11.03.24
by

Will Temple have a press conference if it finishes 2-10?

Stan talks about the American Conference here but doesn’t make any promises about the bottom line.

Even though Temple football didn’t play over the weekend, the results on the field elsewhere in the American Conference don’t paint a rosy picture for the bottom line.

Tulsa, a team Temple beat, was manhandled by a bad UAB team. UTSA, a team that some thought was a possible win down the line, beat Memphis in the same stadium the Owls have to visit.

So the Tulsa win may have been overvalued and, while the team might have had thoughts of a win at UTSA, that becomes less likely by the way the Roadrunners looked against Memphis.

Two and 10 is a definitely possibility now and you’ve got to wonder if Temple will even do what “normal” schools do when a coach goes 3-9, 3-9, and 2-10: Hold a press conference and bring in another head coach.

That’s not a given.

Drayton was optimistic going into the season as the above video shows but the results are the results.

“I’m excited about this football team,” Drayton said three months ago. “This off-season we were able to put together a roster that enhanced our football team.”

That may be so, but the bottom line is the bottom line. You have to win. Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.

Why is Temple 2-6 if the roster is enhanced? Doesn’t that seem to imply it is the coaching?

“We had some major voids in the defensive line and the offensive line,” Drayton said back in July. “We’ve gotten bigger. We’re not trying to find excuses. We’re setting some standards that are really high.”

The Owls head to Tulane, which has only lost to Oklahoma and Kansas State, as 25.5-point underdogs. Tulane probably is the most physically talented team the Owls will have faced all season, with the possible exception of Oklahoma.

IF … and this is a big IF … the Owls have one win left in them, it looks like maybe a home win against FAU but Tom Herman also is thinking the same thing about Temple.

Drayton can avoid that departing press conference by beating FAU, UTSA and North Texas but now that seems as likely as those teams beating Alabama, Georgia and Texas.

The gap appears to be that large.

A normal school would have a press conference to say something to the effect that Drayton is a great guy but the number on the left hand side of the win column never exceeded the number on the right side and that’s why we have to move on.

It will be impossible to sell any season tickets coming off 1-6, 3-9, 3-9, 3-9, and 2-10 years. The crowds have eroded from respectable to nearly non-existent over those years. This is a fan base that got used to going to bowls on a regular basis between 2009 and 2019. These fans can take one or two years of building, but not five consecutive ones.

You know that. I know that. The question is, “Does Temple know that?”

Or does Temple even care?

While that press conference three months ago was nice, the one at the end of the year appears to be a necessity now.

Friday: Tulane Preview

8 thoughts on “Will Temple have a press conference if it finishes 2-10?”

  1. Two things are certain.

    One, Fry has stated priorities, athletics didnʻt make the cut. An important clue to watch, will Fry travel to the Tulane game?

    Two, Drayton is bad. TUFB will continue on a downward spiral on his watch.

    So what gives? We must all hope and pray Pernetti finds a way to get on Fryʻs calendar.

    Best possible scenario. Pernetti meets Fry at the game in New Orleans as Tulane thrashes the Owls.

    Reply

  2. Tulane also lost to Oklahoma, but at least it was a respectable 34-19 defeat, unlike the thrashing they gave us in Norman.

    Reply

  3. At this point the more likely of the 2 scenarios you laid out, win 3 of the last 4 or got 2-10, looks like 2-10 I won’t be renewing my season tickets if Drayton isn’t replaced at the end of the season. I think dropping the program would be better than continuing this embarrassment. Ax I said in an earlier post on this site, give me a team that finishes in the top 3 or 4 of the conference consistently and goes to bowls like Military, Gasparilla, New Mexico, etc. I would be satisfied. Don’t think that is setting the bar too high at all for TUFB

    Reply

    • The bottom line other than the wins and losses is why are other G5 teams with no NIL or little NIL flourishing and Temple is not? Why is UL-Monroe getting players and good coaches? Why is Louisiana (not even LSU)? Why is Charlotte able to beat ECU 55-27 and the best we can do against ECU is 24-56? My theory that I think would hold up under, say, Infante or Gruden next year is Temple has good enough players but not good enough coaches. My fear is that Temple the university will walk away from football rather than walk away from bad coaches.

      Reply

      • I would say your fear is probably well founded, the admin and Bot will most likely feel that walking away from TUFB is cheaper, easier and the path of least résistance versus doing what is needed to get the program moving forward again. I’ve been to all but the Army home game this year and the attendance has been abysmal some if I’m Fry and look at that I’d figure not going to get a whole of push back killing the program. As KJ says above, I hope he is at the Tulane game, meets with Pernetti and also sees the kind of stadium TUFB should have. I’ve read pros and cons regarding Yuhlman but it’s still better than playing at a 3/4 empty Linc

  4. “It was poor communication with play calls from sideline to player and then from player to player on the football field,” Coach Stan Drayton described at his weekly press conference after practice on Monday.  “We got caught in some bad coverages where we had guys that weren’t on the same page – one guy executing one coverage, another guy executing another call.”

    Poor coaching will result in poor performance. And the beat still goes on…, shovel sand on top of your own grave and the TU BOT will continue to ignore.

    Reply

  5. Hope you don’t mind a different perspective from a Houston alum. I think our two schools have a lot in common, with similar size cities and problems. We each have two large state universities and local private school who don’t work and play well with others. Texas is worse that Penn st. They do not want to share. The biggest opponents to athletic spending are on campus academic departments who also don’t want to share and are short term thinkers.

    I started following Temple in the 1970s when I spent a lot if time Malvern area at a company facility, and really enjoyed the two schools success 2015-2016. I like college football and

    I remember the astrodome era, and playing in a pro stadium and how much better it was moving back on campus in a rehabilitated track stadium. My favorite road trip was to Tulane at both Yulman and the Superdome. On campus was a much better experience with the tailgating and just being on campus. Yulman is a nice stadium. It is small, but the Linc will always be there if needed. Houston has scheduled a couple of games at NRG. Temple is there for the long term your complaing neighbors are only there short term. Good luck to Temple and there are opportunities in the chaos of college football!!

    Reply

Leave a reply to JD01 Cancel reply