior wide receiver Brandon Shippen made one of the biggest plays, catching a ball at the Notre Dame 2-yard line. He appeared to be stopped just short, but maintained his balance, bounced off two tacklers and spun in the end zone, reaching the ball across the goal line.  The Owls lost, 24-20, but led with 4:41 left in the game.

Tyler Matakevich, Temple, Notre Dame,

  1. Tavon Young to Tyler Matakevich

In the same game against Notre Dame, the Irish were driving in the first half with a chance to go up 21-10 but cornerback Tavon Young reached around Will Fuller to break up a touchdown. With the ball in the air, Tyler Matakevich was opportunistic enough to pick it out of the air and return it out of further danger.

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  1. Sharif Finch Fools Christian Hackenberg

Perhaps the play that made the Owls true believers against Penn State was with the score tied at 10-10 and PSU quarterback Christian Hackenberg dropping back. Hackenberg never saw Owls’ defensive end Sharif Finch, who dropped back in coverage and returned an interception to the 2. The Owls then took a 17-10 lead.

10 thoughts on “Owls’ Top Plays of 2015”

  1. nice memories.., you probably could add one or two of the Romond Deloatch’s td catches if the list expanded to the top 10..,

    how can we keep Finch healthy and on the field? does anyone know how serious his knee issues are? seems like all he does is make plays…,

    the one thing i miss about BP and Rod Streater is their ability to make the big long play.., think this offense could use an infusion of more 35+ yard plays to keep the safeties deep, and instill the fear of missing a tackle..,

    Reply

    • As I said in a prior post, the lack of a deep ball offense was most perplexing given the athletes at the position. Something could and should have been concocted to get Robbie Anderson or some other receivers free on long passes given the speed of some of these kids. Will be interested in seeing if Owls picked up any more higher rated recruits when the dead period ends.

      Reply

      • are we in the dead period now, when does it end?

      • PJ could never put the ball in the receivers hands on the deep routes. He missed a lot of wide open receivers this year. His new year’s resolution could be to lay it out there.

      • Concerning the dead period, until January 13, 2016, coaches can’t meet face to face with players because of the bowl games. It is perceived to be unfair to those teams in bowls because the coaches are involved in getting teams ready to play.

  2. PJ is a great athlete, the offense we are playing now marginalizes his true skill set.., one or two things, either get a pro set pocket passer with an accurate rocket arm, or put more option reads into the playbook..,

    you can’t put a pocket passer in a run/pass option offense and expect your offense to be consistent..,

    conversely, you can put a run/pass option QB into a pro style pocket passing offense and expect consistency.., we have to tweak our offensive philosophy or make a change at QB…,

    Greg Ward is a great QB for the system Houston runs, but he would be just average in the Temple offense.., PJ would be as good if not better than Ward if he were in the Houston offense..,

    Satterfield and Rhule must figure this out

    Reply

  4. P.J. completed two of the most beautiful long bombs I’ve ever seen a Temple quarterback throw, but both were in the 2014 season–one at UConn, one at PSU, both to Jalen Fitzpatrick. Fifty yards in the air, right on the money. The difference was they rolled him away from the pressure on both plays and he was better able to see the field. Next year, roll him out of the pressure and he won’t have to look over 6-foot-5 pass rushers. Give him a run/pass option if nothing is available downfield. That would drive defenses nuts and still enable a run to be established with Jahad following Nick on other plays.

    Reply

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