Both Athlon and Phil Steele have the Owls in the basement.

In the same category of a somewhat older guy playing fullcourt basketball with 20-year-olds, falls the wisdom of putting too much faith in preseason college football magazines.
Both are pretty dumb.
I learned the former the hard way on Sunday shooting around on the neighborhood courts. I’ve always been able to shoot a basketball so every so often I like to take that skill for a spin around the block, like an cherished antique car sitting in the driveway, in order to keep the battery charged.
This Sunday, on the court next to me, there were seven 20-year-olds shooting around. They stopped to watch me as I hit nine three-pointers in a row.
One of them said they needed me to go a full four-on-four.
Against my better judgment and all the good voices inside my head, I said OK.
Shirts and skins, the oldest rivalry in sports. For mostly aesthetic purposes, they put the “old head” on the shirt team.
Since I’ve been running five miles a day this summer, I thought I could handle it. And I did for three hours of pure fun. I felt fine afterward, fine going home and fine going to bed.
The hard pounding and stopping on the basketball court took its toll and by 3 a.m. the next day, I could not get out of bed. Result: Knee injury.
Common sense said I should have told the kids no, but my pride said yes. Pride goeth before the fall, they say.
Same thing with college football magazines.

Local edition of Lindy’s has Silas Redd on cover.

Every time I see one at the local Giant Super Market, I pick it up with the intent to buy it. I look for the Temple references. Giant had Lindy’s and Athlon (both $7.99) and a much thicker Phil Steele Yearly ($8.95). One of them, the Lindy’s edition in the store (not the one pictured left), had Silas Redd on the cover in Penn State uniform.
I know the Redd thing is a deadline issue, but it was still clueless to put him on the cover knowing that Penn State was hanging under a very dark cloud by presstime.
Just as clueless, they all say Temple is going to finish last in the Big East and they all point to the loss of the starters on both sides of the ball.
None of them say that, in many cases, the replacements are better. Sean Boyle, in my mind, is a better center than John Palumbo (no offense intended, Mr. Palumbo).
They all mention that Bernard Pierce is gone. They just give passing reference to both Matty Brown and Montel Harris, who could be (and empirical evidence shows is) better than Bernard Pierce. None of them mention that Brown was Temple’s No. 1 all-purpose runner last year (and Pierce was No. 2 in that category).
They all mention leading tackler Stephen Johnson leaving. None of them talk about his replacement, Nate D. Smith. I’m going out on a very strong limb here and writing that Nate D. Smith will have an outstanding year at MLB for the Owls. If he doesn’t lead them in tackles, it will be because all of the Big East running backs will be tackled by the linemen before they get to the linebackers.
None of them mention the Owls know what they are doing on offense this year, running a true spread with three true spread quarterbacks, after fumbling around a year trying to find an offense that best suited the needs of two QBs with limited skill sets.
None of them mention that the Owls have a great kicking game, with maybe the best punter and placekicker in the nation (Brandon McManus). None of them mention that Chuck Heater is considered among the best defensive coordinators in the country, which he is. None of them write that a great running game, quarterback and defense and kicking game are prime ingredients for championship teams. The current Owls appear to have all of those ingredients. A running game shortens the clock and a kicking game wins the battle of field position and maybe steals a close game or two with a long FG.
I know the Owls will be way better than last place in the Big East. I’m hoping for first. If they finish second, it will only be behind Cincinnati, not preseason favorite Louisville. I don’t think they will go any lower than that. Pride says I should buy the magazines and shove it in their faces at the end of the season.
Common sense says I should leave them on the rack.
This time, I listened to common sense.
I should have done that Sunday.

Love the Daz quote at the 5:50 mark.

Keith Pompey does a great job covering Temple football for Philly.com, but he wrote something that had me shaking my head (or smh as the kids write on social media).
To paraphrase him, he passed on head coach Steve Addazio’s concerns about the wide receiving corps “not making plays” but also added that Addazio praised both Ryan Alderman and Jalen Fitzpatrick, writing “that’s not a good sign because Fitzpatrick is a converted quarterback and Alderman is a walk-on. …”
Huh?
Converted quarterback?
Brian Broomell was converted from starting safety to starting quarterback and he only led the nation in passing efficiency for a 10-2 team in 1979.
Walk-on?
Some of the best players I’ve ever seen at Temple were walk-ons.
Err, does the name Matty Brown ring a bell?
I thought so.
I don’t remember Keith writing about the same thing visa ve Brown last year. Matty was by far the runaway winner of a poll on this website that asked who was  the No. 1 running back in Temple football history who epitomizes the term “Temple TUFF.”
The Rock has proved his worth in a stellar career at Temple. His touchdowns count for the same six points as Bernard Pierce’s.
The last time I checked, Alderman and Fitzpatrick were wide receivers and no one has questioned their ability to get separation and catch the ball.
So what, other than depth, is the problem here?
Chris Coyer’s touchdown passes to Ryan Alderman and Jalen Fitzpatrick will count for the same six points other Temple quarterback TD passes to Willie Marshall, Gerald “Sweet Feet” Lucear and Rod Streater have in the past.
I wonder if the lack of separation and “catching the ball” has anything to do with the fine play of the cornerbacks?
Probably.
The best quote I heard out of  the first week of two-a-days came from Addazio about the difference between last year and this year:
“We know exactly what we’re doing and how to do it,” Addazio said, referring to the offensive approach.
The quote appears on the 5:50 time stamp on the above video.
Last year, Daz “spent an awful lot of time last year with that” (his words) tailoring his offense around the skill set of Chester Stewart and Mike Gerardi, skill sets which were limited.
Now he has three quarterbacks who can do the same things in Coyer, Juice Granger and Kevin Newsome. All can run the spread and know how to do it and, as a result, the Owls are much farther along than they were last year.
That has me shaking my head up and down, not side to side.

The most-anticipated home season in my lifetime opens in about 25 days. Get your tickets now.

As I see it, there are more answers than questions to be found in the next 25 days Temple’s football team has  to prepare for the opening game against Villanova (Aug. 31, be there a couple of hours before kickoff, even if you have to go straight from work).
That doesn’t mean there are no questions that have to be answered in the next 25 days.
1) Who is here?

These are the guys the Owls are going to war with. I like the list.

Fortunately, the important pieces in the puzzle have arrived on campus. Montel Harris will be wearing No. 8 and head coach Steve Addazio says he is fully recovered from a knee injury. If so, that represents an upgrade over the departed “franchise” Bernard Pierce. No bigger BP fan than me (that’s well-documented by searching the name Bernard Pierce in the box at the top of this blog), but can you imagine BP having the same career in the ACC that Harris had? I think the answer to that is a clear no. My fervent hope is to see Harris go for 252 and five touchdowns in a 52-28 win over Rutgers, like he did in a 52-28 win over North Carolina State. Remember, BP got a lot of those yards in the MAC. As much as ACC football gets minimized, not even the biggest Big East fan can say their conference is a better football one than the ACC. I see two “true” freshman either starting or competing to start and those are Khalif Herbin (No. 27, slot receiver) on offense and Nate L. Smith (No. 1, free safety) on defense. They are here, too, and incredible playmakers. Matty Brown is an NFL-level third-down back and kickoff returner. Having a healthy Harris here enables him to showcase those skills. The Owls lose nothing by making Herbin the kickoff and punt returner, either.
2) What about the offensive line?
Only two guys who have started games in the past, Sean Boyle (center) and Martin Wallace (tackle) return but part-time 2010 starter Alex Jackson also returns and is a good blocker and I have confidence that Addazio and offensive line coach Justin Frye will be able to bring two guards and a tackle up to speed in 25 days. There is no better offensive line coach in the country than Addazio (even his Florida detractors will admit that). Remember, there is some good backup talent there. Adam Metz, for example, was a Big 33 starter.
3) What about the pass rush?
Moving John Youboty from inside to outside should help. Sean Daniels, the second-leading sacker from the 2010 season, needs to become the other starter at end to get a push from both sides. The interior wall, anchored by pre-season All Big-East tackle Levi Brown, is in good shape.
4) What about the depth?
Without a doubt, the biggest concern going into the Big East season is injuries. The Owls drop off considerably after the first two units. At times, they drop off considerably after one unit. For example, if they lose starting kicker and punter Brandon McManus, they go from potentially an eight-win team to an eight-loss team because field goals and field position will decide so many close games and all 11 games figure to be close. I’ll call McManus “bubble boy” because they need to keep him in a bubble to achieve their dreams. I don’t want him laying out a runner like he did on a 2010 kickoff vs. Connecticut. I want him running off the field. We all know he’s Temple TUFF. We need him to be Temple HEALTHY.
5) What about the backline defense?
If linebacker Nate D. Smith plays like he did in the spring, he gives Temple an upgrade over NFL-bound Stephen Johnson. That’s a big statement, but Johnson did not have the kind of spring in 2011 that Smith had in 2012. Another potential upgrade is Nate L. Smith at free safety over Kevin Kroboth, a steady and heady safety who didn’t make mistakes but also didn’t make many game-changing  plays. Nate L. Smith is a game-changer. I like the two starting linebackers returning, Blaze Caponegro and Ahkeem Smith as well as returning starter Justin Gildea at strong safety and lock-down left corner Anthony Robey.
Twenty-five days and five questions.
We should know the answers by Aug. 31.

Steve Addazio was the star of the Big East media day on Tuesday.

On the first night with a full moon this month, Steve Addazio talked about the second night with a full moon this month.
“We don’t like Villanova,” the Temple head football coach to the loudest applause of anything else he said at the season ticket-holder party Wednesday night.
The overflow crowd at Xfinity Live loved it.
Aug. 31 will feature a full moon, just like Aug. 1 did. Aug. 31 will also be the night Temple’s football team takes to the field for the first time in this most-anticipated season in its history against crosstown rival Villanova.
It is such a rare occurrance they call it a Blue Moon.
Appropriate because that is the color Villanova’s football team wears and also likely the mood of their fans afterward.

I think I would have said, “Even though we were 1-10 last year in the FCS and they were 9-4 in FBS, I hope we can compete with them on Aug. 31.”

Villanova is just a small step on what could be a great journey this season but it’s important because of the history involved between the schools. It is the last meeting in the “Mayor’s Cup” four-game series and, likely, the last time the schools ever play in football.
One of the Villanova running backs, Kevin Monangai, talked some trash about Temple the day the Owls were invited into the Big East, saying, “it’s just another good reason for us to snap on them Aug. 31.”
Later, Monangai clarified his response as a comment on this blog, saying, “What do you expect me to say, I hope we lose to them?”
No, but saying you are going to “snap on” a team that, by all independent accounts, is bigger and stronger and faster is probably not the best way to go about it.

On the same day, March 12, officials from Temple and Villanova played all kissy-face in front of the camera.
I wrote then and I believe now that part of the press conference was a complete charade.
Villanova had done its damnedest to keep Temple out of the Big East. Had it not been for Villanova, Temple would have been in for football as early as last Oct. 13th, according to the New York Post’s Lenn Robbins.
“The Big East conference call deteriorated into a two-hour Villanova bashing of Temple,” Robbins wrote.
By March, the Villanova Catholic cartel fell apart and Temple was into the league and Villanova will likely be  on the outside looking in for football.
Temple fans haven’t forgotten the Villanova bashing.
It’s nice to know that Addazio hasn’t, either, and has a bashing of his own on the mind.
Hopefully, the fake kneeldown out of victory formation followed by a long bomb will be added to the game plan soon.

About 10 years ago, you could hold a TU season-ticket party in a phone booth. Now, it needs Xfinity Live.

Recently, the subject of redemption and Temple football came up as part of a message board post on Owlscoop.com. A poster named MH55 noted the difference between Penn State and Temple football fans thusly:
“Frankly, I’ll stand with the 5,000 who came every weekend through 15 years getting our asses kicked. The commentary on BWI (a Penn State equivalent to Owlscoop) has revealed the character of many and continues to shine light on the source…”
I will stand by those fans, too, as early as Wednesday night of this week when the season-ticket-holders like myself get together at Xfinity Live for a shindig party (6-7:30 p.m.). I’ve never been to Xfinity Live but I hear great things about the place and this is my opportunity to check it out.

Xfinity Live is right next to Temple tailgate Lot K.

 Redemption is a big word for Temple football fans.
Sometimes, I had the fleeting thought that “sadism” was an apt word, too, sitting through a 51-3 loss to Virginia in 2005. The score was 44-0 at halftime and it might have been the only time I left the stadium that early.
A year later, the defensive coordinator of that Virginia team, Al Golden, took over at Temple and the curve started to slowly shoot up but not before a pair of 62-0 losses, one to Louisville and one to Minnesota.

 On Wednesday night, Temple fans can celebrate redemption with a few drinks and light snacks. They are back in a Big East that once scorned them. This time, the Big East does not know what is about to hit them.
We do.

Lt. Col. Neil Reilly with Temple flag.

When I first met Connor Reilly, it was waiting for the bowl selection party to begin last year. It was a good first impression.
I immediately liked the kid.
A few of the parents and I were at Maxi’s on the Main Campus. I asked Connor a few questions and he said, “yes, sir” and “no, sir” and “I guess so, sir.”
Geez.
I usually hate when people call me sir because it makes me feel old but something in the way Reilly said it led me to believe he was brought up the right way.
I suspected he from a military family and this great piece on ESPN.com by Andrea Adelson confirmed it. If you have two minutes today, give it a read. Lt. Col. Neil Reilly flies the Temple flag in Afganistan as a tribute to his son flying the American flag before Temple games.
When I was in New York, I mentioned to Steve Addazio how impressive I thought it was that he gave Connor permission to play on the Temple baseball team and I mentioned several great Temple football players (Cap Poklemba and Mike Palys) who were great Temple baseball players as well.
“He’s such a great kid,” Addazio told me.
Now I know why.

On the day the Freeh Report was released, the lede (or lead) story on the front page of the most popular Penn State football website was an interview with me.
I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing that Black Shoe Diaries picked that day to run an interview it conducted with me a few days earlier.
I guess the only good that came out of it was  because it led to a large number of hits on Temple Football Forever.

Bad timing, though, because a July preview of the September Temple vs. Penn State football game looked trivial in comparison on a day like that.
Truth is, the show must go on and the staff of Black Shoe Diaries needed a few more hours to digest the 266-page report and write on it.
The whole dirty Sandusky matter is a Penn State problem that soon the NCAA will determine.
I agree with Louis Freeh, the former FBI chief, that the top four officials “covered up” the Sandusky crime in order to protect what to that point had been a pristine national Penn State image.
I don’t think Penn State is going to get the death penalty, though.
USC got two years of bowl bans and 30 scholarships taken away for “institutional control” problems related to the Reggie Bush incident.
That pales in comparison to this.
I think Penn State will probably get three years of no bowls and more scholarship losses, which will relegate the Lions to near the bottom of the Big 10 for most of the upcoming decade.
That’s just an educated guess.
In the meantime, Penn State might have its best football team in a awhile this year.
I hope Penn State wins the Big 10 and loses to Temple.
A death penalty would rob the Owls of the chance for possibly their most prestigious win ever and, for selfish reasons, I don’t want that to happen.
If there’s a death penalty to be meted out this fall, I want the Owls to be the executioners. Beating a decent to good Big 10 team like Penn State would do wonders for Temple attendance the rest of the season. Plus, it’s Penn State, a program revered in Philadelphia for so many years.
I really believe the Owls are closer now to winning than they were in 14-10 and 22-15 losses the last two years. They have a great quarterback, great defense and a great kicker and those are major ingredients in the plan to win.
Temple can take back its town by winning.
After that, the NCAA can do whatever it wants.