Now’s the time to predict 2026: A one-game improvement

I can’t believe Parker Navarro is still in the portal but I know Temple is the perfect place for him.

Going into this transfer portal season we outlined the “type” of quarterback Temple needed to get in order to compete for the American Conference championship.

That quarterback was an FCS superstar or a capable “star” FBS quarterback looking for a tick up in competition.

Temple, for all of its transfer portal successes, failed to get that guy. Instead, they got a couple of guys who only proved that they couldn’t get on the field for P4-type teams. Not only didn’t they get a proven FBS starter, but in terms of receipts, they didn’t get someone with the pedigree of Evan Simon (starter at Rutgers) nor Gevani McCoy (starter at Oregon State), last year’s 1-2 punch.

So while they improved at a lot of positions they regressed at the most important position on the field.

Not good.

So, sadly, I don’t see the Owls competing for an American Conference title but there is room for improvement and I do see the Owls improving incrementally.

At my age, that isn’t fast enough but I will take the small wins when I can get them.

Why are we not waiting until May? It looks like all the players are in place now and they will compete only against themselves between now and Cherry and White Day.

Parker Navarro, a quarterback who does fit all the qualifications of an AAC championship quarterback, is still in the portal.

It doesn’t have to be Navarro, whose eligibility issue is up in the air but someone like him.

We can only hope but I think Temple is done at QB. I hope I’m wrong.

We predict 6-6 without Navarro or someone like him.

With an inexperienced starter, or someone like him, I see the Owls winning 9-10 games and getting into the AAC championship game.

I have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that Temple is done and going with six quarterbacks. None to me have the “it” factor with the possible exception of Lamar Best, who arrives in July.

So we’re going under the assumption that Temple is done at the quarterback position.

I see the Owls beating Rhode Island (55-10), losing to Penn State (35-14), beating Toledo (17-13), losing to Army (24-21), losing at South Florida (55-24), beating UConn (17-10), beating Charlotte (48-23), losing at East Carolina (36-19), losing at Navy (17-14), beating UAB (21-14), beating Rice (28-17) and losing at Memphis (35-21).

That’s 6-6 and the very definition of mediocrity. As Wayne Hardin once said, “mediocrity is not my cup of tea.”

Nor mine.

An experienced guy is out there. With him, I see a more competitive game against Penn State, wins at USF at home vs. Army and at Navy and a possible win at Memphis. That’s not 6-6 nor mediocrity.

Go get him or expect meh when “yeah” should have been the Year Two goal all along.

Monday: 5 Things We’d Like to See From Spring Ball

Friday: The New Bowl System and Temple

16 thoughts on “Now’s the time to predict 2026: A one-game improvement

  1. Navarro has good tape, better than anyone on the current roster. And, he can tuck it.

    IMHO Temple will not offer upon a favorable NCAA ruling. However, if the QB situation is 6 – 7 after Spring Ball everything should be on the table.

    Temple could have a dynamic offense with a mobile QB…,

    Keeler must beat Army and Navy. Mediocre season w/o those two wins.

    • Don’t see them beating either team without a proven QB. The X factor is Lamar Best. He could be HIM. If he’s “just” a freshman version of P.J. Walker, it’s not good enough. I know if Best comes in and balls out in August, he’s way better than Smolik and Sheppard and they won’t be able to keep him off the field.

  2. So the assessment is that Keeler is ignoring the obvious? Or just maybe he thinks he has what he needs.

    • I think he’s rolling the dice. We have very limited college game tape from all but 2 of the six quarterbacks currently on the roster and he’s trusting that. The odd thing is that he didn’t trust Simon last year so he went out and got a P4 starting QB who he did trust. I like the approach last year way better. Simon, who I trusted, won the job but if he didn’t have McCoy, if Simon went down we would have lost 2-3 more games. McCoy wins you the same # of games as Simon does.

      • Temple just doesn’t have the money to get a quality starter from the portal. Those guys command high six figure salaries even at the G6 level. We can only afford what we got. The market rate has gone up a lot even from 2 years ago when we got Simon.

      • They offered Trinidad Chambliss $300,000 in the portal last year. He accepted on a Wednesday and changed his mind on a Friday when he got $800,000 from Ole Miss. That was the highest G5 offer for any player last year. I think $300,000 this year would have nabbed Temple a FCS or FBS starter.

      • That’s not true at all

        Trey White was likely the top G5 player reportedly receiving 800k from SDSU insiders

        G5 QBs are commanding 500k+

        We are getting exactly who we shoukd be given our budget. Washed up P4 guys who have done nothing

        QB and DL are our two most questionable positions. Not sure how anyone can predict we compete for a conference title but I’m sure some will as the spring and summer roll on.

      • What’s not true at all?

  3. Amazing to me they gave T.J. Finley a 7th year and Navarro is fighting to get a 6th. The NCAA is all over the map.

    • An untapped resource is also the motherlode of current or “recent” Temple players in the NFL. Dion Dawkins, Brandon McManus, Sam Franklin, Matt Hennessey, P.J., etc., etc.

  4. I think that it’s too early to try and predict a win total. I generally like to wait until after the Spring game because alot of things get revealed at that point. It also gives us more time to see how our schedule opponents are doing at that point. But I do agree that a slight improvement is possible. Schedule looks a little tougher… 6 or 7 wins?

    • I thought about that Brian but you can’t tell much when it’s the good guys against the good guys. If we were scrimmaging Rutgers or Maryland, I would be able to make an informed decision. Between now and Sept it’s hard to tell. Kinda hoping for that Evan Simon caliber QB to walk through the door and I don’t think he’s here and that’s concerning.

  5. Or……smaller donations from many middle size companies – just a few thousand a year could help Temple’s program.

    • We should set up a Go-Fund-Me for Temple football because Lew Katz died in a plane crash and Bill Cosby is persona non-grata and those were the two multi-millionaires who expressed an interest in Temple football in the past.

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