Temple quarterback Mike Gerardi discusses the Miami game.

You hear it all the time.
“This is the most important game of the year.”
Usually, it’s hyperbole.
Not this year. Not with Temple.
The next game is always the most important because it’s the next game but Temple has had more games that were “most important” for other reasons, too, than any season I can remember in my 30 years of following the team.
Against Villanova it was the most important game because you could not retain any credibility in your hometown by losing to that school again.
Against CMU it was most important because it took down the reigning MAC power.

Temple at Miami (O)
TV/RADIO: ESPN2; WPHT-AM (1210).

Records: Temple, 8-3 overall,
5-2 Mid-American Conference;
Miami, 7-4, 6-1.
Series: Temple leads, 3-1.

Against UConn it was most important because it send a message to the Big East flirting with Villanova that, hey, there was a better-looking girl on the same block.
Against Penn State, it would have been a statement game nationally for the program.
And so on and so forth ….
It was true last week against Ohio and it is true Tuesday night at Miami.
Each game was and is more important than the prior game.
Here’s the reason why Tuesday night’s game with Miami is the MOST important:
Last week, Temple AD Bill Bradshaw sent out a questionaire to Owl fans about which bowl they consider most appealing to travel to, listing Boise, Mobile and Detroit as possible destinations.
My strong educated guess is that Boise was a runaway winner _ for last place. There will be no fans (other than athletic support personnel and parents) going to that game. Maybe the Boise alumni club (one person) will arrange a trip on a motorscooter.
Go to Mobile or St. Petersburg or Dallas and there are likely to be thousands of Owl fans, who will be watching tonight from home or area P.J. Whelihan locations where there will be organized Temple viewing parties. All locations will be having viewing parties with the biggest one at Blue Bell in Montgomery County.
Those fans know if the Owls don’t win in Miami (Ohio) tonight (7 p.m., ESPN2), they are likely ticketed for Boise.
Or worse.
Home.
That’s where it stands right now.
Even though head coach Al Golden assumed that the Owls were going bowling for the second straight year in the post-game press conference after the Ohio loss, a closer examination of the available data indicates that Temple could be left on the outside looking in with a loss.
That’s because it’s a 50/50 shot that all of the bowls MAC teams are listed as backups will be filled with primary conference tie-ins.
Win, and it’s impossible to keep a nine-win Temple team out.
Lose, and it’s a 50/50 shot at no bowl at all.
So this is the most important game of the year.
Until the bowl game.

Ouch.

TFF’s real and magnificent picks
Until I hit the lottery, I have two rules for betting:
1) Don’t bet with real money;
2) Wait until the season is at least 10 weeks old (in order to get a perspective).
But I do like to test my knowledge of college football against Vegas, so I’m happy to report I am 5-1 this year against the spread.
Two weeks ago, I was 2-1.
Last week, I lost on Iowa at Northwestern, but won on Fresno State getting eight at Nevada (it lost, 35-34), Louisiana-Lafayette getting 10 against Florida Atlantic (it lost, 24-23) and Tulsa getting the 3 at Houston (Tulsa won the game outright, 30-28).
This week’s picks:
Ohio State 21 at Iowa 10 (OSU favored by 3);
Northern Illinois 35 at Ball State 14 (NIU favored by 15);
WESTERN MICHIGAN 27, visiting Kent State 20 (WMU favored by 3);
Florida International 23 at Louisiana-Lafayette 20 (FIU favored by 10)

That hurt.
Sixteen returning starters, a Heisman Trophy candidate (going into the season, at least) and a team coming off a 9-3 season.
Another 9-3 season, to me, would seem to be going sideways.
So, at best, we’re going sideways.
Unless we finish 9-3 and win a bowl game.
Then we’re going forward.
Some of the more savvy amongst you might have noticed we changed our banner. Since Jan. 1, we put the heading “It’s Title Time” in it.
Since there will be no MAC title, I’m removing it.
Congrats to either NIU or Ohio.
The title time headline does not fit anymore.

Now I have to answer questions from my MAC brethren in the weekly MAC Bloggers’ Roundtable.
I can’t remember a week I have been up for this less, but these guys have blogged through some pretty tough seasons (except for NIU) so I will soldier on this time.
1. Northern Illinois is having a nice season and appears to be getting stronger. Do you think NIU is a Top 25 team as of today?

I think of two guys who gave young Al Golden a clinic in game coaching and Jerry Kill was one of them. Frank Solich was the other. I think if NIU plays Penn State or some decent above Northwestern-level (Dan Persa is out) Big 10 team and wins, which I believe it will, NIU deserves a top 25.

2. We talk a lot about skill players, but the game of football is often won and lost on the front line. Evaluate your offensive and defensive fronts, including your best players.

Adrian Robinson has been a season-saver (blocked extra point against BG, stolen ball for TD against UConn) and Mo Wilkerson is one of the top defensive linemen in the country. I’m extremely disappointed in everyone else across both lines with the possible exception of Sean Daniels, a true freshman from Highstown, N.J., who is an incredible talent at DE.

3. Similarly, special teams are an often overlooked part of football. Evaluate your special teams thus far this season and what contribution they have made to winning….or losing.

I thought James Nixon would be more deadly on kickoffs and Delano Green on punts. Neither one were, unfortunately. Brandon McManus had a solid sophomore season, but he could not afford to miss an extra point in the Ohio game and he did just that. He is an NFL kicker, though. No doubt.

4. To date, what is your best memory of this season? And what memory are you currently seeing therapy to block from your memory.

My best memory is getting revenge against UConn, beating that team by two touchdowns, and then watching that team beat West Virginia and Pitt. My worst memory is sitting there in the rain against Ohio and watching Frank Solich run the same schemes he did a year ago against Al Golden and Al Golden, with a year to watch that film, does nothing substanitive to counter Solich.

5. BG and Toledo have their rivalry game this week, and your team has had one on the schedule somewhere. Do you think rivalries are important to the quality of play in the MAC, or are they a distraction that make it harder to get up for other games.

I love rivalries. I just don’t think Temple has one with anyone in the MAC due to geography. Rutgers was the Big East rival and before that Delaware was the rival. Now Villanova is the rival for two more years.

6. Rank ‘em.

1. NIU


2. Ohio


3. Toledo


4. Temple


5. Miami


6. WMU


7. Kent


8. Ball State


9. Buffalo


10. BG


11. CMU


12. EMU


13. Akron

Army players hoisting the Lambert Trophy back in the day. This could have been us.

ECAC® Lambert Meadowlands Bowl Subdivision Football Poll
presented by FieldTurf … as of Nov. 15, 2010:

Record Points

1. Temple 8-2 184

2. Syracuse 7-3 168

3. Penn State 6-4 158

3. Navy 7-3 158

5. Pittsburgh 5-4 156

6. West Virginia 6-3 120

7. Connecticut 5-4 78

8. South Florida 6-3 72

9. Army 6-4 56

10. Louisville 5-5 40

ARV: Rutgers, Boston College.

Well, this was nice while it lasted.
On Monday, for the first time I can remember, Temple was voted No. 1 in the Lambert Trophy balloting emblematic of football supremacy in the East.
Syracuse was No. 2.
Penn State was No. 3.
Pitt was No. 4.
West Virginia was No. 5.
And so on …
I don’t care how bogus you might think the poll is, it is something.
This used to be a much bigger deal than it is today because there were only eight bowls throughout most of the 50s and 60s.
Yet, I still think it’s a big deal because Temple being No. 1 shows how far the program has come in terms of perception.
No. 1.
It lasted exactly one day. Maybe it would have lasted longer had the Owls not played and coached so poorly Tuesday night.
Maybe it could have lasted longer if they didn’t inexplicably line up with five guys in the backfield on the first play of the game, negating a 67-yard run by Bernard Pierce. How you practice for nine days and then make that mental mistake on the first play of the game is beyond me.
Maybe it could have lasted longer if this running team had the gonads to run the ball on a crucial 3d and 1 later on in the game, instead of throwing it.
In one fell swope, Temple lost not only a chance for a MAC championship but a Lambert Trophy.
It would have been nice to have both trophies next to the Mayor’s Cup at the E-O.

There was a movie in back in the 1980s called “The Day After.”
It was about the day after a nuclear war.
This morning after is not that bad, but close.
That’s just the way I feel.

I can’t imagine how it feels for the kids and the coaches who invested emotion and so much more into this program.
Kids are pretty resilient, though, and I hope they’ll be back to playing Temple football in less than a week.
What is Temple football?
To me, it’s running the ball behind a line that averages 318-pounds with an NFL first-round draft choice. I love Matty Brown. Love the kid. He’s a change-of-pace back at best and a fill-in who can get you 226 in a pinch against Army.
I want my NFL first-rounder back on the field and, failing that, I would like to give a bigger back (Ahkeem Smith) a shot to carry the ball next week and chew some clock. Then throw play-action off the run.
Temple football on defense is getting after the quarterback and forcing turnovers and being fundamentally sound against the run.
I did not see much Temple football on either side of the ball last night.
This I do know, though.
For the second straight year, my favorite Owl, Bernard Pierce, missed the Ohio game.
Do I think he’s glass?
No.
I think this young man has had incredibly bad luck.
Do I think Temple wins with Bernard? Easily. This kid is a first-round NFL draft pick in April, 2012. Matty Brown? Love the kid, but IF he’s lucky … IF … he might get a free-agent invite.
That’s reality as I see it.
This trying to split carries between Matty and Bernard has been a disaster. Making Brown a feature back really is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Let’s put the square pegs in the square holes and the round ones in the round holes.
Pierce, when healthy, needs to stay in the game and develop a rhythm. That’s what he did so well for most of last year.
Let’s hope he’s healthy for the final two games.
I’m not one of those guys who refuse to give the other team props. My hat is off to Ohio and Frank Solich, who coached the tan pants off of Al Golden for the second year in a row. Ohio made plays and Temple didn’t. For that alone, Ohio deserved to win.
This season has come down to this:
Win at Miami and the Owls go to the GoDaddy.com bowl in Mobile, Ala.
Lose at Miami and the Owls might not go bowling anywhere.
I hope to see you folks in Mobile.
More than that, I want to see real Temple football again and soon.

Nine days ago, I wrote a post entitled “Nine Days in November.”
It was as much about our fans recruiting other Temple people to come to the game tomorrow night (8 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field) vs. Ohio to  support the Owls as it was about the importance of the game.

This is an important game, no doubt.
How important?
Well, if the Owls win, they get a clear path to the championship game (Miami is an easier foe than Ohio).
If the Owls lose, there will be no championship.
If the Owls lose, they get sent to MAC Hell: The Hummanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, probably against a Hawaii or a Fresno State.
I don’t see any more than 100 Owl fans making that trip, God forbid it ever happens.
That takes care of the football end of the business.
You could make a strong argument about a more important aspect of the game being a strong showing by Temple fans.
A strong showing by Temple fans (in my mind, 25K plus) would send a clear message to the rest of the world via a national television audience (ESPN2) that Temple can keep Al Golden, that Temple can be a viable presence in a BCS conference, that Temple football can deliver the nation’s fourth-largest TV market in a big way (that last point was proven a year ago on Dec. 29).
Those are just some of the positive messages a packed house can bring.
A weak showing by our fans would be a disaster for Temple University’s national image. We have a chance to change all of the negative stereotypes in just one night, so let’s do it.
That’s why I’ve pressed more strange flesh in the last nine days than a politician in October.
In the last few months, I’ve seen tons of people wearing Temple stuff. Just never had the guts to say anything to any of them.
Nine days ago, I made a commitment to approach every one of them.
Nine days, 37 people. I talked the game up to every one. Eight of those people said they were coming anyway. Another 20 said they’d think about it. One elderly couple said they haven’t been to a Temple game in 20 years, but had nothing else to do Tuesday night and would be there.
Let’s face it.
Our core fan base is 15K. It’s a solid 15K. However, if each one of us recruited one or two more people outside our of group that base balloons to 30K or 45K.
In 24 hours, walk up to as many strangers wearing Temple stuff as you can.
Better yet, spread the word by Facebook and Twitter to every sports radio station and TV station websites, write comments on Philly.com after every Eagles’ story.
Do whatever you can.
Just don’t sit back and hope 30K come. Be proactive.
These kids and this university deserves the support.



This is the what I’ll be wearing on Tuesday night



Props to Al Golden and the football team for supporting the basketball Owls last night at the Liacouras Center.
If you were there, you would have seen a packed house approaching the 10K capacity of the arena and it included Al and his family and the family of Temple football players.
Impressive stuff, considering that the football Owls are nearing  the end of an intensive nine days of practice for the “most important game Temple has played in 30 years” according to Al.
Al Golden is right about this one.
It is the most important game that Temple has played in the last 30 years.
Al and the players supported the university on Friday night. It’s time for the university to support Al and the players on Tuesday night.
Heck, it is the most important college game in Philadelphia in the last 30 years as well.
Temple has to win the next two games for a chance to win the MAC championship game in Detroit, which is what this program’s stated goal as been from the start.
Never has a college game been played in Philadelphia at the Division IA or FBS level with a conference championship on the line in November.
Never.

That alone makes this the most important college game in the city in the last 30 years or maybe ever.
You might say Army and Navy, but when were they playing for a conference championship? Pride between two prideful schools is one thing.
A conference championship is a whole other thing.

When you add in the fact that it’s the only college football game on national TV (ESPN2) that night, nothing would put Temple University in a more positive light than a big, roaring crowd in the background.
If there ever was a time to “Cherryout” the Linc, it is now.
If Temple can draw 20K “Temple” people to D.C. in 11-degree wind chill, then at least 25-30K (and hopefully more) “Temple” people should be able to make the short trip to Lincoln Financial Field and wear their cherry proudly, whatever the weather is outside.
This is the hottest sports team in Philadelphia right now.
They deserve a rousing sendoff to postseason glory which only we and 29,999 or more of our closest friends can give them.

My picks today (I was 2 for 3 last week):
Iowa 30, Northwestern 17 (Iowa is a 10-point favorite on the road); Tulsa 33, Houston 30 (Tulsa is a 2 1/2-point underdog on the road); Fresno State 21, Nevada 19 (Nevada is an eight-point favorite at home) and Florida Atlantic 20, Louisiana-Lafayette 17 (LL is a 10-point dog on the road).

I have a sinking (stinking) feeling that the Owls will end up bowling here, my version of MAC hell, if they don’t win their next two games. I can only hope they win the next two.

My car stalled out on the way home and  thanks to triple A got a tow and finished last in the MAC answers department.
Here are my Week 11  answers:

1. There are still six teams in the MAC who can become Bowl Eligible. The two with the toughest road to hoe are Kent and WMU, each with six losses. Do either, neither, or both teams make 6-6 and potentially see a bowl.

I think WMU slips in there because one of the other conference tie-in bowls will have non-qualifiers. Plus, I like Bill Cubit.

2. In the past two years three coaches from the MAC have “moved up”. Brady Hoke in 2008 and Turner Gill / Butch Jones in 2009. Which Coach or Coaches more out in 2010. Also which coaches get tossed on the garbage heap of failed and fired MAC coaches.

Everybody will come asking Al Golden (Minnesota, Colorado) but those aren’t the areas in Al’s recruiting footprint. I think he would be extremely uncomfortable recruiting there. According to a guy I work with who is PSU-connected, some pretty influential PSU backers have let Al know through backchannels that he’s president’s Graham Spanier’s top choice as replacement for Joe in one or two years, that Al doesn’t need to prove himself at any place but Temple. Al never wanted to go to Tennessee, East Carolina or Cincy. He wanted Temple and I think the only other job he’d want is Penn State. He doesn’t want to go through the  sheer exhaustion of building a program like he did at Temple anywhere else. He can stay put at Temple and still go to PSU. He has all the time in the world. Plus Temple sweetened the pot by raising his salary from 575K to $1.2 mil. That’s a pretty damn sweet pot.

3. Right now three MAC teams are getting votes in various polls (NIU, Temple, and Ohio). Is the MAC starting to upswing off of the (real or perceived) fall off from 2004-2009?

Only Bowl wins will tell. I see NIU and Temple winning bowl games this year.

4. So far this season what has been the story that defines the MAC? Which player’s, team’s, or mascot’s news headline is most representative of the conference as a whole.

I think Mike Gerardi defines the MAC. With him, there’s no doubt in my mind Temple goes 10-0 so far.  No doubt.
It’s shocking to me that Golden stayed with Chester Stewart out of loyalty and hurt his team’s chance at true greatness. But Al is a stubborn guy so I admire his change of heart/head as much as I’m shaking my freaking head (smfh is the facebook abbreviation) over sticking with a guy who couldn’t complete a play-action pass to save his life.

5. Rank MAC squads in order of pure 2010 Power

1. Temple


2. NIU
3. Toledo


4. Ohio


5. Miami Ohio


6. WMU


7. Ball State


8. Kent State


9. CMU


10. Buffalo


11. Bowling Green


12. Eastern Michigan


13. Akron

This is the greatest bargain in the history of sports marketing (seriously).

I was unpacking the groceries Tuesday at the Genaurdi’s on Huntingdon Pike and saw an older lady wearing a Temple sweatshirt.
I see Temple sweatshirts all over the place these days.
I usually don’t say anything.
This time, I did. I figured I could because I was rocking my Temple gear, too.
“Temple, huh?” I said. “We’ve got a big game on Tuesday.”
“Football?” she said. “I’ve heard about it. I’ve never gone. I’m going to talk my husband into taking me.”
“It should be fun,” I said. “It’s for the championship.”
I put my stuff in my car and she put her stuff in hers.
Sold. Two tickets to Temple people for the Temple game.
(Maybe.)
See.

One person can make a difference.
I’m going to bother as many strangers wearing Temple stuff as I can in the next few days.
I hope they all tell me they are going. I hope a lot of them tell me they are first-timers.
Going is the most important thing, though.
Being in the stands, suppporting kids playing football for your university in the most important game of their lives is a worthwhile endeavor if there ever was one.
I don’t care if it’s 8 p.m. on a Tuesday and you worked a full day and you have to be at work at 6 the next morning.
Has anyone ever heard of a sick day?
Has anyone ever heard of re-arranging their schedule?
How many among us have ever slept four hours or less to do something important?
I think all of us have.
Tuesday is that important a day to us, to the kids who play football for Temple, to the national image of the university as a whole.
Our usual 20,000 in a stadium that seats 70,000 won’t cut it anymore.
People across the country will be saying the things they have been for years.
“Same old Temple.”
“Yeah, Apathy U.”
“We can’t invite them to a BCS conference. Not with that support.”
Put 40,000 in the house and all those perceptions change.
Most of all, the kids who put their bodies on the line for this university will finally get the support they deserve.
One person can make the difference in the next few days.
Yesterday it was me.
Today I hope it is you.