Oklahoma is now on the radar

Between looking down at the Dopler Radar and looking up to see if my favorite Temple quarterback was going to turn an ankle, it was a pretty stressful afternoon for at least this Owl fan.

Evan Simon conducting the world famous Diamond Marching Band.

Fortunately, after a half-hour delay to start the game due to “lightning in the area” (Eagles fans know all about that), the game started and Temple won, 55-7. All game long, my radar had a ton of lightning bolts around Lincoln Financial Field but most of them went south.

My favorite Temple quarterback (Evan Simon) not only didn’t turn an ankle, but he also lived to see an important next game, played a terrific first half and conducted the world-famous Diamond Marching Band in perhaps the best rendition of “T for Temple U” anyone has ever heard after sitting out pretty much the entire second half.

Leonard Bernstein (RIP) couldn’t have done it better.

Never thought it was necessary for him to play in a 55-7 win over Howard and wanted to preserve him for Oklahoma. Fortunately, he slid enough to prove K.C. Keeler right in playing him and me wrong for worrying about it.

A win over Oklahoma would be the sweetest music Temple fans have heard since the 27-10 win over Penn State in 2015.

The fact that this Oklahoma game day is the day he’s been waiting for the last 365 days for a particular day that will happen a week from today is interesting.

I was very tough in this space on Stan Drayton because I felt that very nice man had the “want to” but never had to “how to” for a Temple head coach.

K.C. Keeler is also a nice man but he has both the want to and the how to part down.

That much he’s proven in his two games on the job at Temple.

An example of the how to part came in the opening day game against Oklahoma last year. Believe it or not, both Temple lines more than held their own against the Sooners but that game got out of hand when Temple had 6 turnovers to the Sooners zero. Oklahoma was 1-for-13 on third down against one of the worst Temple football teams in history last year.

Plus, knowing how to be Temple head coach means knowing who the best quarterback on your team is. Drayton never had a clue.

I do know this.

If Simon played, rather than Forrest Brock (responsible for five of the six turnovers against Oklahoma), he’d have zero or maybe one turnover last year and that would have been closer to a 35-21 game than a 51-3 one.

Does that mean Saturday will be a 35-21 game?

Have no idea.

It could be closer.

What I do know is that it won’t be a 51-3 one and Temple does have a puncher’s chance.

With a Maestro like Simon, who knows how to orchestrate an offense and it on all the right notes, Oklahoma fans, might be the ones most stressed a week from now.

There’s a storm coming in so batten down the hatches.

Monday: 5 Trick Plays for Oklahoma

Friday: Oklahoma Preview

2 thoughts on “Oklahoma is now on the radar

  1. Great win for the Owls. Keeler and staff have a plan and are executing.

    The American Conference is again the class of the Group of 5. Tulane, USF, Memphis, and Navy can beat the non-elite P4 schools on any Saturday.

    Oklahoma is a Top 10 team, and TUFB could find easily find itself 2-4 in October. How well do they bounce back, and is the depth real?

    Oklahoma spent more NIL on Mateer than TUFB spent on the entire team.

    Emphasis on fundamentals and playing clean will payoff. It will allow Keeler to put a positive spin on the game regardless of the outcome.

    • The NFL proved every Sunday nearly the last century the importance of protecting the football. It’s a little different in college football because the talent disparity is so massive but you have no shot if you give the bad guys six balls deep in your own territory on unforced errors. (Those fumbles were largely the result of switching the ball from one hand to the other.) If Temple plays clean, anything can happen. Hope our fans show up and are loud.

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