Author Archives: Mike Gibson

12.08.24
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One era begins, another one ends

EDITOR’S NOTE: Despite what you see to the left, the article below was written by Kevin Fitzpatrick, a long-time member of the Temple chain gang who is hanging up the poles (really handing them off, deciding to retire) after 38 years on the job. Thanks for your service, Kevin.

By Kevin Fitzpatrick

For the love of the game, I’ve been involved in Temple for 38 years on the chain crew.

No more.

My final game was two Saturdays ago.

First off I’d like to shout out to the many guys that have been on the crew over those
years. The current group is about half Philadelphia Catholic league grads (St Joe’s
Prep, North Catholic and Father Judge) and half South Jersey guys. A little less than
half are Temple grads (me included). I was invited on the crew by a co-worker whose
father, also on the crew, was going to miss time with a knee replacement. It was during
the Bruce Arains, Paul Palmer years. A great time to start. We played all the big time
Eastern programs, which at that time were much more relevant nationally too.

The venues were Veterans Stadium, Franklin Field and Lincoln Financial Field. The turf at the Vet
was really rough; my knees and back hurt from just standing on it for three and a half
hours. I can’t imagine being driven into the turf or sliding on it.
I was just happy to be close to the action. That’s why I titled this for the love of the
game. It is a different game up close. The speed is incredible. I got rolled up by a
player in my first game but never again, although there were many close calls.

The teams I saw included some of the best players of that era: Bruce Smith, Donovan
McNabb, Michael Vick, Matt Ryan and too many Penn State and Miami players to
mention. We were always at a disadvantage against those teams but played them
tougher than I’ve seen us play lesser teams the last few years. I don’t remember giving
up 50 or more points until the Bobby Wallace years. After we turned it around in the Al
Golden years and kept it going for a decade, I never thought I would see that garbage
again.

Our current situation with a new coach coming in makes me think of other coaches
I’ve seen and their approach to the game. Two that impressed me were Andy Talley of
Villanova and Joe Paterno of PSU. Both were CEO types that could watch the game
and pick apart a weakness in-game. They didn’t wait until halftime to make

adjustments.

They just turned around and told their coordinator or position coach what
they saw or what would work against that look. Talley had a knack for calling runs on
obvious passing downs and passes on running downs and making it work. Joe Paterno
could look at the opposing team and see who was just a yard or two from where they
should be and what would work against them. They also generally respected the refs
and would plant seeds about a missed call rather than berate the refs. That’s not the
norm. The language can get pretty bad on the field. One of our coaches, Steve
Addazio, called the refs every name in the book. But most of our coaches did not
berate the refs. Again the speed of the game makes it really difficult for the refs but
they usually do a great job. This year was an exception with many head scratching
calls.


Our last two coaches show that different approaches don’t always give different
results. Coach Carey was a screamer and was hard on the players hard creating a very tense
team. Coach Drayton was more positive, and player focused yet they got the same
results.


The tendency when something goes wrong is to blame the coach but remember they
are working with 18-23 year olds. What were you like at that age?

All in all I loved my time on the chain crew and will end with some of the lasting
memories from my time on the field.

Best play: Michael Vick weaved through our entire defense back and forth at the Vet for
a 70-80 yard touchdown run.
Fastest get off at the snap: Dan Klecko, who left O linemen grasping at air.
Couldn’t believe he got up: Walter Washington was lifted into the air and slammed to the
turf with the defender placing all his weight on him, yet the QB got up slowly and didn’t
leave the field.
Most impressive game and best offensive player I saw for the Owls: Paul Palmer and
his then record 300+ rushing yards vs ECU

Best defensive Owl: tie between Lance Johnstone and Tyler Matakevich
Best game ( as if there is any doubt) : beating Penn State at the Linc, with the Notre
Dame game a close second.


Here’s hoping Coach Keeler can make some similar memories for future chain crews.

12.05.24
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A primer for new head coach K.C. Keeler

An open letter to K.C. Keeler:

Dear K.C.,

First of let me congratulate you on getting the job.

You were on my “wish list” for Temple head coaches. For the record, not the first, but certainly high up there.

I’m not here to give you any recommendations on the football side. You’ve got that part locked up.

The Temple side, to me, and a lot of fans, is just as important. Getting a lay of the land and the Edberg-Olson facility, the people and the traditions of Temple, are nearly as important.

K.C. Keeler now has the best administrative assistant in the country. Just ask Bruce Arians, Al Golden, Matt Rhule and Geoff Collins.

One, the people:

Getting to know and love Nadia Harvin, your administrative assistant, who has been with every coach since Bruce Arians. She’s a legend. She’s in the Temple Hall of Fame. Pick up the phone and call Bruce and ask about Nadia. Pick up the phone and call Matt Rhule. Pick up the phone and call Geoff Collins.

Also, it might not hurt to call the people who might have hurt you back in 1979 if you get a chance. Mike Curcio, who, like you, was a linebacker in the 1979 Temple-Delaware game, would be a good start. Like you, Mike Curcio played with the Philadelphia Eagles for awhile. Steve Conjar, the all-time leading tackler who played in that same 1979 game, also hosts the biggest tailgate in Lot K.

As far as the players, I would make a special effort to keep quarterback Evan Simon and running back Torrez Worthy. Simon, who said last week “I love Temple” probably needs only someone important to tell him they love him. I will say this: He’s got the most moxie I’ve seen in a Temple quarterback since Adam DiMichele. He knows how to get rid of the ball and when to get rid of it. Watch his tape vs. Utah State. Kid made 10 great throws under hellacious pressure, five for touchdowns, to win the game 45-29.

Dave Gerson, from a younger generation, is also a Temple treasure. Get to know him. No greater Temple fan. Nobody loves Temple football more. Nobody will be able to introduce you to people who love Temple quicker than Dave.

Two, the coaches:

I know you know Adam Scheier. To me, he’s one of the best special teams coaches in the country. I would keep him. The kids love him and the Temple special teams have been one of the few highlights over the last three seasons.

Chris Wiesehan, the offensive line coach, had great offensive lines under Rhule and Geoff Collins. He didn’t have a great offensive line under Stan Drayton but, like Bill Parcells used to say, he didn’t shop for the groceries under Drayton. Stan got him Aldi’s stuff. Rhule and Collins took him to Whole Foods.

Please stay away from Everett Withers and Danny Langsdorf.

This is the way a Temple team SHOULD celebrate a win.

Three, the traditions:

The “tradition” at Temple is that, after every Temple win, the team stands and sings the Alma Mater respectfully and then goes crazy singing “T for Temple U.” For reasons only Drayton knows, they stood respectfully with the band and sung the Alma Mater but broke ranks and went to the locker room before “T for Temple U.” That’s a no-no. “T for Temple U” is the main course. The Alma Mater is the appetizer.

Single Digit

The single digit tradition has been disrespected for at least the last three years, maybe more. Too many single digit Owls have left for other schools, causing something like this to happen when another team’s game is broadcast: “You know he’s tough because, when he was at Temple, he was a single digit.” That makes every Temple fan ill. You know the cure: No more single digits until your last year of eligibility at Temple.

Mark Bright was one of the best players on a team that gave K.C. Keeler his only loss in 1979.

Four, bring back the running game via the fullback:

In the 1979 Temple-Delaware game, the best player was fullback Mark Bright, from William Tennent High. The Temple tradition has always been to establish the running game with a fullback, then make explosive downfield plays in the passing game off play-action. The Hallmark of the last five years 1-6, 3-9, 3-9, 3-9 and 3-9 has been no running game. The reason is that all of those recent coaches have tried to establish a short-passing game first. All that has done is make Temple one of the worst rushing teams in the country and keep its defense on the field.

Five, The Community:

I don’t have to tell you that the Philadelphia Catholic League is the best high school football league in the country. People like Rich Gannon (St. Joe’s Prep, Delaware, NFL MVP), Frank Wycheck, Al Atkinson, Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti, Anthony Becht, the Pawlowski twins (Ken and Jim), Marvin Harrison Jr., John Runyon Jr., D’Andre Swift, etc. all played in the Catholic League. Hire someone like Father Judge’s Frank McArdle to keep that pipleline alive.

OK, I lied.

Maybe the coaches part and the running game part came under the substance of a football subject.

Everything else is solid advice.

Good luck, and welcome home.

Mike Gibson

Editor and Publisher, Temple Football Forever

Monday: The Temple Chain Gang

Friday: The Reaction

Monday: The Letter

12.03.24
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Temple football has a winner in town

Former FSU All-American QB Danny Kanell nods his head in agreement as Chip, Tom and Bud Elliott compliment Temple on the choice of K.C. Keeler to coach the Owls.

One day after being named one of CBS Sports’ “Coaches of the Week” for Week 14 in college football for a Texas team, K.C. Keeler was standing at a podium 1,000 miles away in Philadelphia talking about leading a Pennsylvania team.

Things move fast when you beat other teams to the hiring punch as Temple seems to have done.

Keeler didn’t open his press conference like Buddy Ryan did with the Eagles in 1986 by saying “you’ve got a winner in town.” He didn’t have to because, as a real winner (Bill Parcells) once said, “you are what your record says you are.”

Unlike 1986, Philadelphia–and most importantly Temple–has a winner in town.

Keeler’s wife, Janice was back in Texas selling their house in Huntsville. They already have another house 40 minutes from Philadelphia that they’ve maintained since leaving for Texas.

Keeler’s opening press conference brought something even the press conferences of Al Golden, Matt Rhule, Steve Addazio, Geoff Collins and Rod Carey never did.

A winning pedigree in post-season football.

Ryan was 0-3 in playoff games as Eagles’ coach. Carey was 0-7 in bowl games both at Northern Illinois and Temple.

Keeler’s post-season exploits are chronicled elsewhere in this post. You don’t have to google him. He’ll get you to the postseason and he will win his fair share there.

That’s kind of where Temple is at now.

K.C. Keeler under the goal post where the best field goal kicker in the nation this year practiced his craft every single day.

The arms’ race is such in college football that really the best the Owls can hope for–barring putting the NIL genie back in the bottle–is playing in great bowl games and winning in the postseason. Maybe grabbing an AAC title every five years, tops.

A great school like Temple should expect to be in the top 80 of college football teams every year when only 134 teams are playing at the FBS level. The Owls should expect to win their share of postseason bowl games.

Do that and the fans come back, especially after four-straight 3-9 seasons. Making Lincoln Financial Field a happening place again requires only consistent winning. Al Golden proved that. So did Matt Rhule.

K.C. Keeler’s postseason record screams winner.

Keeler has a history of doing that, too, even against teams with greater resources. With no NIL, Keeler’s Sam Houston State destroyed a Rice team that beat Navy. That was the same Navy team that beat Temple, 38-11.

He has a history of turning loaves into fishes and he’s going to have to take that approach with Temple.

Keeler’s familiarity with Temple will help as he talked about playing three games in his college career and losing twice to the Owls, including in Delaware’s national championship 13-1 season (1979).

“Then lens through I look at it is Temple was a great program at one time,” Keeler said. “This is a great university. It can even be greater.”

It got greater on a very cold December Tuesday morning in Philadelphia. Now all that remains is to determine how great.

Friday: The Letter Keepers

Monday: The Reaction

12.01.24
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Keeler: A pick Temple fans can get behind

Wherever he’s been, K.C. Keeler has developed great relationships with his players and Temple should be no different. I defy anyone to find a similar photo of Rod Carey or Stan Drayton celebrating like this on the field with their players.

After a couple of head-scratching decisions on its last two football CEOs, Temple University finally went in a more logical direction by picking K.C. Keeler to lead the Owls’ football fortunes today.

More like a head-nodding decision than a head-scratching one.

It’s about time and maybe just in time.

That’s because the last two guys were hired by ADs tied to their picks: Pat Kraft played football at around the same time at Indiana that Rod Carey did–they missed each other by one year but both played the same position at Indiana (center).

Arthur Johnson’s first high-profile pick at Temple was to hire a guy he saw walking around the University of Texas football building every day: Running backs’ coach Stan Drayton.

One was a head coach. The other was an assistant.

Hard to believe that you claim to conduct a national search for a head coach and end up with a guy who worked in the same building you did and that’s exactly what happened with the Johnson/Drayton relationship.

Carey had success in the Midwest with little knowledge of Temple and Philadelphia. Drayton hadn’t coached in Philadelphia since the 1980s but for Penn and Villanova. Neither is Temple or even close. Drayton had to learn to be a head coach while on Temple’s dime and Temple’s time and that rarely works out.

This time, Johnson hired a guy he didn’t know personally but a winner at every place he’s been. That’s important because, before Keeler, no one ever proved they could win at Rowan. At Sam Houston and Delaware, he benefitted from following legends in Willie Fritz and Tubby Raymond. Keeler can take all of those lessons learned to a place where multiple men have proven they can win: Wayne Hardin, Bruce Arians, Al Golden, Matt Rhule and, to a lesser extent, Steve Addazio and Geoff Collins.

The blueprint for winning at Temple is simple: Establish relationships within a great recruiting base (46 percent of the nation’s population is within a five-hour drive of Philadelphia) and recruit the hell out of that base. Establish the run and have explosive plays in the downfield passing game off play/action fakes.

The last three years we’ve pulled our hair out watching Temple teams try to establish the short passing game first. That’s not Temple TUFF. It never was. It never will be. As a result, Temple couldn’t generate anything on the ground or keep its defense off the field.

Temple needs some big offensive linemen who were recruited and developed by P4 schools but find themselves as backups through no fault of their own. It also needs to scour the ranks of FCS schools and get players who should have been recruited at a higher level.

In the transfer portal and NIL era, that means getting disaffected guys who went off for riches at P4 schools only to find themselves riding the pine elsewhere. All of those kids have a chip on their shoulders and Temple football in the past has thrived when giving kids a chance to play against good competition.

Let’s face it: Temple isn’t going win an NIL bidding war for players, but it does offer an opportunity to play right away and, in Keeler, is picking a guy who thrived despite having the lowest NIL in the nation at Sam Houston State.

At Temple, a lot of the rich grads who could have supported football either tragically died in a plane crash (Lew Katz) or got involved in legal troubles (Bill Cosby) or had a dispute with his fellow pop legend (John Oates). Oates likes Temple football, Darryl Hall doesn’t.

Not a whole lot of deep pockets in an alumni base that had to scrouge to find SEPTA tokens to get to school every day.

Keeler is free to concentrate on a quick rebuild at Temple right now.

After beating Liberty last week, Keeler needed only Western Kentucky to lose to earn a spot in the CUSA title game. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for Temple, Western Kentucky won and Keeler can hop on the recruiting trail for Temple.

Already, a number of top Drayton recruits have reaffirmed their commitments to the new staff to play for Temple. There seems to be a renewed enthusiasm in the Edberg-Olson Center. Now all that remains is for Keeler to convince top returning players like Evan Simon and Torrez Worthy to remain on board. Once Keeler grabs Simon at the press conference and tell him he’s going to give him an offensive line that would keep him upright, Simon might stay.

Keeler knows how to navigate the portal without an infusion of NIL money, and while some Saudi billionaire hopping on board would be nice, Temple had to find a guy like that to bridge the gap. Keeler has won with guys who haven’t made money and there’s no reason to expect he can’t do the same in the future.

Keeler would do well to keep certain members of this staff, including OL coach Chris Wiesehan, running backs coach Tyree Foreman and linebackers coach Chris Woods. Wiesehan and Foreman were here with other staffs while Temple was winning and can offer helpful hints to Keeler how things were done then vs. how things have been done over the last three seasons.

Plus, Keeler is very familiar with the Temple brand. He was a linebacker on the 1979 Delaware team that lost to Temple, 31-14. That was the Blue Hens only loss on the way to the Division II (now FCS) championship. Those Owls he lost to were just 16 points from a 12-0 season and a possible mythical national championship of their own.

Keeler can share old war stories with his fellow linebackers of that era on the other side of the ball, Steve Conjar and Mike Curcio and possibly get them on board to drum up alumni NIL support.

After beating Liberty, Keeler went on national TV for an interview and his Philadelphia accent sounded more genuine than the really good one Tina Fey used to mimic on SNL.

This guy knows Philly. He knows Temple. More importantly, he knows how to win.

Temple hasn’t had a guy like that in a long time.

Welcome home.

Wednesday: The Press Conference

11.30.24
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The most painful error of TU football is over

When the history of Temple football is written, the period between 2021 and 2024 will be forever known as “The 3-9 Era.”

You can’t go from 9 bowl games in 10 years to four-straight 3-9 seasons. That’s unacceptable, even in the NIL/transfer portal era.

That’s because in the long and often painful history of the sport at Temple there is arguably no worse era. You can’t go 3-9 four years in a row after teasing your fans with nine bowl games between 2009-2019.

Here’s my argument: I suffered through a 20-game losing streak and 30 years between bowl games only to see that losing streak end when Adam DiMichele threw a flea-flicker touchdown pass to Travis Sheldon to beat Bowling Green. Sheldon was the hero that day, also taking a kickoff return to the house.

After a rough first start against Layton Jordan and Temple for Rutgers in 2022, Evan Simon has proven to be if not a great Temple Owl a very good one. I would be happy if this kid is K.C. Keeler’s starting quarterback next year.

The coach that day, Al Golden, got an ice bucket bath.

It was onward and upward after that.

Three years later, Temple was in its first bowl game in 30 years.

Two years after that, Temple won its first bowl game in 32 years.

Four years after that, Temple was the major story in the nation with a Prime Time Game on ABC-TV that broke all kinds of ratings records. To this day, that was the No. 1-rated college football TV game in the nation’s fourth-largest market.

Any college football game. Ever, including Penn State-Notre Dame games, college football championship games. From the time Philo Farnsworth invented the TV set in the 1930s until 2024 and probably way beyond.

Unless Temple gets a prime-time game again, I doubt that record will ever be broken. (For the record, I doubt Temple will ever have a prime-time game again. Unless a Saudi billionaire wants to make a statement by backing the Temple NIL fund. Shoutout to MBS, who reads this website occasionally.)

Did I think Temple could sustain that kind of success?

Hell no. (I was just happy I lived long enough to see it.)

Did I think Temple could be a regular visitor to great bowl games and win its share?

Hell yes.

What happened?

Two buddy hires (Pat Kraft/Rod Carey and Arthur Johnson/Stan Drayton) poisoned the well of success we’ve been drinking from. Kraft and Johnson were responsible, but so was the BOT which should have provided oversight.

Today’s 24-17 loss to North Texas was bad, but proved the kids never quit and that is important.

They were down, 24-3, and had enough pride in themselves, the school and their teammates to compete.

The second half was 0-0 against a bowl team.

IF … and that’s a big IF .. the next coach can keep the core base of talent (I’m thinking QB Evan Simon, RBs Torrez Worthy, and some guys on defense) here and supplement them with P4 backup talent and FCS stars (not JUCOs), Temple has a chance at a winning season.

Not far in advance like the old days. Next year.

It also has to have a good coach who understands that the way to beat offenses is an attacking defense (which means sacks and strip fumbles in the backfield or forced interceptions) and an offense that supplements its base philosophy with surprises (i.e. halfback passes, double reverses, shovel passes and jump passes ot the tight end).

The last three years we saw nothing of that at Temple.

Disappointing but not surprising that this offensive staff played backup QB Tyler Douglas at RB on several downs but never realized they had a RB who could throw a halfback pass. North Texas might have been fooled by that but we will never know because Temple never tried to fool the opposition.

Wayne Hardin, who fooled Temple’s opposition for many years, was probably turning over in his grave.

The next four years we should see plenty of fooling the opposition or there will not be four years after that. Pain should be followed by gain, but we will see.

After four years of the most painful Temple football watching in history, no fans deserve that kind of future more.

Monday: Season Review

11.28.24
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North Texas at Temple: No “D” in Owls

There is both humor and truth to this. Nothing would end all this transfer portal and NIL nonsense faster than for a Saudi man to invest $10 billion in Temple football’s NIL fund. Watch how fast the rest of the college world shuts down the NIL if Temple wins three national championships in a row. The Saudi man would get a good laugh out of it, though.

Any thoughts of an upset for Temple in the high noon season finale (ESPN+) at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday probably went out the window a week ago.

That’s when the Owls gave up 51 points.

The last coach who called the Temple game his Super Bowl was the Utah State coach this year. He lost, 45-29.

To have a chance to win in college football a respectable defense is a must and the Owls haven’t been respectable since holding Tulsa to 10 points in a 20-10 win.

That was back on Oct. 19, a long time ago. We wrote in this space on that beautiful 70-degree day that “we all be freezing our asses off a month from now at the North Texas game.”

And we will as the temperatures won’t escape the 30s.

Since then, Temple has given up 56 (ECU), 52 (Tulane) and 51 (UTSA).

The lone outlier was the 15 points given up against FAU.

There is no “D” in Temple and even no “D” in Owls. That’s something the next coach is going to have to fix because to have a chance to win at football or even break even, you can’t be giving up the 35+ points per game Everett Withers has in his two years as DC.

There was some hope that a change in the DC to Chris Woods last week would have stopped some of the bleeding but it was apparent that it was the Jimmy and Joe’s as much as the X’s and O’s because the Owls could not sustain a pass rush.

North Texas has called this game its “Super Bowl” and there is a good reason why. The Mean Green have lost five in a row after a hot start and needs the win for a 6-6 record and a bowl game.

Of course, the last coach who proclaimed the Temple game as his team’s Super Bowl was Utah State’s and Temple won that one, 45-29. So there’s that. If it’s a Super Bowl, it will probably be the least-attended one in history as no more than 5-10K fans are expected to rattle around in a 70K stadium.

Still, the incentives seem to be all on North Texas’ side here.

All Temple has to play for is a 4-7 season after three-straight 3-9 ones (one Rod Carey 3-9 followed by two Stan Drayton 3-9s). That’s not what Drayton promised when he was hired and that’s why he was fired.

Now the Owls are faced with an almost impossible task of stopping a team that played Army and Tulane a lot tougher than Temple did.

The football is odd-shaped and can take a lot of funny bounces but for Temple to even be competitive in this one would require a defense that has shown the capability to stop someone.

The Owls aren’t going to get that until a new coach comes in and, with him, a lot of Jimmy and Joe’s who can strike fear into an offense and put a quarterback on his ass.

Late Saturday Night: Game Analysis

Monday: Season Analysis

11.24.24
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Russell Conwell’s clear-cut choice: Gabe Infante

Two-time national high school championship head coach Gabe Infante’s teams practiced at 12th and Cecil B. Moore, which makes him the very definition of Russell Conwell’s “Acres of Diamonds” in your own backyard.

Wasn’t able to get the seance with Temple University founder Russell Conwell I requested over the weekend but did the next best thing.

Read everything he wrote.

Then I had my answer to the question I was looking for: Who should be Temple’s next head football coach?

Conwell’s clear-cut choice:

Gabe Infante.

Even before Conwell founded Temple, he was best known as the guy who wrote “Acres of Diamonds.”

The Cliff Notes version of that story is about a Persian farmer who sold his property to search the world for diamonds only to return and find the old farm was full of Acres of Diamonds in his own backyard.

With this Temple football coaching search, that’s clearly Gabe Infante.

Ever since Matt Rhule left Temple after posting a pair of double-digit-win seasons, the athletic directors charged with replacing him sold their farms looking for Acres of Diamonds far and wide from 10th and Diamond.

Turns out, like the guy from Persia, the diamonds were already here.

Knowing he wouldn’t achieve his goal of being a college coach if he stayed in high school, Infante gave up his comfortable career and accepted Manny Diaz’s offer to be his first Temple assistant. He and Rod Carey didn’t get along (a plus for Infante and a minus for Carey) and Infante would up as a valuable assistant at Penn State. When the Lions’ defensive coordinator (also Diaz) took the head coaching job at Duke, Infante became the Duke assistant head coach.

Former Temple and current Buffalo Bills RB Ray Davis gave his opinion of Gabe Infante here.

Other than Indiana, Duke has become the feel-good story in college football this season and Infante has had a big role in that.

Much like Rhule, who had to leave Temple for a year of apprenticeship with the New York Giants, Infante acquired similar experience at both Penn State and Duke.

He’s ready.

I’ve never met Gabe, but, having covered Pennsylvania high school football since 1975 for both the Doylestown Intelligencer and Philadelphia Inquirer, I’ve gotten to know people I respect in the high school football world on both sides of the river and they all rave about him. Not a single one has said a negative word about his ability as both a head coach and a CEO of a program. The reviews about him as a person are even more glowing.

Not only that, in his two years as an assistant coach at Temple, he gained respect of the players.

Gabe Infante is a legendary high school football coach in Philadelphia.

I have seen plenty of his games when he was head coach at the Prep and his teams never jumped offsides, never had false starts and always made dynamic plays on special teams. Their offensive line sprinted to the line of scrimmage for every play. (No lie. Check the film.) They were more well-drilled than most college and NFL teams.

When Temple fired Stan Drayton a week ago, I initially thought it might be a good thing for Arthur Johnson to hire Geoff Collins because Collins is the only coach in Temple history to never have a losing season. The soundbite of Johnson saying “Ladies and Gentlemen, I reintroduce you to the only head football coach in Temple University history to never have a losing season: Geoff Collins.”

Would have been a classic line but Collins already had his time here and left.

This is Gabe Infante’s time.

Just ask Russell Conwell.

Friday: North Texas Preview

11.22.24
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Temple-UTSA: You can’t make this stuff up

Wanted: Head football coach Temple University: If you watched the Owls on national TV Friday night, you know the opportunity that awaits you. A bunch of kids representing a great university played their asses off, only to to lose at UTSA, 51-27, because there were a lot of illegal shifts and illegal formations. If you know how to structure a practice to eliminate those kind of mistakes and put these wonderful young athletes in a better position to win, please contact Arthur Johnson at Temple University, Broad and Montgomery, Philadelphia, PA, 19122. Only successful head coaches need apply. Temple can’t make a mistake on another “promising” assistant because promises are often broken.

That pretty much summed up Temple’s effort in a 51-27 loss at UTSA on Friday night.

https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1860131230026727765

The kids at Temple played as hard as they could but a lot of procedural errors held them back.

As we’ve said in this space many times over the past couple of months, illegal shifts and illegal formations don’t happen to teams playing Temple nearly as much as they do to Temple.

The reason for that is simple: Temple structures its so-called practices like a team that was coached by a career assistant coach, which is exactly what happened over the last three years.

A career winning head coach at any level knows how to structure a practice so those kinds of mistakes don’t show up on national TV.

So that’s the decision facing Arthur Johnson now.

Does he go out and get a “promising” assistant to be head coach or does he go out and get a guy who delivered for some other school what he promised.

I’ll go for the guy who delivered the goods and not someone who is promising to deliver.

Maybe the most remarkable moment of Friday night’s game was the interview of Johnson while a slow quarterback negotiated his way through the entire Temple team for a 75-yard touchdown.

You can’t make that kind of stuff up but there it was for the world to see.

It left Johnson speechless and the world laughing at Temple once again. So, if you are keeping score, the last four appearances on a major ESPN network, Temple gave up 55 points to SMU, 51 to Oklahoma, 52 to Tulane and 51 to UTSA.

Enough is enough.

Get a guy in here who knows how to stop someone and has proven it by delivering more W’s than L’s to the school he was at before Temple.

Monday: Russell Conwell’s Pick for Next Head Coach

11.22.24
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UTSA game: An appeal to Chris Woods

When Everett Withers was fired at Texas State, Chris Woods took over the HC responsibilities. Now that Stan Drayton has been fired at Temple, Woods is the new DC. He could be the key tonight.

There are plenty of damn good coaches on the current Temple football staff.

If Temple was held back by coaches, we can identify three of them–head coach Stan Drayton, OC Danny Langsdorf and DC Everett Withers.

Unfortunately for the Owls, two of the bad guys are coaching tonight (ESPN2, 7 p.m.) when the Owls travel to UTSA.

One of the good guys is in charge of a third of the team and another good guy (Adam Scheier) is in charge of another third (special teams).

Withers is the interim head coach, but he has promised to stay away from the defensive and offensive play-calling and, if true, that’s a good thing.

That leaves a bad guy (Langsdorf) in charge of the other third (offense), so expect a lot 2-yard passes on third-and-7.

The Owls have looked putrid their last three appearances on major ESPN networks and the major reason was Withers, as his defense gave up 55 (ESPN) last year to visiting SMU and 51 (ESPN) this year at Oklahoma before completing the 50-burger trifecta two weeks ago in a 52-6 loss at Tulane (ESPNU).

One of the good guys will have something to say about the outcome and that is interim DC Chris Woods, who coached the most impressive Owl position group, the linebackers.

Our low/risk, high/reward, picks this weekend. Elijah Robinson’s Syracuse defense can’t stop a nosebleed, and UConn has the running game to punch them in the nose. If Nebraska can give Ohio State a game, so can former Temple assistant coach Curt Cignetti; Virginia is sneaky good at home and, if UCLA can win at Rutgers, the No. 24 team in the country certainly can.

My plea to Chris is this: Go down (or hopefully up) with your guns blazing. The Owls have been way too passive on defense this whole season under Withers. It is now time to bring the house, especially those talented linebackers.

Every third-and-long, do what Withers failed to do all season in allowing the Owls to yield 35 ppg: Put the opposing quarterback on his ass.

In this case, it’s Owen McCown, the son of former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Josh McCown.

McCown has fueled UTSA’s trip to a bowl game, which could be clinched tonight with a win over Temple. Even in a 46-45 loss to a Tulsa team that the Owls defeated, McCown was impressive.

Why?

Because Tulsa played soft coverages against him.

Temple has played soft coverages all season but that was never Woods’ call.

Woods was Bob Stoops’ DC for the Dallas Renegades in the XFL, where he was much more aggressive attacking the passer than Withers has been his whole career. Dallas led the XFL in sacks under Woods with 26, and a dozen of those were by linebackers.

Good news for Temple.

Temple has some very good players in defense, including linebackers Tyquan King and D.J. Woodbury, and it would be nice to see that kind of talent unleased sacking McCown instead of dropping back into coverage.

If Woods has the balls to do it, the Owls have a fighting chance.

If not, we will all know that Withers broke his promise and dabbled in the defensive play calling.

Late Tonight: UTSA Game Analysis

11.20.24
by

The case against Elijah Robinson

Unlike many Temple fans, I’m going to take Fran Brown at his word.

As someone who recently took up the sport of kings, I learned pretty early in the process to stay away from Maiden Claiming horse races.

Reading the thumbnails on The Daily Racing Forum, some horses got better reviews than others on the basis of their pedigree.

Pretty good return on a $2 investment on Tuesday at Parx because I picked the four horses with the most wins. Arthur Johnson will cash at the Temple football coaching hiring window if he takes the same approach.

You’d never really know if they could win a race until they did.

Some never did.

I didn’t start to consistently finish in the black until I stopped betting Maiden Claimers and stuck to the Graded Stakes and Allowance Optional races.

That’s because I had a “past performance” record to go on and my formula of picking exotics based on how many past first-place finishes put me in the black. Not a perfect formula, but a pretty good one.

That works, too, with college football coaches.

The big-time programs don’t take a chance on career assistant coaches because there isn’t a “past performance” sheet to check and double check.

That’s not the only reason why Temple shouldn’t take a chance on Elijah Robinson (or his Syracuse staff mate, Jeff Nixon), but it is the best one. Robinson, a career assistant, is 1-2 as an “interim” head coach.

With Texas A&M talent. Doesn’t give me the warm and fuzzies about what he might be able to do with Temple talent.

We were on record as being against the Manny Diaz and Stan Drayton hires BEFORE THEY WERE HIRED HERE for many of the same reasons we’re against any assistant coach, including Elijah Robinson and Jeff Nixon.

Here’s another: Every single great thing said of Robinson by an ex-player or ex-coach (or current one, even) was also said about Stan Drayton three years ago.

You know how that worked out.

Yes, Temple has had some success with assistants before, like Al Golden and Matt Rhule.

That was a different time and a different place in the college football world.

There was no NIL or transfer portal and an assistant could take the time to build a program from the ground up with high school recruits. Back then, you could recruit a high school guy, get him in the weight room, red shirt him and play him by his second season.

Nobody’s got time for that anymore.

You’ve got to get the transfer portal people to win right away.

An instantly recognizable guy with a winning record as a head coach not only would create the kind of excitement with the fan base that would drive NIL money into the program but might bring some of his own players from a winning team and inject that winning culture into Temple.

A guy like Scot Loeffler might bring players from Bowling Green. A guy like Geoff Collins might bring players from UNC.

Doubt very seriously Robinson (or Nixon) bring players from Syracuse.

Had Temple gone, say, for Jim Mora Jr. three years ago instead of Stan Drayton, do you think the Owls would be better off?

I certainly do.

Mora will have UConn–a team Geoff Collins beat 57-7–in two bowl games in the same three years Drayton had the Owls going 9-25.

Past performance is the best indicator of future performance and, with an assistant, there is really nothing to go on but hope.

Hope doesn’t get me to a bowl game but a guy who has proven he can win as a head coach and has Philly and Temple ties will. Go get a guy like that.

Friday: UTSA Preview