Rod Carey Has Been Here Before

Rod Carey, to quote Ricky Riccardo talking to Lucy, has some “splaining to do.”

Being beaten this badly in consecutive games is something new to Temple head coach Rod Carey.

That doesn’t mean Carey hasn’t ever rebounded from consecutive losses.

You need to go only back to last year to find Carey’s Northern Illinois team losing consecutive games only to earn his most surprising MAC win in the title game, a 30-29 win over heavily favored Buffalo.

So this staff has been known to bounce back.

Last year, Carey lost consecutive home games to Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan but had already clinched the West Division. In the title game, his team rallied from way down to beat Buffalo.

So they have been here before.

It’s just not has been this bad.

No NIU team in Carey’s six years ever lost games by scores like 63-21 and 45-21. In fact, Carey’s worst regular-season loss in 82 games as an FBS head coach was 48-17 at South Florida in 2016 (the same year Temple beat USF, 46-30).

So, in that sense, this is uncharted territory.

Unfortunately, Temple is not going to win the AAC or even the AAC East this season. Cincinnati would have to implode and that’s just not happening but the Owls can beat their expectations–they were picked No. 4 in the East behind UCF, Cincy and USF. They would be almost assured of finishing ahead of a USF team with a win there exactly one week from now. They are certainly at least as physically talented as USF and Tulane and far more than UConn and proving it on the field would be a nice way to finish out this season.

Screenshot 2019-07-20 at 10.33.54 AM

Owls were picked for fourth and, unless their play improves, that’s just where they will finish.

To do so, they are going to have to find their running game even if they have to manufacture it by attacking defenses with more lead blockers than the defense has to ward off.  They probably won’t do it with the RPO, especially with a quarterback who is better suited without an RPO style offense.

Carey will have had a dozen days to pour over the film and find it out for himself or decide that he’s too stubborn to change anything and forge ahead with the same kind of game plans that resulted in disaster the last two weeks. Look at the Kansas State film above. Is this coaching staff even capable of putting in a fullback play like the one above that helped the Wildcats beat Oklahoma? I think they are, but they will have to earn my trust going forward.

Improvise and adjust have to be the catchwords of this staff now. Otherwise, a nuclear-type implosion is what they will be remembered for this season and no one, especially them, should want that.

Saturday: Game Day Without The Owls

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15 thoughts on “Rod Carey Has Been Here Before

  1. Seems simple from our point of view….coach what you have, not what you want or think you have. I dont know why these guys come in here thinking it will be anything other than smash mouth, run based offense with tough kids that will give you everything if you give them the right opportunity. Ego and arrogance always seem to get in the way. I give credit to MR because he saw the light and spoke about it…he was wrong and said so. From that point on it was trending upward unlike what is happening again….again!

    • Remember, it was Coach Rhule’s second year before he realized he had to change to the power running offense, and then he decided he could not change mid season and had to wait until his third year to implement his Temple TUFF offense which brought us such success.

      • Should not matter. If they can teach Freddy Booth-Llyod a few fullback plays (that worked), they can certainly throw someone like Karamo Dioubate or Dan Archibong back there to help kick-start the running game. If we have no running game, we are doomed. Doomed. We had no running game the last two weeks. Doing the same thing and expecting a running game to magically appear is the definition of insanity.

  2. Unfortunately no fullbacks grace the roster. Jeremiah Nelson is a big TE who previously played RB. Any other Tuff guys who might want to hit hard and play FB? Nick Piccozi? I’d explode with joy to see a K State-like FB run play. You’re correct: RPO is the problem not the solution.

    • Doesn’t matter. It takes two days of practice (if that) to throw a big guy back there and teach fullback techniques. We have the way. We do not seem to have the will and that’s sad.

      • Coach Carey should get a synopsis of your blog (I honestly think that happens). I love watching the OL and blocking backs work magic. Somebody on the roster must like to clear holes.

  3. Watching Game Day before the Baylor game and they pointed out that Rhule’s success is based on a power offense that he used at TU and that such an offense is an outlier in the Big 12 because it’s dominated by RPO teams. Why is this so difficult? Everyone whose a TU fan sees it and the people who should see it and are being paid big bucks to see it don’t. Is it hardheadedness, stupidity, or both? I think it’s more stupidity than anything else. Collins ignored a power offense but for one or two games which he won easily and that’s after getting most a team back that won the conference championship. The offense has proven success at TU and yet TU’s most recent coaches eschew using it. Unbelievable. Frankly, if Carey continues to use the RPO my opinion of him will drop especially because he does not have the personnel to make it run successfully.

    • Also watching the Baylor game. Announcers said “Sean Ryan, one of the go-to receivers for West Virginia, is out” and the young guys have to take over. Ryan probably would have been playing behind Mack and Wright here and maybe even Blue. Yet he is a P5 team “go-to” guy. We’ve got a lot of talent. We’ve got to put points on the scoreboard.

      • A comparison of Brewer and Russo shows two things. Brewer can run so the use of the RPO isn’t a stretch. Russo throws better than Brewer does and yet the coach uses Russo in an RPO. It’s unforgivable.

  4. Send the clip to the OC. Point out it’s still “legal” for two backs to be in the formation.

    • That clip is great, shows serious thought into how to successfully run to set up everything else, chew up clock, etc. More importantly, it accentuates what I always tell young lineman….back side blocks are more important than playside blocks. If you seal the backside you limit the chance of a blind, knockout hit that can change momentum, cause a turnover or even worse….an injury to your ball carrier. Also, it creates tremendous room for a cutback…..make the D defend the whole field……great scheme!

      • Chris Kleinman didn’t win about 100 national championships at North Dakota State for nothing. The guy gets the most out of the talent he has. The fact that Temple didn’t even try to establish the run first against a Loyala Marymount (Paul Westhead days) type fastbreak football team drove me crazy. Can’t establish the run with a RPO or a spread. Just can’t do it. Every great coach will tell you that.

  5. OK who here is OK with a Bye Week now for TUFB ?

    I like the idea of rest, study, regroup and reload for the final parry and thrust of this strange season.

    Does anyone here have severe case of TUFBSDS?
    That would be : ” Temple U Football Sudden Deprivation Syndrome”.

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