09.20.25
by

Some old Stan Drayton habits die hard

K.C. Keeler has preached the difference between Temple competing for an American Conference championship this year and being an also-ran is playing a clean game.

Keeler: “You can’t spot anyone 21 points.”

In many respects, he and his coaching staff have cleaned things up.

They played four games without turnovers and forced at least one turnover in every game, which is something that cannot be said for any of the last three years.

Yet the challenge in the bye week is breaking those bad Stan Drayton habits that creeped up again in a 45-24 loss at No. 18 Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Speaking specifically about a linebacker who shall remain nameless going five yards offsides on a blitz. Said linebacker was upset with everyone but himself and Keeler gave him not one but two reaming outs on the sideline.

Temple had a 15-minute time of possession advantage and won the turnover battle but still lost.

Both were well-deserved and both reminded Temple fans (at least this one) of a late hit at USF that was the difference between a 22-20 Temple win and what turned out to be a 27-22 Temple loss two years ago in Tampa.

Another Stan Drayton-type mistake that a player made was grabbing a facemask in a sack of GT quarterback Haynes King that would have gotten Temple off the field. The replay clearly showed the Temple defender could have easily brought King down by the shoulder pads without grabbing the facemask. A third is letting a punt go without a fair catch on the 15 only to see it land on the 1.

Those were just a few of many.

Drayton tolerated those mistakes. Keeler will not.

In a league where every game is expected to be razor close, those types of mistakes cannot be made going forward or Temple will blow its chance to be a contender.

Against a ranked team, they let what could have been a close game get out of hand.

The game was closer than the final score not only because of Temple’s mistakes because the ACC refs made a complete blunder (maybe intentionally) and a 4th-and-1 first down that Evan Simon clearly got (and both announcers said he did). That in itself was potentially a 14-point swing and certainly a 7-point one because Georgia Tech scored its last touchdown on that officiating faux pas. Another blunder came on a 52-yard punt return by JoJo Bermudez when a Temple player was called for an illegal block that both announcers said was perfectly legal. Having ACC refs work games involving the ACC against another conference is problematic at best and corrupt at worst.

White helmets are now 0-2. Cherry helmets are 2-0. Just sayin’

Back to the drawing board.

Fortunately, there are two weeks to fix things that are fixable. The talent is there. The thinking part is not quite up to Keeler’s standards yet.

Keeler might have fixed one of them with two in-game reamouts.

There are more to come in the film room the next two weeks.

We will see if the kids get the message starting with the Oct. 4 home game against UTSA.

Monday: 5 Things We Noticed

Friday: How The American Looks

Monday (9/29): Game Week

2 thoughts on “Some old Stan Drayton habits die hard”

  1. As the game progressed, the team played with more confidence. 75% 4th down success is an example. Something clicked for much of the team today. As the team now settles into the league games, I would anticipate more successes.

    Given the DL’s were on average 30 pounds lighter than the GT OL’s, it was a creditable performance. The pass rush maintained contain discipline.

    KC is making positive progress, not withstanding the individual blunders you’ve pointed out.

    Too bad Clemson wasn’t on the schedule this season.

    Reply

    • The thing I worried most about going into the season was roster talent. The thing I’m most enthused about after 4 games is roster talent. Keeler is right. We have the players to win the AAC (I mean AC). We might not be as good as Memphis but after Tulane lost to Ole Miss 45-10 and barely beat Western Michigan that’s a sign our talent matches up to anyone. We don’t play Memphis this year until the championship game and I hope we get that chance.

      Reply

Leave a comment