After four weeks of the 2025 Temple season, we are back to where we were this time last month.

At Square One.

Pretty much everyone expected Temple to win the first two and lose the next two. It’s now an eight-game season with a mini-Fall Camp in the form of a Bye Week.

Here are some things we’ve noticed:

A real possibility: 6-2 Turning into 8-4

With no Memphis on the schedule this year and Georgia Tech and Oklahoma in the rear-view mirror, there is nobody Temple can’t beat in the final eight games. There is also nobody Temple can’t lose to and head coach K.C. Keeler predicted as much before the season when he said the American Conference games were going to be so close that Temple needed to play clean. They’ve done so in terms of turnovers. They have not in terms of penalties. Half of that problem is theirs. The other half is the refs. They have to fix what they can, and the former problem needs to be addressed. No grabbing the facemask. No jumping 5 yards offsides on a blitz. It shouldn’t be that complicated to watch the ball before coming off it. Temple is not going to win all eight remaining games but 6-2 is a strong possibility and winning both the turnover and penalty battle will be the determining factors.

Hunter Smith is intriguing

While Temple has a nice Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside combination in Jay Ducker and Terrez Worthy, Hunter Smith is a talent worth exploring. Smith is a Mr. Inside with speed and can be a home run hitter. He probably needs more touches.

The Run Defense Needs Some Attention

Even against UMass, opposing running games were gashing the Temple defense. The Georgia Tech game–where the Yellowjackets rushed for 279 yards–was a real eye-opener. Others have noticed and, with nation’s leading rusher Robert Henry Jr. coming to town in two weeks, selling out to stop the run might not be a bad idea for new DC Brian L. Smith.

A Good Temple team is good for the conference

For the second year in a row, a Temple game was the highest-rated TV game involving a G5 team against a P4 in the first four weeks of the season. Last year, it was the game at Oklahoma. This year, it was Oklahoma at Temple. It’s not all eyeballs on Oklahoma because Temple is located in the nation’s fourth-largest TV market and the only Top 10 TV market without a P4 team. A winning competitive Temple team attracts eyeballs to the conference and the sooner that happens, the better.

A Few Trick Plays Couldn’t Hurt

Good coaches like K.C. Keeler utilize the unique talents of their players. The Owls have a wide receiver who was a highly rated quarterback coming out of high school and signed with UCLA as a quarterback. We assume Kajiya Hollawayne can still throw the ball. Would it kill anyone if the Owls tried a throwback pass to him once to draw the defense his way and have him throw the ball downfield to the elusive JoJo Bermudez?

It’s worth a try. Nothing ventured nothing gained and there is plenty to be gained in the next eight games.

Friday: How the Conference Shapes Up