06.23.23
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Owls ready for Prime Time?

In exactly one month and a day from now, the AAC will be holding its Media Day in Arlington, Texas.

I’ve seen the Temple football Owls picked anywhere from fourth in the league to eight and the anticipation for the season is the highest since the 2019 Owls finished 8-5.

Great interview with E.J. Warner here.

That’s a tip of the hat to the way Stan Drayton had the Owls competing in games for the first time since then. It might be at least one of the reasons that Temple already has three prime-time games lined up for television.

The folks at the networks do not want to be burned by a non-competitive game under the lights and the way Temple played bowl teams East Carolina and Houston late in the season was enough to convince them that Temple was a pretty good risk for that hour.

If the Owls beat Akron and Rutgers and play Miami tough, more moveable prime-time games are sure to follow.

Right now, they have all the ingredients for success in that they have a quarterback with the “it” factor in E.J. Warner. The “it” factor simply is this: You look at a quarterback and know he can make positive plays regularly. That’s a rare factor and only about 10 percent (or less) of college football quarterbacks have it. Warner, particularly over the last few games, showed he can do that. It also helps that he is the son of a Super Bowl-winning NFL Hall of Fame quarterback and gives play-by-play and color guys another talking point to hype the game.

Plus, Drayton has done one of the better jobs in the Group of Five holding a team together. Of the 20 players who left for the portal, only three have landed at FBS schools. The other 17 dropped down a level and that’s an indication that, overall, the Owls have a better roster. Meanwhile, those 20 have been replaced largely by P5 and FBS players.

The first of the three-night games currently on the schedule is at Rutgers at 7:30 on the Big 10 Network. The Owls lost that game last year, 16-14, but that was Warner’s first full game as a college quarterback and, although he battled through it, he was 10x a better quarterback five games later than he was then.

The next two are at Tulsa Sept. 28 and home to SMU on Friday, Oct. 20.

If Temple is able to field a competitive team, the ratings should follow. The highest-rated prime-time college football game in the history of Philadelphia involved Temple (Notre Dame, Oct. 31, 2015).

Considering the fact that three prior Penn State vs. Notre Dame games were also on prime-time TV in Philadelphia since 1986, that’s an indication that Temple, when competitive, is the best draw in the nation’s fourth-largest market.

There is only one top 10 TV market not having a Power 5 team and that’s the fourth-largest one. The fact that Temple was the X factor in a game against Notre Dame proves that only Temple can deliver huge numbers in that market.

Winning a championship is, of course the goal, if not this season but next. Still, getting national folks used to the notion that Temple football is back is the first step toward that. Winning in prime time would certainly help

That’s a big reason why the TV people are gambling on Temple to be good again. From their lips to God’s ears.

Monday: The most optimistic projection so far

8 thoughts on “Owls ready for Prime Time?”

  1. Well lets just hope “the TV people” are right! I guess following Temple football for over half a century I always have doubts about it’s competitiveness on a national scale. So to me this season will be a “wait and see” – sorry, I just can’t help it. I think some of the newcomers into the AAC will be tough to beat but I have my fingers crossed none-the-less and can’t wait for Sept. 2.

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  2. “There is only one top 10 TV market not having a Power 5 team and that’s the fourth-largest one.” wow, was not aware, thx!

    TU has all the right G-5 ingredients and metrics to ascend.., apathy is the Biggest enemy. Apathy from the student body and BOT.

    Drayton should have replaced MR.., arguably we wouldn’t be in this situation.

    IMHO, the P5 ship sailed on the BOT’s barfed OCS attempt. Took the wind out of the program; and, more importantly the energy out of the BOT. It also raped $$$$$ alumni support for athletics.

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    • Unfortunately, Stan went for the job three times … after Golden, after Collins and after Carey. He did not go for the job after Rhule but you are right that was the moment for Stan.

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      • I asked one of the coaches during the MR yrs why the offense was so boring. He told me, “it’s how we win. Our defense is great, our O is tough and puts the D in great field position.”

        I had always thought it as the other way around, the D’s job was to leave the O with good field position. MR’s complementary football played to the strength of his team.

        What is Drayton’s idea of complementary football? Dunno. TUFB 2023 Identity, what is it? Dunno.

        MR built a dominant O line and ran the football. He took an undersized option QB out of HS and developed him into an NFL pocket passer.
        MR = Teach, Coach, and Mentor. TU Hall of Fame worthy.., the sad reality is we may not ever win another championship.

        Drayton did what MR did in his first season, anoint his program QB. So important and underrated in significance.

        Now what about Identity? TUFB historical culture is running the football with a dominant O line.

      • It’s not only the path forward for Temple. It’s the path forward for any G5 team hoping to compete with a P5 program. Control the clock with the running game, limit the possessions of the faster quick-strike teams, play great defense at the point of attack. It does not have to be the triple option Navy, Army and Air Force have perfected. It just has to be an offense that controls the clock with the run then hits the bad guys with play-fakes and explosive downfield plays in the passing game. I haven’t seen any evidence of that philosophy with Drayton (nor Carey) and that’s a huge concern.

  3. I like Stan Drayton, and from what I perceive from afar he seems like an old fashioned ‘good guy’. We wish him success in this sewer pit he volunteered for…. TU football, what a mess, sort of like old 1990’s TU football under that other nice guy, Dickerson.

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    • The “mess” is the money every P5 program is throwing at these kids. The only redeeming grace is that Temple is in about the same boat with the other AAC teams which means winning an AAC title is within reach as a goal at least for a couple of years.

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