A win is a win is a win, they say.

There are exceptions to every rule.

One of them came Saturday in Temple’s 41-7 win over perhaps … perhaps .. the worst FCS school playing today, Wagner.

The win told us a few things, some we knew, some we didn’t.

One, Miami of Florida, for all of Manny Diaz’s faults, is significantly better than Temple.

Diaz took care of business in a 69-0 win over Central Connecticut State.

Central Connecticut State beat Wagner, 21-19, earlier this season.

Another is that Buffalo of the MAC is significantly better than Temple. Buffalo beat Wagner, 69-7, and took care of business in the first, not second, half.

The fact that Temple allowed this team a 7-0 lead and the game was respectable at halftime is a total and utter disgrace.

But we’ve come to expect that under Rod Carey at Temple.

Now we’re onto the American Athletic Conference portion of the schedule and we can only pray that the Owls know their shortcomings and strengths and act on both.

The one consolation that I can see in this is that the Owls were without two of their best players–in my mind their two best–Randle Jones and Jadan Blue.

Maybe they make a difference at Homecoming next week, maybe not.

All I know is that Blue caught three touchdown passes against Memphis in a 41-29 loss last year and his presence in the lineup next week makes the Owls that much better.

Blue sat out Saturday due to “concussion protocol” but, according to one member of the team who talked to him prior to the game, Blue told him it is “100 percent” that he will be back for the Memphis game. Jones probably also will be back.

I spotted “The Owls” after ⁦@Temple_FB⁩’s win today! #OwlsAreEverywhere https://t.co/uRCqYPyd4D—
Dr. Jason Wingard (@JasonWingard) September 25, 2021

That’s comforting.

Also comforting is the fact that D’Wan Mathis will not have to take the bad taste in the mouth of an 8-for-24 performance against Rutgers into the all-important league opener.

That’s important because Mathis strikes me as the kind of guy who needed a confidence-builder going into a big game. Put it this way. In his time on the field last year, he had more interceptions than touchdown passes and this year he did not look much better.

You can be Joe Namath in practice but if your resume in “real games” isn’t impressive, your confidence probably is shaken as well.

Now Mathis can take a little swag into probably the best-attended game of the season and a lot of people rooting for him.

Also, he will probably be unleased to run, something Memphis has not seen on film.

Whether that will be enough to beat Memphis is questionable at best.

What is not questionable is that the Owls will have to play their best game to do so and, to date, that has not happened.

Monday: What to expect