K.C. Keeler was right about high expectations

How much of a genius would this guy have looked now if the refs made the right call against Navy?

In a couple of weeks, Temple went from controlling its own destiny in the American Conference football championship picture to needing help to stay in it.

This is exactly the type of thing Temple head coach K.C. Keeler was talking about back in August when asked about the possibility of the Owls getting to a bowl game this year. Keeler said hell with the bowl game, this team’s goal is to win a championship.

This year, not some far-off year in the future.

That raised some eyes in the assembled media who knew the history of four-straight 3-9 seasons, but Keeler wasn’t here then because he was winning championships at other places.

Not all the assembled media raised eyebrows because a New York Post guy named Michael Leboff was buying Temple stock when it was low back on Aug. 14, predicting in the paper that the Owls would win the title.

Only a brutal missed call (among other things) by the refs in the Navy game separates the Owls from controlling their own destiny in the American Conference race. Had the refs seen the Navy guard false start, maybe Navy kicks the extra point or that 3-yard pass for the two-point conversion becomes a much-tougher 8-yard pass that misfires.

Now the Owls can control only what they can control and that’s to win out and let the chips fall where they may.

There is no “easy” path to the championship game but an argument can be made that that, among the one-loss teams, Temple can help itself the most because it has home games against one of the one-loss teams (ECU) and a road game at another, North Texas. They also have a home game against Tulane, which like Navy, is unbeaten in the conference.

Other than what Temple can do, the Owls have to hope that Navy loses twice because that would eliminate the first tie-breaker (head-to-head competition). Then, after … hopefully … beating ECU and Tulane, they have to hope either one of those teams beat Navy or another one-loss team.

That’s pretty much it.

Tough but doable.

If it gets past the first two tie-breakers (head-to-head and computer rankings), that’s where things work against the Owls because of playing two top 25 teams–which most of their competition didn’t do–in the non-conference slate.

While it would be nice to have their fate in their own hands, having of a lot of it now for what Keeler called on Saturday “the stretch run” was something unforeseeable in August but something that Keeler wanted his team to visualize.

If such a scenario comes into focus, that New York Post guy will immediately be inducted into the College Football Prognosticator Hall of Fame for seeing something nobody else did.

Except maybe Keeler.

Friday: ECU Preview

7 thoughts on “K.C. Keeler was right about high expectations

  1. Navy could lose their next four games vs N.Texas, ND, USF, and Memphis.

    Temple must find a way to get more pressure on the QB. Getting some guys healthy will help, blitzing more would be a bigger help.

    ECU will come in well rested after their bye week. And, Army at West Point is no joy on their homecoming weekend.

    IMHO, the balance of the season rests on the Temple D. Specifically, outside of Army, pressure on the QB. And, ditch the white helmets until after the sixth win.

    • i was at the utsa game and shocked … shocked … how much pressure they got on McCown. Kid was literally running for his life. The two protagonists of that rush were Kromah and Badmus, who haven’t played the last couple of weeks. Keeler said both could have played against Tulsa but he wanted to hold them for the “stretch run” because they weren’t quite 100 percent. Stretch run. I like that term.

  2. 6-6 and a bowl IMO would be a successful season considering what preceded it, but more would of course be better. ECU won’t be easy especially with a slinger QB. Our D-backs need to improve their coverage – maybe some scheme changes? Anyway, the rest of the season schedule is quite tough. ECU and Army are beatable, but “50-50” games to quote Keeler….

    • Had to have an emergency post. Didn’t know Harry had cancer. Would be like him to keep it quiet. Pierre Robert another story. He had nothing wrong with him. Healthy one day. Dead another. Gives one pause. Makes me wonder if I make it until Saturday. Hope so. No guarantees.

Leave a comment