Author Archives: Mike Gibson

07.17.20
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So far, only the shouting is over

 

That saying “it’s all over but the shouting” takes on a new meaning this fall.

Football might not be over, but the shouting could be.

Yesterday, the office of Gov. Tom Wolf said many college and professional teams have submitted plans to ask for a waiver to allow fans to attend.

Got to think that Temple, Pitt, and Penn State (along with the Eagles and Steelers) were among those teams.

templefans

Before social distancing …

Right now, I think there will be a season but it could be anything from “made for TV only” to a fan limit that would ensure social distancing.

Anecdotally, I’ve been going to supermarkets and other places enforcing social distancing and wearing masks. If it can work since March for those places, similar protocols should be able to enforce at Temple games.

Eagles?

Not so much. I guess it could work if they could figure out a way to limit the attendance to 20K, but I don’t know how they can do it without disaffecting a lot of loyal season ticket-holders.

Now back to the shouting part.

It’s going to be hard to cheer for the Owls through those darn masks so improvising and adjusting could be the order of the day. Disposable gloves and pounding on the seats could provide some sort of home-field advantage.

Looks like the opener at Miami won’t get played because those cheaters (stealing Manny Diaz and Quincy Roche, for starters) have been hit hard by back luck (see above video). Don’t wish that on them, but was never keen on the Owls having to face Roche again and really disappointed that he chose to play for a 2020 opponent of the Owls so I will shed no tear if that game is canceled.

I will if the other games are canceled, particularly if protocols that satisfy the science can be followed.

If you can go to a store wearing a mask, gloves and stand on those markers six feet apart, there should be a way to do the same for 20K fans in a 70K stadium.

I have my doubts but college football and pro football are buying time to figure this thing out. Even if it’s just on TV, I will take it. If that means the shouting is over, too, that’s a price we will have to pay for a season.

Monday: A Revamped AAC Schedule

 

07.13.20
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Geography: An Idea That Makes Too Much Sense

si

Pat Forde’s ideas in SI about college football realignment make sense now and probably will make sense 100 years from now.

One of my favorite things as a kid was to get out every map I could find (there were no google ones then) and find places of interest.

By the time I was 10, I virtually memorized every city and town in the United States. When I moved from one grade school to another, the “new kid” would win all of the Geography bees.

Knowing Geography, unlike, say, Algebra makes sense and can be put to good use for your entire life.

Penn State v Temple

Penn State-Temple would pack the Linc every other year.

The powers-that-be in college football have lost their way and a recent article by Pat Forde in Sports Illustrated beautifully pointed out why.

The Big 10 was a good idea for the land grant colleges of the midwest, not so much for Penn State, Maryland and Rutgers.

The Southwest Conference was a great idea for the Texas schools.

The Southeast Conference makes sense for Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida.

Forde has Temple in a “Yankee Conference” with UConn and UMass and Navy, but the ideal scenario for the Owls would be to lump them with the other two FBS schools in Pennsylvania and the other large media markets in the East.

For Temple, the ideal scenario would to be in with schools from the traditional East (Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, Maryland, Syracuse, West Virginia, Boston College, maybe even Navy).

That’s not going to happen now but it makes sense for a lot of reasons.

  • Rivalries: Penn State and Pitt and Maryland vs. Navy and Temple vs. Rutgers and Pitt and West Virginia, among others.
  • Travel costs: Football isn’t the only sport and having all an-East conference would cut costs considerably.
  • Attendance: Just from a Temple football standpoint, a steady diet of games against Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State and Pitt would kick the current average up from 28K to 38K or more easily.
  • TV markets: A Big East type conference would have the No. 1 market (New York), the No. 4 one, Philadelphia and the No. 10 one (D.C.)  It would be a catalyst for driving up revenue in any cable network competition.

Let the Big 10 have the midwest schools and the SEC and PAC-12 thrive but at some point, maybe long after even the current students at Temple are gone, someone should wise up and let geography dictate the college football landscape for everyone. Money dictates everything but what happens 50 years from now if the cable money runs out? Do the conferences return to a more regional landscape? Hope so.

Right now, this current setup does not benefit Temple nor many of the traditional Eastern schools.

Friday: Only The Shouting Is Over (Probably)

Monday: A Revamped AAC Schedule

07.10.20
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An objection to ticket policy

 

englert

Dick Englert with some season ticket holders

Editor’s Note: In the final days and maybe even hours of Dick Englert’s tenure as interim President at Temple, this is one of the final letters to come across his desk. Since the subject is Temple football in general and season tickets in particular, Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub wanted to share it here. 

fizz

Dear Dr. Englert,

           I want you to imagine you’ve been a season ticket holder for Owls football or basketball for thirty, or forty, or fifty years. Sometimes, it was tough to put that money out, but you wanted to support the program. Buying season tickets was your way of showing that support, even if it meant pinching the penny somewhere else. You took pride in bringing your kids and grand-kids to the games. Some of them even matriculated to Temple.

          Then the Coronavirus hits, and everything goes topsy/turvy.  Under this social distancing circumstance, you’re trying to decide if it makes medical sense to repurchase tickets this year, but you pick up the phone, prepared to do your duty.

           The young lady tells you how they’re going to spread the fans out around the lower level of the stadium.  When you ask about the best seats, she tells you that those folks who have given more money to the Owl Club and the University will get top priority. Therefore, people who sat between the forties for decades and developed friendships at those games now have to sit in or near the end-zone. And, it’s the same deal for basketball.

           Giving priority to more prominent donors has to rank as one of the most stupid decisions the University has ever made. You embarrassed the hell out of fans who’ve purchased tickets and remained loyal for decades. Seating priority should go to those who have purchased season tickets the longest. It seems you’re purposely trying to upset folks with your money-grubbing strategies, and this policy will only result in diminishing the fan base.

            Now let’s assume there’s no virus next year. For football, the intent is to move the Owl fans to the other side of the stadium. Once again, you’ll probably distribute seats on the same short-sighted basis.

           That’s not my only gripe. It seems that hardly a week goes by without a solicitation for contributions by Temple. I get emails from different schools as well as various programs and the general fund. If you’d cut your development staff to the bare bones, save all those salaries, and have only one campaign, Temple would probably come out ahead.

I’m a very upset Owl who won’t be buying tickets.

Dave (Fizzy) Weinraub, Ed.D.

Temple 62/69

Football Letter Winner

Monday: An idea that makes too much sense

07.06.20
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Recruiting 2021: That’s What I’m Talking About

 

There are none so blind as refuse to see.

The blueprints for Temple football’s decade-long transformation from 2006 chump to 2016 champ were in the Edberg-Olson Complex for all to see and it appears, after some rummaging through the files in the attic, Rod Carey’s staff have found them in one important area: Recruiting.

After a hiatus of Geoff Collins making a failed run through the South to fuel Temple with largely suspects, the Owls have gotten back to the prospect formula that worked so well for Al Golden and Matt Rhule:

Recruit Mid-Atlantic and DMV (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) hard but, more importantly, get a significant number of players who have Power 5 offers. For Golden and Rhule, that breakdown was roughly this: 10-15 three stars and above with solid P5 offers with the rest of the class at least two stars and trusting the film on the others.

That’s what I’m talkin’ about, Willis.

 

Two stars like Tyler Matakevich (consensus national defensive player of the year as a senior) and Haason Reddick (a first-round NFL draft choice) were coached into five stars by the time they left.

Still, you can’t coach every two-star into a five-star and your chances are a lot better when your base is three.

betting

We won’t get into every recruit, but running back Johnny Martin III is rated near the top of RBs in New Jersey and strong side defensive end Jordan Laudato of West Chester Henderson was rated as high as the No. 2 DE in the state of Pennsylvania. The Owls’ most recent commitment, safety Christian Abraham (St. Joseph’s, Montvale, N.J.) is in the top 30 of defensive players in that state.  Justin Lynch (Mount Carmel, Chicago) is the brother of a quarterback (Jordan) who was a Heisman Trophy finalist at Rod Carey’s former school, NIU. He was the leader of a state championship team in Illinois a year ago. In horse racing, good bloodlines almost always mean triple crown contenders. I like Lynch’s future at Temple. He was one of the few who didn’t have a P5 offer, but his film is among the most impressive.

According to Scout.com, Temple now has 10 “hard commitments” and not a single one is lower than a three-star. Almost all had Power 5 offers (not just interest) in hand by commitment day. That’s the best recruiting start we’ve seen in a long while.

Even more importantly, the Owls have been building trust and relationships centered particularly around running backs coach Gabe Infante. Recruits have gone out of their way to praise Infante and he seems to be thriving in a role once played by Fran Brown.

Friday: One of Dick Englert’s last letters from a fan

07.03.20
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We’re No. 6!!!! (Or Not)

athlon

I’ll put my money down on this when I see Temple on the cover.

This is usually about the time I walk down the aisles of my local Giant and Weis Markets peruse the covers of the various college football guides.

Flipping about a third of the way through for most of them is where you come to the sections on AAC.

Most of them have the Temple football Owls, a successful program for over a decade by G5 standards, ranked No. 6 in the toughest G5 conference.

I’m not buying it. (Not just the magazine but the premise.)

IF … and that’s indeed an IF there is a next season with the current uptick in the health scare, Temple will not be No. 6. The Owls might not be No. 1 but I would put money on them being closer to No. 1 than No. 6 and that’s based on an objective look at the talent on the roster.

The reason is simple.

joke

I’ve seen the Owls ranked as high as No. 4 (Underdog Dynasty) to as low as No. 8 here (The Breakdown). Most of the major magazines have the Owls at No. 6 in the AAC.

The Owls have an outstanding offensive line, a first-team freshman All-American running back in Ray Davis and two great … and I’m NOT using hyperbole when I write this … wide receivers in Branden Mack and Jadan Blue. The stats are there for all to see. Blue not only led the Owls in catches (95), but he ranks No. 1 among all Owls of all time in that category in a single season. That covers a lot of ground, both figuratively and literally, considering Leslie Shephard and Steve Watson were outstanding receivers in the NFL. Despite that, Mack–a complementary 6-5 receiver to Blue’s 6-1–caught more touchdown passes (7-4).

Quarterback Anthony Russo is on target to break all but two of P.J. Walker’s Temple career records (yards and touchdown passes). IF he makes the same kind of improvement from junior year to senior (14 touchdowns, 14 interceptions to 21-12), he has an outside shot at collecting all of the records. How outstanding would that be? P.J. played four years; Anthony only three.

The returning interior defensive line is really good, led by Dan Archibong and Ifeanyi Maijeh. Some transfers and recruits have bolstered the interior wall so moving Archibong out to his original position (end) should be an option to help with the outside rush.

The Owls have one linebacker returning who was a bowl game MVP (William Kwenkeu) and another (Isaiah Graham-Mobley) who just might be a better NFL prospect than Eagles’ No. 5 pick Shaun Bradley. He was certainly on par with Bradley until he got injured halfway through the 2019 season.

Corners Christian Braswell, Ty Mason, and Linwood Crump Jr. are back and have had plenty of experience. Two (Braswell and Mason) have pick 6s in AAC games. Amir Tyler is a pretty good safety.

Plus, in head coach Rod Carey‘s seven years as head coach (six at NIU), he has never won fewer than eight games. He’s been able to plug enough holes and identify them to sustain excellence.

This is not a sixth-place team. It may not be the first-place one, either, as Cincinnati and UCF have more talent on paper, but it is one with a perception problem on the national scale fueled by a couple of dud bowl games.

Right now, perception is everything until the Owls have a chance to get on the field and prove the magazines wrong. Let’s hope they have a chance to do so.

Monday: That’s What I’m Talking About Willis

Saturday (7/11): You can’t really go home again

Monday (7/13): An idea that makes too much sense

Friday (7/18): Best of TFF (our annual one-week vacation begins)

 

06.29.20
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Running out of time to set a date for football

Mike Aresco, AAC commissioner,

Mike Aresco seems confident the AAC will be playing football.

It looks like there are at least three possible outcomes for the resumption of college football this season:

  • One, the powers-that-be will confirm all football will start on time.
  • Two, the powers-that-be will announce a postponement, cancellation, or shortened season maybe even without fans.
  • Three, no date will be set at all and the season will resume as scheduled.

Whatever happens, it appears to be that we are running out of time to set a date but AAC commissioner Mike Aresco doesn’t seem concerned.

aresco

That’s important because, if there are going to be fans, they have to know whether to renew season tickets or not. There’s too much uncertainty out there and fragile fan bases–like most of the ones currently in the G5–are not going to make plans to renew if there is no announcement made.

That said, my money is now on No. 3.

First, Temple is already having voluntary workouts and most of the team will join for full workouts starting July 13. Second, the school already announced that it will have a combination of in-person and online classes this fall. The in-person element means that football can be played. It’s hard to justify college football if there are no students on campus.

Now onto the “powers-that-be.” In college football, that certainly is not the NCAA. Football is controlled by the Power 5 conferences who basically tell the NCAA what to do.

If the Power 5 decides to play, and all indications are that it will, the G5 will fall in line.

So while it would be nice to know a summertime date where something is written that all systems are go, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that the season will happen as scheduled and without significant comment.

Right now, those “powers” are hoping that the virus doesn’t spiral out of control between now and September so making a formal announcement now probably won’t happen. Plan to attend the games, but don’t be surprised if they aren’t there.

Saturday: Is Temple really No. 6?

Monday: That’s what I’m talking about

Saturday (7/11): You can’t really go home again

06.26.20
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Tulane has the right approach

Tulane v Temple

Temple goes on the road to play Tulane, which has two road P5 games.

Even though Temple beat a very good Tulane team last year, there is no denying the Green Wave is on the rise.

This year, if there is this year, they are poised to take advantage.

Tulane’s non-conference schedule has been ranked No. 1 by college football expert Tom Fornelli in the AAC and that’s probably the model Temple should pursue in the not-too-distant future.

Cincinnati v Tulane

Consider this: Tulane returns 14 of 22 starters from a bowl team and runs a unique zone bluff option type offense that is easier to pass off than, say, Army and Navy. It’s an offense few teams run and makes Tulane a tough team to prepare for in a one-week situation. Most P5 teams go up against a read-option and facing a different style makes it a tough team to prepare against.

Temple used to be that way as the Owls ran power football with a fullback for most of the Matt Rhule and Al Golden years. Since P5 teams didn’t see that style, the Owls had a fair share of success against more talented foes.

This is my favorite Rhule quote about Temple football from a Paul Myerberg piece in USA Today:

“”HOW DO WE DIFFERENTIATE OURSELVES? HOW DO WE MAKE OURSELVES HARD TO PREPARE FOR? PUT TWO BACKS ON THE FIELD. PUT TWO TIGHT ENDS ON THE FIELD. THIS IS WHAT YOUR ROOTS ARE. THESE KIDS HAVE MADE THEMSELVES REALLY TOUGH. AND THAT’S THE ONLY WAY WE’LL EVER WIN. BY BEING A REALLY, REALLY TOUGH FOOTBALL TEAM.”” _ MATT RHULE

Now it appears Tulane has adopted its own way to make it a difficult-to-prepare-for opponent.

Tulane goes on the road against Northwestern and Mississippi State and I like that scheduling. Both are P5 teams but both are beatable and winning those games would be a boost to the entire conference and not just Tulane.

Temple plays a home game against P5 bottom-feeder Rutgers and a road game against much-improved (at least from a personnel standpoint) Miami. However, if the Owls bring that read-option style to Miami with a classic pocket passer in Anthony Russo, they are going to get hammered by outside pass rushers Quincy Roche and Gregory Rousseau, who could both go in the first round of the NFL draft. Establish an inside running game to avoid those two ends and then throwing off play-fakes would probably mitigate the rush. Does Rod Carey go outside of his comfort zone to attack the weakness of his opponent?

We didn’t see much evidence of last in his last game.

Hopefully, his next game plan is the polar opposite of that one.

Monday: Drop dead date

 

06.22.20
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How Dunphy can hit it out of the park

dunphy

Interesting choice of the word “earned” in this OwlsDaily headline.

Back in the mid-1960s, Fran Dunphy spent most of his springs as the shortstop of the LaSalle University baseball team. His second baseman in the double-play combination was former Temple University athletic director Bill Bradshaw.

Since it was a short fence at McCartney Stadium, we can assume Dunphy (and maybe even Bradshaw) hit a few out of the park.

Temple University names William Bradshaw new Director of Athletics.

Bradshaw continued his prolific home run hitting, at least in a figurative sense, at Temple as AD. It’s not a stretch to say that he saved the football program with the hirings of Al Golden and Matt Rhule and, even though he popped out with Steve Addazio (who won a bowl game), a 2-for-3 day at the hiring plate is a good performance in this sport.

More importantly, once the ship was righted, he signed contracts with Notre Dame and Penn State that increased Temple football’s profile nationally and he was directly responsible for the night that Temple set the record (that probably won’t be broken) for  the number of TV sets in the nation’s fourth-largest market glued to a college football game.

So Fran needs to get on the phone with his old buddy today or tomorrow if he’s going to make a difference in this job.

“Bill, what’s up?”

“Fran, congratulations on the AD job.”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you about. I don’t want to be known as a placeholder. I want to be a guy who makes a positive difference at Temple in this job.”

“Fran, here’s what you do. Get on the phone with Lafayette, Norfolk State, Coastal Carolina and rip up those contracts and tell them you are going to help them get games with Penn and Villanova.”

“Then what?”

“Then go through the list of Power 5 schools who are not at the top right now, I’m talking about the Indianas and the West Virginias, and schedule games with them. Try to get home and homes but, if you have to, settle for two for ones. It’ll help Temple get into the Power 5 to win those games. Hell, I’ll even help you try to get Notre Dame back on the schedule if you want.”

“Thanks, Bill. One more thing.”

“What’s that, Fran?”

“How about getting baseball back?”

“Let’s not get crazy. One thing at a time.”

Friday: What the other AAC teams are doing

 

06.20.20
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Jonesy: A Sad Loss

gameface

This is how I will always remember Temple police officer Jim Jones, with a game face on game day.

That great writer and philosopher Billy Joel probably wasn’t the first guy to express the thought but it is forever engrained in pop culture in one of his songs:

“Only the good die young.”

rodster

Don’t know about “only” but it sure seems like a disproportionate distribution of the grim reaper and the latest person taken away from us was officer Jim Jones a week ago. He was born in 1971, so that would have made him 49.

Either way, too young.

I hesitated this long to write about it because I only saw and talked to the man (basically) twice a year: The season-ticket party and the bowl game. He would interact with the fans pretty much at those points and he was always the nicest guy you’d ever talk to.

The other times you’d see him he, like the team, had their game faces on and that was, of course, on game day.

He was the first guy leading the team into the stadium and he knew his No. 1 responsibility was to keep them safe and he did that to perfection.

gersonmessage

That’s how I will always remember him but he was much closer to the players, coaches and guys in the program and those are the people I feel for today. This above tribute written by Temple assistant director of football operations Dave Gerson, a lifelong Owl fan, reflected closeness better than anything I could write here.

The fact that just one police officer protected an entire team of 115-plus always astounded me. They are going to have to replace Jonesy with a battalion of officers and it won’t be enough.

2914d-franster

Monday: One Way Fran Can Knock it Out of the Park

Friday: Hat tip to these AAC teams

Monday (6/29): Drop Dead Date

 

 

06.15.20
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A couple of special additions

If one play turned around the Temple season, it was a Keystone Cops’ like extra point that was not only blocked but taken back all the way for two points at Cincinnati.

That miss was in no way the fault of kicker Will Mobley because careful review of that replay showed a guard missing his block that allowed a hand to get through.

rory

Still, those two points were the difference between a Temple lead in a game the Owls had to win. They really should have won that game in Cincinnati because a lead would have dictated the approach in the fourth quarter.

Whatever, it highlighted a problem with the Owls that needed to be fixed. The Owls have not had an impact kicker since Aaron Boumerhi helped save the 2016 season. That was the year Austin Jones busted his leg on a cheap shot at Memphis. Going into that game, Jones–who transferred to Alabama and obscurity (Quincy Roche take note)– hit a Temple record 17-straight field goals.

Why do we bring all of this up?

First, placekicking has pretty much never been an area to worry about. The Owls have been blessed from guys like Nick Mike-Mayer to Don Bitterlich to Cap Poklemba to Brandon McManus to Jones and Boomer.

Lately?

Not so much.

Mobley is a pretty reliable extra-point type kicker but do you trust him with a 44-yarder with 30 seconds left in a big spot?

bellster

Gotta love that all of Rory’s family and friends already have their Temple swag.

He’s never shown that deep leg threat.

Two kickers Rod Carey is bringing in this year, though, do. Carey watched the same film you and I did and is doing something about it.

Rory Bell of Wilmington (Ohio) is outstanding as is Souderton kicker William Leyland.

Bell was ranked No. 2 in the nation by one of the scouting services, Game Winning kicking.

Leyland was named the kicker for the East squad for the Big 33 game that unfortunately will not be played due to the pandemic.

Both have big legs and can win a game and both will come as PWO (preferred walk-ons).

May the best man win, err, a scholarship. The Owls already have won getting both on the roster.

Now let’s hope the Owls can tighten up all the loose ends on their special teams to give these guys a shot to shine.