Author Archives: Mike Gibson

04.12.19
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Cherry and White Day (but not Game)

 

 

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Plenty of room for a football stadium here and it will be one for at least a day tomorrow.

As many of you have noticed over the last few years, the Cherry and White game we’ve all known and loved has pretty much devolved into a glorified practice.

Sometime after Brandon McManus left, we did not see any field goals and that was followed by no kick returns after Matty Brown left and no punts after Alex Starczyk left.  There hasn’t been a real sack in one of these games in 20 years with the quarterbacks off limits.

 

The game never really meant anything even before that but it was football and looked pretty much like the real thing.

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Each time, though, the reminders were that the Cherry and White game was not a Cherry and White game but a Cherry and White day.

Getting rid of the game is one thing but getting rid of the day would be unacceptable.

That’s why what new head coach Rod Carey has done is a good thing, not a bad one. It’s been a practice for at least a good decade now so why not call it what it is? The goal of this whole exercise of spring ball is to get ready for the bad guys and having game conditions exacerbates the risk of injury to the good guys, something Carey found out early in his career at Northern Illinois.

Still, by going tomorrow (11:30 a.m., err, kickoff) at the Sports Complex we can learn a few things:

  • What is this new offense for which Anthony Russo speaks? Just about every article talks about Russo and his teammates learning a “new” offense but not a single one I’ve read (and I think I’ve read them all) says just what the new offense is? Wishbone, triple option, spread, run/pass option, pro set?  You think at least one reporter would have asked that question by now. We should get a good look on Saturday.
  • Wouldn’t that be a nice spot for the new stadium?  There will be thousands of Temple fans there and not one protester that they are there. The neighbors on the Broad and Master area are used to Temple hosting nearly 100 games in three sports at that site and the world did not end. They probably would not object to putting a football stadium there and having the uni use it only a half-dozen times a year.
  • What will Mayhem be replaced by? There were a lot of defenders woefully out of position, particularly on gouging running plays by opposing offenses the last two seasons. That will always be Mayhem to me and not the good kind. Temple fans should get a new appreciation for the term “staying home” on defense with the first clues coming tomorrow.

After that, though, it’s a long time before we see Temple football players in full uniform so appreciate the day, if not the game.

Monday: Cherry and White Answers

Wednesday: Spring Recap

Friday: Checking Some Temple Boxes

04.10.19
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Saying Goodbye is Hard to do

Fortunately, despite all of the turmoil in one section of the Edberg-Olson Football Complex, the coaching offices, Temple avoided it in the larger part of the facility, the locker room.

Until the last few days.

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First, the Owls got the news that kicker Aaron Bouhmeri was leaving and then, on Monday, wide receiver Sean Ryan announced via Twitter that he was leaving for West Virginia.

When you go to war, you want to go to it with all of your soldiers and those were two POTENTIAL starters. In both cases, though, there were reasons that deserve some illumination here.

 

One, Boomer–as responsible for the 2016 American Athletic Association championship as anyone on the team–was perpetually injured with a nagging hip flexor. He played a couple of games in 2018 but could not go on and there was a school of thought that he would be ready to kick in spring ball.

He was not and that did not make the new staff comfortable that he would be able to go in the fall so they are in the hunt for another kicker. I must admit when Austin Jones was the victim of a cheap shot at Memphis, the Owls were cooked for that season but who would have known that Boomer would hit 15 of 17 field goals and be just as good as Jones?

Boomer will always have a special place in Temple lore.

The Ryan case is different.

Isaiah Wright says he will carry the ball in the backfield this season and I think he will be turn out to be so valuable there that this coaching staff will have no choice of keeping him there even though they are talking about moving him all over the field. That, plus the star of last year’s spring game (Jadan Blue) returns to catch passes with the breakout star of the regular season, Branden Mack. Add to that the fact that Randle Jones and Freddie Johnson need receiving reps and that wide receiver room is so crowded they might have to knock down the walls.

As a certain government official says about the country, we’re full there and there is no more room.

I think Ryan saw the handwriting on the wall and left for West Virginia. I don’t know what he expects to find when he gets there, but he knows what is here and he decided he did not want to fight for reps. One thing I’m certain of is Troy’s Neal Brown is every bit the head coach Rod Carey is and will give him as fair a shot as Carey would have.

Anytime players leave, though, you wish them well and hope that they don’t regret the decision.

Meanwhile, it’s going to be harder to find a kicker with range than a backup wide receiver so we’re hoping Rod Carey and his staff have someone in mind.

Friday: Cherry and White Preview

Monday: Spring Camp Roundup

04.08.19
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Carey and the Alumni get off to a good start

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Former Temple lineman Ray “Big Cat” Haynes with Temple football’s GOAT (greatest of all time), Paul Palmer on Saturday

One of the few constants over the last 40 years of Temple football is the support of the football alumni.

That is guys who played on winning Temple teams in the past and want nothing but the same for the players of the present.

Even in the days of the 20-game losing streak and 20-plus losing seasons, a group of players set up in the Jetro Lot.

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Former Indiana offensive lineman Rod Carey meets and greets former Temple offensive lineman Ray Haynes. Photo credits: Ray Haynes

 

Coaches come and go but the players’ loyalty has always been constant.

That’s why around this time of year of any coaching change keeping an eye on how the new guy treats the ex-players always portends the future. Al Golden and Matt Rhule embraced the Temple tradition. Steve Addazio pretty much ignored the ex-players and everything Geoff Collins did screamed that Temple football started in 2005, not in 1894.

Fortunately, it appears Rod Carey has listened to Rhule where Collins did not because Carey has embraced the ex-players from all different eras with open arms in his first alumni day on Saturday.

Carey seemed genuinely interested in getting to know the guys who played for Temple and the coaches who they played for. Contrast that to Collins who, upon first meeting Paul Palmer, had no idea who he was.

“Who do you coach for?” Collins asked.

Players know who is a phony and who is not and Carey passed the smell test up close on Saturday. From all reports we’ve heard, the practice they saw was a crisp one with no time wasted on things like having the band play or putting a solid contributing running back up in the DJ booth and celebrating that. There was no guitar playing.

Only football and getting work done.

After two years of mostly nonsense, it was a refreshing change.

Wednesday: Saying Goodbye

Friday: Fan Fest Preview: It’s Not the Same

 

 

 

04.05.19
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Did Greatness Just Quit?

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Greatness doesn’t quit Temple football but, unless something changes, Sean Ryan apparently has. Credit: Alamy

Just about every Temple fan was disappointed when Sean Ryan’s name appeared in the transfer portal but, when you take a step back and look at it objectively through blue eyes and not cherry ones, it’s almost amazing how the Owls have only one significant guy thinking about a transfer.

That’s a good thing, not a bad one.

Look at it this way: Some of these guys have been through three coaching changes now so what’s the difference in a fourth? Or maybe some of these guys might think there’s a little too much instability in the coaching offices at the Edberg-Olson Complex and want out.

My only problem with the transfer portal is that it opens another opportunity for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. If this turns out to be an avenue for some of the better G5 players to find their way into the P5, then college football–already dying from the disparity between the Power 5 and those below–is truly finished.

That doesn’t appear to be the case here. If Ryan ends up at Georgia Tech, I might change my mind but I don’t think that will happen.

Temple head coach Rod Carey took a step toward nipping future portal problems in the bud when he said: “As soon as you go in the transfer portal, you are not on the team anymore.” That’s a powerful thing for an 18-year-old kid because he established relationships and a bond with his brothers and breaking that is hard to do.

First, from all appearances, Carey is here to stay for the long haul and there would be no reason for any Temple player to leave.

Ryan’s case is particularly puzzling. He had a nice freshman year (12 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown) but those stats are nothing spectacular. He also seems to have established a rapport with quarterback Anthony Russo and wherever he would go he probably has to establish a similar connection and that would be problematic at best.

For Temple, though, the effects are minimal. While Ryan was a projected starter, Jadan Blue returns from a fall off after catching a pair of touchdown passes in last year’s Cherry and White game and was arguably the Owls’ best receiver last spring in a strong group that included Ventell Byrant and Isaiah Wright. It’s entirely possible that Blue, having another good spring, could have beaten Ryan out.

The Owls can still switch Wright to running back because they have a formidable group of receivers that include Branden Mack (44 catches, 601 yards, five touchdowns), Blue, Randle Jones, and Freddie Johnson.

Hopefully, Ryan will take heed in the Temple motto “Greatness doesn’t quit.”

Or transfer.

Monday: Carey greets the Alumni

 

04.03.19
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The Real Darkside Defense

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Expect the Owls to return to this kind of gang tackling as shown in a prior Penn State game.

Geoff Collins handed out nicknames like candy.

Rod Carey hands them out like Scrooge with Christmas Gifts.

Different strokes for different folks.

Collins, the self-proclaimed Minister of Mayhem,  called his defense “The Darkside Defense” last season.  That same defense went out and gave up 45 points to Boston College, 49 to Houston, 52 to UCF and 57 to Duke.

Hardly a unit that earned any nicknames.

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From left, Knowles, Rice and Stewart sound like a law firm but the are ready to defend the Owls on that side of the field this fall.

Keeping people out of the end zone is a priority for the Owls this season and Carey hinted as much in a radio interview with Harry Donahue when he said his defensive philosophy was to have a “more sound base” and to take fewer chances designed to create turnovers for the trade of keeping the bad guys out of the end zone.

The good news is that Collins brings a sound system for Northern Illinois and three outstanding defensive coaches in DC Jeff Knowles, Melvin Rice and Walter Stewart. Mix in co-DC Fran Brown with his special knowledge of personnel and the Owls will get a lot more from their talent than they have in the last two years.  On October 28, the Huskies won a football game against BYU by scoring just seven points because their defense only allowed six. Yes, that was the same BYU team that beat Wisconsin and that was the same Wisconsin team that beat Manny Diaz’s Miami team, 31-0, in the bowl game.

In Knowles’  first season as defensive coordinator this past fall, the Huskies were second in the FBS in sacks with 50, trailing only national champion Clemson. The Huskies were ranked 11th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game (109.2), 10th in team tackles for loss per game (7.9) NIU had six all-Mid-American Conference selections on its defense.


In Knowles’  first season
as defensive coordinator
this past fall, the Huskies
were second in the FBS in sacks
with 50, trailing only national
champion Clemson. The Huskies
were ranked 11th in the nation
in rushing yards allowed per
game (109.2), 10th in team tackles
for loss per game (7.9) NIU had
six all-Mid-American Conference
selections on its defense

Arguably, with the linebackers Collins has now and a front line that includes returning starters like Karamo Dioubate, Dana Levine, Dan Archibong and Zack Mesday he probably has more talent than he had at NIU.

There is some learning for the coaches, especially ones who weren’t with Carey last year at NIU. One of them is Fran Brown, the co-defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach. Brown coached four seasons at Temple, spent the last two years as an assistant at Baylor and is now back with the Owls.

One change in the defense, according to a recent Marc Narducci story, is that the Owls will play off more receivers instead of playing press coverage.

That tends to keep the play in front of the defensive backs and limits long scoring plays.

In other words, don’t expect this defense to give up 57, 52 or 45 points in any single game.

It’s not Mayhem, but Mayhem was never what it was cracked up to be so this change appears to be a welcome one.

We’ll just have to come up with a new nickname for those one-time dark side guys.

04.01.19
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20th Century Solution to 21st Century Problem

 

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At $5 a pop, people will be lining up for these seats at the new Temple stadium

You hear it all the time about modern-day problems of all sorts.

“You can’t apply 20th Century solutions to 21st Century problems.”

Strangely enough, from what we hear, Temple is close to announcing that a 20th Century solution will solve its most vexing problem of the last half-decade: Getting a neighborhood set on saying no to change its mind and say yes.

rooftop

A radical stadium design by the new stadium opens up seats in one end zone to be controlled by residents on the Norris side of 15th Street, with all of the proceeds for tickets sold on their rooftops going to the homeowners.

Temple got the idea from looking at photos of nearby Shibe Park, where 100 years ago the residents of Lehigh Avenue got some needed supplemental income by selling rooftop seating to Phillies and A’s fans.

“Money talks and it seems that the Norris Street people are listening,” one Temple source said. “We’re close. The new design will be a horseshoe and the open end will be facing the Norris Street side. We will build some pretty nice bleachers on the top of those houses and provide ticket takers and security at the front door of each house. The people who live there can go shopping on us for a couple of hours and, once the game is over, we will clean everything up and return the houses to those folks as they were.

“It’s a win-win for Temple and the community and we hope to present this idea at the next stadium stompers’ meeting. Hard for us to believe these people who are struggling financially will turn down this kind of financial windfall. Plus, Temple will have the most unique stadium design in the country. The rooftop seats will go for $5 each with the regular seating at $50 a ticket so there will be enough incentive for fans to use them.”

Applying good old-fashioned capitalism and an economic solution to the problem seems to work better than what the university has done over the past five years, pleading its case to a small group of people covering their ears.

“Hell, we’ll even call it Stompers Stadium if that’s what they want,” the Temple source said.

Happy April’s Fool Day everyone!!!!

 

 

03.29.19
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Mark the Calendar: 9/28/2019

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A recent headline in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The guys who write the scripts in Hollywood could not have penned a better outline for at least one game this Temple season.

The Minister of Mayhem vs. Mr. Traditonal Buttoned Down coach.

As boring as the opener versus Bucknell should be (the April 13 practice that takes the place of the Cherry and White game this year will be more competitive), the storyline on 9/28/2019 should represent a season’s worth of drama.

The most interesting part of this script is that it was made possible long before the plot line was established as it was negotiated in September of 2017 by Temple athletic director Pat Kraft. Geoff Collins was just starting his first season at Temple and Rod Carey was in the fifth of is six at Northern Illinois.

Now the guy who is known for “swag” and “money downs” will be replaced by a more traditional coach and it will be a battle of old and new. Cell phones versus landline. Social media versus texting.

Make no mistake about one thing: The more motivated team should be on the home side of this one because the Owls would like nothing better to take down their ex-head coach. The Yellowjackets don’t even know who Rod Carey is. There should also be a sizable group of hometown Temple fans who will be similarly motivated.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution already made note of this fact (see graphic at the top of this post) recently and the accompanying story said this:
“Given the itinerant nature of the profession, it’s not unheard of for a coach to face a former employer. Coach Paul Johnson faced Georgia Southern, which he led to two Division I-AA (now FCS) national championships, in 2014 and 2015, but that was 13 years and two jobs after he had left Statesboro.
“But this a meeting of a different sort. Much of the Owls’ roster will be made up of players who were recruited to Temple by Collins.”

Kraft pulled a coup when he scheduled this game not because of the circumstances that developed, but because of the circumstances that existed. Home and homes between P5 and G5 teams are unusual enough. Home and homes that give the G5 the team the first date are impossible to find. (Usually, this is set up to allow the P5 team to dump the G5 team if something better comes along). Temple returns the favor in 2025, not 2020.

ESPN should give this storyline major play and no one should be surprised if the game (listed as TBA now) be moved off a noon slot to a more appealing 3:30 or night time slot. After all, the television markets involved are four (Philadelphia) and nine (Atlanta) nationally. This has the makings of a higher-than-usual audience for a late September non-conference game.

No one knows if the “money downs” signs will be on the other side of Lincoln Financial Field, but I would not be surprised.

All that matters will be actually turning those money downs into real-time stops and Temple could have the advantage in that regard.

It should be the most fun home date of this or the last several years.

Monday: Glass Houses

03.27.19
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Breaking News: No Spring Game This Year

 

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Turn on one of those 24-hour news channels and chances are we will all see a cryon proclaiming this:

Breaking News.

It used to be in the old days that breaking news meant actually that: a fire here, a holdup there, a tornado farther south.

Now it means something that you knew about yesterday, not today.

So, given those parameters, here’s what we found out through official university channels yesterday: For the first time in 50 or so years, there will not be a spring game. I always thought the game was weird anyway because I never knew to root for the Cherry or the White. It was always the good guys versus the good guys. Instead, there will be an “open practice” mixed in with a “fan fest” and a good time will be had by all.

As Bill Parcells would say, this is good news, not bad news.

The Cherry and White game has pretty much deteriorated into a glorified practice over the last decade or so. If new head coach Rod Carey wants to close out the 15 practices he’s allotted by the  NCAA with No. 15, that should be OK.

All that matters is going 4-0 or, at worst, 3-1 in the first month or so of play so that brings us to the other news out of practice so far: The new offense.

According to a number of ex-players who have seen the Owls practice, the Owls are showing multiple looks. While there is some RPO (run/pass/option), there is also use of the fullback (primarily in goal-line situations), two tight ends and even three wide receivers.

Former Temple head coach Wayne Hardin used to call this his “smorgasbord” offense (“you know, a little of this, a little of that”) and that’s kind of what quarterback Anthony Russo was talking about in an interview with the Temple News earlier this week when he talks about learning a new offense. It’s the kind of offense designed to accentuate the talents of Russo, who has an NFL skill set and probably would have never been allowed to develop it if Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude had been around for another season.

The more looks Temple can show another defense the harder it is to prepare for the Owls on game day. It’s all about beating the bad guys even if there will be no game between the good guys this season.

Friday: Mark Your Calendar

Monday: Glass Houses

Wednesday: Another Nickname for the Darkside

03.25.19
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The New AAC Contract and Temple football

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For the last half-century, the halves have enjoyed increasingly more wealth than the have-nots.

College football’s schism between rich and poor is no different.

That’s why the new contract the AAC signed with ESPN should not be surprising.

Sure, the AAC received more money (a reported $1 billion) from ESPN but it pales in comparison to what the Power 5 schools get.

The 12-year deal with ESPN will be worth $1 billion, or an average of $83.3 million per school over the life of the contract. The new deal will run from 2020-21 through the 2031-32 academic year.

For Temple, the new contract will increase its yearly conference media revenue from $2.16 million to $6.94 million.

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The Star Complex is one of the best indoor facilities in the AAC

A significant part of the deal is the absence of a grant-of-rights agreement which would have prevented schools from jumping to a Power Five conference. Such agreements enhance media rights deals because conferences offer TV partners the assurance that the composition of the league will not change.

That means schools like Temple (and notably Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF) can still accept a spot in the Power 5 if offered.
I don’t see that happening as the musical chairs seem to be over. The 64 schools do not want to share the pot of gold with the other 67 schools.

According to the Sports Business Journal, “the majority of basketball games and a significant number of football games will go to ESPN+,” which is a subscription digital streaming service. The contract will include some Saturday football games on ABC, while most football, and men’s and women’s basketball will remain on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU — at least those not on the streaming service or CBS networks. (I don’t know about you, but the $4.99 a month on ESPN+ is among the best investments I have made. For the price of a beer at Xfinity Live, you can get to see an unlimited number of live sporting events.)

Bottom line with this contract is that Temple is in a better position to compete with its G5 partners because of the recent football buyouts and this new contract. The other AAC schools do not enjoy the windfall that the Owls have had with Geoff Collins’ $2.5 million and Manny Diaz’s $4 million.

Still, unless some miracle happens, they (and Cincy, Houston, and UCF) will remain on the outside looking in for a long time.

Wednesday: Tidbits From Spring Practice

Friday: Mark Your Calendar

Monday: Glass Houses

03.23.19
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Temple football: Let’s try stability

 

stability

Pat Kraft promised the kids stability and he delivered

Just the other day, St. Joseph’s University gave up a whole lot of stability for a future of uncertainty.

Unfortunately, we won’t know if the firing of Phil Martelli as that school’s head basketball coach is a good thing or a bad thing until a couple of years down the line because we don’t know who the new guy is.

When former athletic director Bill Bradshaw turned Temple football from a perennial loser into a perennial winner by hiring Al Golden he said famously: “Let’s try winning.”

Now his successor, Dr. Pat Kraft, seems to be saying, “let’s try adding stability to the winning.”

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Fran Brown procuring players and Rod Carey coaching them should be an unbeatable combo for Temple football. Photo credit: Zamani Feelings

The stability Kraft purchased with $10 million of monopoly money is a whole lot recognizable. Kraft made the buyout of new head coach Rod Carey $10 million partly because that’s exactly the amount that UCF made Josh Heupel’s buyout. UCF went unbeaten during the regular season and, if anyone was the hot young head coach out of the AAC, it was that guy.

None of the Power 5 teams in need of a head coach approached him, partly because the buyout was $6 million higher than the going rate for such things. Even the Board of Trustees for big-time schools have limits.

“I told Pat to make it (the buyout) whatever he wanted,” Carey told the press on the day he was hired. “I wanted to be here.”

The difference between St. Joe basketball and Temple football is this: Temple got a guy who already was a successful head coach on the level Temple football is trying to play and gave that new guy more talent than he had in his last place of employment. Unless St. Joe is able to hire someone like Buffalo coach Nate Oates there is no certainty that it traded stability for excellence. St. Joe is more likely to grab the Swarthmore coach than Oates and that is no slam dunk. Temple fans found out that a guy who was a legend in Division II doesn’t automatically become a legend in Division One.

Temple now has both stability and excellence and the fact that Temple foes can no longer recruit against the Owls using the argument that the coach is likely to leave is going to reap rewards in that area. That, plus the fact that assistant head coach Fran Brown is one of the best recruiters in the business.

Kraft promised a team weary of the revolving door of coaches going through the revolving door E-O stability and he delivered. It should pay dividends, maybe immediately, but certainly over the long haul.

Monday: The New AAC Contract

Wednesday: Thoughts on Spring Ball So Far

Friday: Mark Your Calendar

Monday: Glass Houses