Category Archives: Temple football

09.26.16
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5 Things We’ve Learned So Far

USATSI_9014180_149008644_lowres

Romond Deloatch is probably more valuable to the Owls as a rush end than a WR.

To me, the big surprise has that Temple football has not been as good as expected.

So far, but that does not mean it has to last so long.

That’s not just a Temple fan talking here, it is from the perspective of places like The Sporting News that picked the Owls to finish first in the AAC East. That still can happen, but the results of the first four weeks gives even the most optimistic fan pause.

Temple could not get the job done against Army, despite having eight months to prepare for the triple option. Somehow, Buffalo—a team with considerably less talent than the Owls—did get the job done. The Owls could not get the job done at Penn State, committing 120 yards in penalties (including numerous false starts and offsides). Had the Owls been a disciplined-enough team to cut those penalties in half they likely would have won. Mike Pettine Sr. proved the way to eliminate penalties at Central Bucks West was repetition, repetition and more repetition and then by grabbing a few facemasks and yelling a few choice words to offenders at practice so they do not become repeat offenders during games. Temple could use a Mike Pettine now. That’s where you clean up penalties, in practice, not in games.

That does not look like it happens at Temple or at least has happened so far. These are the five things we’ve learned about the AAC and the Owls through 1/3d of the regular season:

noles

Noles scored 55 on USF.

  1. USF Might Be Vulnerable

For the first couple of weeks, USF established itself as the clear favorite to win the AAC East. It showed some vulnerability, though, in a 55-35 home loss to Florida State on Saturday. Remember, this was the same Florida State defense that allowed 70 points to Louisville the week prior to the game against the Bulls. Temple DC Phil Snow will have to devise a specialty defense, perhaps involving a spy on quarterback Quinton Flowers, to slow down the Bulls’ offense. As we learned against Army, though, Snow is not comfortable devising specialty defenses.

few

Nick Sharga and Jahad Thomas

  1. Nick Sharga More Valuable At Linebacker

As valuable as Nick Sharga is as a blocking fullback, he’s a better linebacker and moving him to defense would help the Owls shore up a hole on that side of the field. Sharga had 15 plays as a fullback and 15 more as a linebacker in a 31-12 win over Memphis last year, and he was easily one of the defensive stars of that game. Rob Ritrovato has shown to be a serviceable blocker at fullback and can do that job.

  1. Pocket Needs to Roll

When Phillip Walker rolls one way and throws the other, as in the wheel route throw to Jahad Thomas, he is a lethal passer. The same can be said when he rolls one way and throws on that same side, as in the touchdown pass to Brodrick Yancy. The more the Owls can roll the pocket, the more dangerous their offense becomes. That needs to grow exponentially going forward.

  1. Knack For Sacks

When Marcus Smith was a backup quarterback at Louisville,  he asked for a few snaps on defense and ended up with seven sacks at practice one day. The coach at the time, Charlie Strong, then moved him permanently to defense. Romond Deloatch set what is thought to be a Temple practice record for sacks with the same seven, but the difference was that head coach Matt Rhule moved him back to offense. Deloatch has a knack for this sack thing, and since none of the other Owls have shown it, he needs to be moved back to defensive end—at least for third and longs. Who knows? Maybe he could become a first-round pick, too. Temple has plenty of good receivers; it needs a sackmeister and Deloatch is certainly that.

  1. Temple’s Slow Start Is Fixable

Temple has shown flashes of brilliance on offense and probably will continue to improve in that area. The Owls, though, need help on the defensive side of the ball. They have a former defensive tackle starter as a backup offensive guard, Brian Carter (6-1, 304), and they could use that experience and bulk back on the defensive side to stop the run. Add Sharga and Deloatch and hit APPLY, and that could be the fix the defense needs. We know one thing.

It could not hurt.

Wednesday: Not-So-Sudden Death

09.24.16
by

Holding Serve

None of the Temple Owls were carrying tennis racquets on Saturday afternoon, but the result of the day was that they held serve nonetheless.

The Owls were supposed to win at home, and they did, 48-20. They held serve, but not much can be learned about a game like this. Before the game, we predicted 48-7. At least we got the 48 right.

The defense, though, is going to have to play better.

Charlotte was just another one of those games that new athletic director Pat Kraft likes to schedule and that former athletic director Bill Bradshaw would have avoided like the plague. Bradshaw liked the regional games against Power 5 teams, while Kraft likes the tune-ups against punching bags. Expect more of the Kraft-like games in the future (Bucknell, Villanova) mixed in with games Bradshaw scheduled (Rutgers, 2020 and 2021)  along with Kraft adding Boston College to the mix.

charlottegame

27,786 was a nice crowd considering the 1-2 record.

If the Owls are going to contend for the AAC title, the Owls will have to shore up the middle of their defensive line and generate a pass rush that has been late in arriving. There are signs that the pass rush is coming as four-star recruit Karamo Dioubate seems to get comfortable with the college game more every day. The Owls need to improve their rush defense and a possible fix would be moving former defensive tackle starter Brian Carter back to defense from the offensive side of the ball. Putting him in there as a tackle with fellow Harrisburg Area nose guard Averee Robinson could help shore up the run defense and help with a push up the middle that could collapse the pocket. Romond Deloatch, arguably the team’s best receiver, had the team’s only sack. He might be needed on defense when Ventell Bryant comes back from an injury. For that matter, so could starting fullback Nick Sharga. Those are decisions for the coaches to make, though. I think all three moves would help the defense establish some needed consistency and maybe defensive coordinator Phil Snow should lobby for those players.

On offense, Phillip Walker showed a nice touch on a pair of scoring tosses and Brodrick Yancy showed why head coach Matt Rhule compared him to former slot receiver  John Christopher in terms of toughness. Christopher was in the house on Saturday, getting an award for academic prowess.

The other takeaway is that Jahad Thomas is the team’s No. 1 offensive threat and maybe the best overall player on the team. Unlike the other backs, he has a knack for either making the first defender miss or shaking off the first defender and getting into space. He was missed in the Army game and could have been the difference-maker in that one. The Owls need to find creative ways to get the ball to him in space, and they may have hit on at least one with that long wheel route. Two years ago, Jamie Gilmore dropped a perfectly thrown wheel route in a 16-13 loss to Memphis; this time, Thomas did not.

Other than that, the learning process continues against SMU and the Owls will need to hold serve once again at high noon in a week.

Monday: 5 Things We’ve Learned So Far

09.23.16
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A “Meh” Homecoming

homer

Even an 0-6 Temple team drew a tailgate crowd like this back in 2013.

The odd twist to this week’s TV Guide is that Comcast Sports Net Philly has added Temple to its noon lineup on Saturday.

Bad move, because a “Blah” Homecoming is soon to become a “Meh” Homecoming.

Like, “Meh, I could be there but since it’s on tv …. ”

Temple needs the softcore/fringe/lazy—you pick the word—portion of its fan base to begin showing up on a more regular basis and nothing mutes that crowd more than the game being on “real” television. (If it’s on a stream system, like ESPN3, that does not seem to affect the attendance.) Real television gives the casual Temple fan an excuse to miss the game, sit back at home, watch the game on his HDTV, then use his laptop to go on a Temple fan site and criticize the lack of a Temple crowd.

That’s how it usually works, the people who you know who live in Philadelphia and have off on Saturday and watch on TV are usually the first to write the Temple crowd sucks. If you are not part of the solution, you are certainly part of the problem.

One example is a former great Temple basketball player who is off on every Saturday and Sunday who posts photos of him and his kid at every home Eagles’ game. He usually only makes Temple football games on one day a year and that is Homecoming.


That’s how it
usually works,
the people who
you know who live
in Philadelphia
and have off on
Saturday and watch
on TV are usually
the first to ask why
the Temple crowd
sucks. If you are
not part of the
solution, you are
certainly part
of the problem.

Now, with the remote so handy, even that might be doubtful. It’s amazing to me that a Temple grad can go to every Eagles’ game at the same stadium and put himself through that hassle does not even support his school’s football team with the same level of enthusiasm. That is a systemic problem with the Temple softcore fan base.

There is a hardcore fan base of roughly 20,000 who we see at every home game (raising my hand here) and a softcore fan base of about 15K more who we saw at the Army game. We lost them with that loss for the season, and I doubt we will see much more than the 22,000 announced we had for Stony Brook even with Homecoming.

Maybe 25,000, but probably no more.

You can thank the triple-whammy of local television, lazy softcore fans and the Army loss for what promises to be a “Meh” Homecoming. The opponent, Charlotte, is not that appealing but big-time schools play Nicholls State and still sellout for Homecoming. Last year’s Homecoming Game against Tulane was one of my best experiences as a Temple fan. This year, I do not expect it to be anywhere near as good.

The only stat that matters is 1-2 and that’s just not good enough.

It will be a long climb back to a good crowd for the rest of this season and it could affect things like recruiting and bowl possibilities. Temple had nine months to prepare for Army and was an undisciplined team against PSU. One-hundred and twenty yards in penalties makes you wonder what this team does in practice the other six days of the week. The way it approached Army makes you wonder what they did the six months before that.

Tomorrow: Game Analysis (since it won’t be off TV, it will be posted around 10:30 p.m.)

Monday: 5 Surprising Things We’ve Learned So Far

Wednesday: The Death Penalty

Friday: SMU Preview

Saturday: Game Analysis

 

guide

New York Post Betting Guide. Our picks this week: USF getting the 5, Louisville covering the 26.5 and Michigan State covering the 5. Temple covers the 27.5 and beats Charlotte, 48-7.

09.17.16
by

Coaches Still Slow On The Uptake

nottd

Big 10 replay officials blew this call as proven by this Glenn Tinner photo.

Sitting around with a smaller-than-usual post-game tailgating group after the Stony Brook game, my longtime friend Mark asked me a question.

“Mike, are you going to the Penn State game?”

“No.”

“No? Why?”

“If they had beaten Army, I would have. My feeling is if this coaching staff can’t scheme for the teams they should beat, I have no confidence in them scheming for a team that might be on their level or a little above so I don’t want to go all the way there and then have to make the trip back all pissed off.”

“C’mon, bro,” Mark said, “How many years have you been following Temple football?”

Too many, I said.

Mark’s point was that I should accept disappointment by now. I had, and still have, a different take.


Making Walker a
dropback passer
is trying to fit
a square peg into
a round hole.
The sooner the
coaches realize that,
the better the chances
for future success.
They have a unique
weapon and they should
use him as such.

I wanted one year, just one, that Temple beat all of the teams it was supposed to beat and maybe reached up and beat one or two teams it was not supposed to beat with a solid if not brilliant coaching game plan.

I have not seen that year since the 13 years Wayne Hardin coached the team, but I had my hopes. After a 34-27 loss to Penn State on Saturday, my belief has not changed about this staff being a little slow on the uptake about basic football principles. Before the first game of the season, we outlined here the standard operating procedure to shut down a triple option—44 stack, nose guard over the center, tackles in the A gap, eight in the box and force them to pass. If a triple option team beats you passing, you walk over and shake their hand afterward. If they beat you running the ball because your linebackers played 4-5 yards off it, you walk over to your defensive coordinator and use that same hand to slap him in the head four or five times.

This is all simple shit that even a good high school coaching staff knows. We even outlined in this post how to play Army BEFORE the game and, of course, the slow-on-the-uptake staff had to do things their way.

As we all know now, the Owls left the A gaps open, and played their linebackers 4-5 yards off the ball and they were predictably gouged by the fullback. Afterward, the kids got blamed and the coaches got a pass in the post-game press conferences conducted by, surprise, the coaches.

Slow on the uptake also could be the phrase to describe use of the Owls’ personnel.  Earlier this week, we wrote a post on our five keys to beat Penn State and the No. 1 key was “Roll That Pocket.” Phillip Walker is a much more dangerous threat to defenses when he rolls in the pocket and becomes a threat to run the ball as well as pass it. Linebackers and safeties have to come up to stop the run and Temple receivers, covered when Walker drops back in the pocket, suddenly are running free through the secondary when he is on the move. Yet new offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas insists on making Walker a Matt Ryan, dropping him in the pocket more often than not. Maybe that’s because Thomas coached Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons. You cannot turn Russell Wilson into Tom Brady, nor can you turn Phil or P.J. Walker into a Matt Ryan. Walker completed 25 of 34 passes for 286 yards, but had very limited success when he was forced to drop back. When he took that step to the outside, receivers got separation like the Red Sea parted.

Making Walker a dropback passer is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. The sooner the coaches realize that, the better the chances for future success. They have a unique weapon and they should use him as such.

Walker sees the field a lot better and has a lot more success when the Temple coaches move the pocket for him, a fact that they should have known long before yesterday. The learning curve for this staff is too long and winding and leads to too many dead ends. The process needs to speed up if this team is going to have meaningful success the rest of the way.

Until then, my blood pressure will not allow road trips.

Monday: Recalibrated Expectations

09.15.16
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Temple Watch Parties

templewatch

Fans doing “T for Temple U” at NYC watch party (btw, it is a violation to wear orange at TU watch party).

While the Big 10 Network is virtually everywhere, it is nowhere in the small town of Rockledge, located just outside the Fox Chase section of Northeast Philadelphia.

A pit stop at the annual Rockledge Car Show on Sunday during the Eagles’ game led to checking the game out in the three bars located within a half-mile of each other along Huntingdon Pike—the Austrian Village, the Rockledge Inn and Breen’s—and none of the managers there say they get the Big 10 network.

travels

“Do you guys get the Penn State-Temple game on Saturday?”

“Depends on what network.”

“The Big 10 Network.”

“Ahh, no. It’s like $600 extra, not $6 or $60,” the bar manager at Austrian Village said.

That was the response also at The Rockledge Inn.

A guy in a green Eagles’ shirt  at Breen’s checked one of the side televisions and the Big 10 network came back as “you are not subscribed to this channel.”

So before heading off to a bar on Saturday, pick up a phone and make sure that place has the Big 10 Network. Temple’s official Philadelphia watch party is at the Fox and Hound (15th Street, Center City), but there are also huge watch parties on campus, at The Draught Horse and Master’s. The one at the Draught Horse is hosted by former Temple quarterback Mike Frost.

I would not recommend The Fox and Hound, simply because the large-screen TVs located at the bar are not high definition (the smaller ones at the tables are). Technically speaking, The Fox and Hound TVs are out of the 1980s. Not good if you are used to watching football on HDTV.  (I watched the first half of Temple-Houston last year there and high-tailed it out of there by halftime.) Unofficially, there are parties with Temple groups scheduled for the Green Parrot in Newtown, Bucks County, and Tom and Jerry’s in Delaware County, all free to enter (just need to purchase drinks). There is a paid party at Chickie and Pete’s in South Philadelphia hosted by District Attorney Seth Williams, with at least a $100 donation required to Williams’ campaign fund. No thanks. If you know any other informal gatherings of Temple fans at a watering hole, please list in the comments below.

The official Penn State watch parties in Philadelphia are scheduled for the Field House (11th and Filbert) and Manayunk Mad River Bar and Grille, 4100 Main Street.  So if you want to see long faces at the end of the game, those are the two places to go.

Out-of-town Temple-Penn State watch parties are scheduled for New York, Dallas (Sherlock’s Baker Street Pub, Addison, Tx), Atlanta (the Hudson Grille) and Washington (D.C.).

As far as Rockledge, I cannot believe that is the only town in the Philadelphia area without the Big 10 Network. Maybe the Big 10 needs to add Temple to ensure complete saturation in the nation’s fourth-largest market.

Tomorrow: The Rivalry Arrives

Saturday: Game Analysis

09.14.16
by

5 Keys For Beating Penn State

sportingnewsowls

Saturday would be a good time for the Owls to start playing like the  AAC champion The Sporting News predicted this summer.

After a shocking loss to Army that was more the result of a bad coaching scheme than physicality, Temple coach Matt Rhule conducted a ping-pong tournament at the Edberg-Olson Football Complex. The ping-pong diplomacy was just another bonding session for the Owls and, judging from the outcome of the Stony Brook game, the team that plays ping-pong together, wins together. So maybe playing table tennis this week is not a bad idea.

stare

“I want you to roll out and find receivers running free.”

Here are five other things they need to do:

  1. Making McSOREly

When Temple defensive coordinator Phil Snow last visited Happy Valley, he came up with a defensive scheme almost as bad as the Army one against then Lions’ quarterback Christian Hackenberg and that was to rush three and drop back eight. Snow forgot one thing. Hackenberg did not then and does not now like to get hit and, by giving Hackenberg extra time in the pocket, he was able to pick out receivers at will. Snow did not make the same mistake a second time last year and, except for one three-man rush (that resulted in a Nate D. Smith sack), he kept the pressure on all day and the Owls had an NCAA-high 10 sacks. They don’t need 10, but if they get five against rookie quarterback Trace McSorley, they will win. Game film shows he almost always fakes on the read-option before passing, so having two blitzers, one assigned for McSorley, the other going to the running back, would mess up the timing.

finch

Sharif … may be running with the 2s, but always makes big plays.

  1. Stopping Barkley

Last year, Penn State fans said the reason Temple won was because James Franklin gave Saquon Barkley only one carry. What they forget is that it was for minus-1 yard. The Owls are going to have to close up the A gaps and nose guard Averee Robinson is going to have to handle the Penn State center, which he is more than capable of doing. If the Owls have the same kind of success against Barkley that they did a year ago, he will have minus-25 yards. All they have to do to win, though, is the same job they did against Notre Dame standout C.J. Prosise, holding him to 25 yards on 14 carries.  Six of Prosise’s runs went for zero yards against many of the same players Barkley will face on Saturday. Is Barkley good? Yes. Is he better than Prosise? Probably not.

trick1

Expect the Owls to pull out all the stops.

  1. Moving Jahad Around

Jahad Thomas might start on Saturday at running back after missing the first two games with a thumb injury. Moving Thomas around like a shell in a shell game is key to utilizing him. He should get a few carries, but splitting him out into the slot when, say, Jager Gardner is in the game and hitting him with a deep ball would give the Owls two breakaway threats in the game at once, not one. Also, Thomas is a terrific runner in space so getting him the ball on screens, traditional or bubble, creates that space for him. Jahad got hurt again in practice Tuesday; if he can’t go, I would put Jager Gardner in as the lead back. Always felt Jager had the higher upside over Ryquell Armstead, who is more steady but less spectacular. Use Marshall Ellick as the edge playmaker.

  1. Dynamo Nicky

On a 17-yard run against Stony Brook where he knocked over four defenders, Nick Sharga reminded the old time Temple fans of former Owl and Cleveland Brown running back Henry Hynoski who was known as Dynamo Hyno at Temple. He reminded current Owl fans of why he wears a single digit as one of the nine toughest guys on the team. Call Sharga Dynamo Nicky until the press comes up with a better name. Pitt fullback George Aston hurt the Nittany Lions with a couple of touchdown runs up the middle against the soft underbelly of that defense. Sharga is also capable of exploiting that fatty tissue and he’s better than Aston.

choas

Owls will have to fly to the ball again.

  1. Rolling The Pocket

Phillip Walker is better when he’s on the run because that’s where he creates major headaches for defenses. When offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas has rolled the pocket for Walker, opposing linebackers and safeties come up to stop the threat of a run and Walker deftly tosses the ball over their heads as Temple receivers run free through the secondary. If the linebackers stay back, Walker can use his athleticism and speed to gain big yards on the run. By keeping him in the pocket in the first game, Glenn Thomas was doing Army a favor. When he’s in the pocket, he can’t see downfield and his passes are often deflected by linemen or, worse, he’s sacked. It’s time to unleash Walker by moving the pocket.

Tomorrow: Watch Parties

Friday: The Rivalry Arrives

09.12.16
by

Penn State Week: Debunking The Myths

A good recap of Temple’s single-digit tough guy tradition.

Since Al Gore invented the internet (relax, just kidding), one of the quickest ways to get a pulse of a fan base is to visit one of these ubiquitous college football message boards.

Penn State has one of the best in its Blue White Illustrated McAndrew Board, a Wild Wild West of insults, flames and trolls but, mostly, a place to hold the hand of the Nittany Lions’ fans and look at a stopwatch to gauge their heartbeat.

If you do not take them seriously, a few minutes reading what these fans are thinking can be wildly entertaining.

marshall

Matt Rhule pointing the way to PSU.

Most of them think Penn State will steamroll Temple and that faulty logic is based on a number of unrelated thoughts floating around in their heads they accept as doctrine. One, in their collective minds, Temple is nowhere near as good as last year. Two, if Army can rush for 329 yards against Temple, so can Penn State.

Before debunking those notions, here is a pretty good sampling of the way the fans are viewing Temple’s visit to Beaver Stadium (noon, Big Ten Network) on Saturday:

AWS1022  (PSU fan)

   “ We aren’t losing to Temple and I’m not sure how anyone who watched the game today would think so. Temple is worse than last year by a lot and we’re better than we were last year. If you think Temple would beat Pitt you’re crazy and I doubt we have 5 turnovers again next week. …”

Greenpeach (Pitt fan):

“You beat Temple by at least two touchdowns. Honestly, after a horrible start, I thought your team looked poised and played very well.”

You could find about 1,000 posts over there expressing similar sentiments using different words. There are a couple of things wrong with that line of thinking.

Temple is only “worse” to people who do not know any better. The people who do, the Temple coaches and the Temple fans, feel this is a better team than the one the school fielded last year. The results of the Army game do not change that. That game is an outlier because the Temple coaches do not know how to scheme against the triple option and they never really did. Temple gave up the A gaps and fullback dives all night. (Memo to Phil Snow: 44 stack, nose guard, two tackles in the A gaps and no triple option gouges you ever again.) Unless Penn State comes out and runs the triple option, gives to a nonexistent fullback, the Owls match up very well against the Nittany Lions.


Pitt had eight plays
of 20 or more yards
against Penn State.
The week before,
the Panthers had
ZERO plays of 20
or more yards, and
that was against
Villanova.
Yes, Villanova
which is quite possibly
worse than Stony Brook.

The result of the Penn State game probably will be an affirmation of it. Here are a couple more facts to ponder: Kent State gave the Nits a game for the better part of three quarters on the road. Kent State lost to North Carolina A&T last week. Yes, A&T. At home. Pitt had eight plays of 20 or more yards against Penn State. The week before, the Panthers had ZERO plays of 20 or more yards, and that was against Villanova. Yes, Villanova  which is quite possibly worse than Stony Brook.

First off, to the casual outsider, the losses of linebacker Tyler Matakevich, tackle Matt Ioannidis, corner Tavon Young and wide receiver Robby Anderson are insurmountable. The Temple fan, the guy who pours over depth charts 365 days a year, knows better. Matakevich is not replaced by one player, but by three linebackers who have 41 starts between them. Two of them are repeat single-digit players, meaning they were among the nine toughest guys on the team last year as well. Because of the play of corners Nate Hairston and Artrel Foster, who both saw plenty of time last year, Tavon Young’s loss is replaceable. Moving the other corner, Sean Chandler, to the middle of the field has accentuated his ball skills and made the secondary better. Ioannidis is replaced by the deepest and fastest defensive line Temple has ever fielded. So much so that the defensive end who made the play of the game in a 27-10 win over Penn State a year ago, Sharif Finch, is now second team through no fault of his own but because the Owls have beasts on both ends, Haason Reddick and Praise Martin-Oguike, the latter who had an interception in the Notre Dame game.

To the know-it-alls on the opposing fan message boards, these players do not exist. On game day, they will wonder where they came from and wish they had paid closer attention to what Temple really has coming back.

In five days, they will learn the hard way.

Wednesday: 5 Keys For Beating Penn State

Friday: The Rivalry Arrives

Saturday: Game Analysis

09.10.16
by

The Listerine Bowl

Sometimes it’s hard to taste the fruit when the mouth has a sour taste in it, so consider today’s 38-0 win over Stony Brook The Listerine Bowl.

Stony Brook is not that bad, and Temple is probably not as bad as it showed against Army. Still, the loss a week ago left a bad taste in the mouths of Temple fans and, on my way out, I heard a surprising number of fans say they will never come back again. For those who did come back, that sour taste now has been rinsed for awhile.

subdivision

For the others, the 12,000 or so who did not return this week but were there last week, they cannot be blamed.

That’s the price of not being prepared for a triple-option team when you had nine months to prepare for one. That game is over now and there is no way to get either it back or a good portion of the 34,005 fans who attended the Army game. Earlier this week, in a post I titled “Unintended Consequences” I wrote the Owls would be lucky to draw 22,000 for Stony Brook. Make it 22,256, which was the official attendance. In a 70K stadium, 22,256 looks small and it was.

Maybe if the Owls beat Penn State and take a very good record into USF, we will see 34,005 again but I doubt it—at least this year. As the editor of Pravda likes to say, it is what it is.

Saturday, we learned a lot of things, but mostly we got the bad taste out of our mouths. Here are a few of the things:

  • Logan Marchi, not Frank Nutile, is the backup quarterback. Marchi was the first quarterback in after Phillip Walker left the game.
  • Redshirts were burned all over the place, including Benny Walls, who got an interception, Karamo Dioubate, who put good pressure on the quarterback, and Isaiah Wright, who looks like he possesses the “it” factor as an offensive threat. That’s a good thing, not a bad thing. If your recruiting is good enough to get players who can play right away, that’s the idea.
  • Walker says Jahad Thomas will be back for the Penn State game. That is the best news of all because, as good as Ryquell Armstead is, he is not capable of stopping in the middle of the field at full throttle and doing a 360-degree spin to get away from defenders. Thomas is, and he did that in two games last year (UCF and UConn). Thomas is a game-breaking talent and he will be needed against Penn State.
  • Stony Brook beat a North Dakota team that won at FBS Wyoming last year. North Dakota gave Bowling Green all it could handle yesterday and Bowling Green is usually pretty good. Beating a team like Stony Brook, 38-0, should be a confidence-builder but, for the Owls to re-establish their brand, they must win at Penn State next week.

It won’t be easy, but it is doable—unless James Franklin comes out in a triple option.

Monday: Penn State Week

09.09.16
by

Survive And Advance

NCAA Football: Wake Forest at Boston College

A year ago,  Jordan Gowins (34) was running the ball for Steve Addazio at BC. Saturday, he will be running against TU. Gregory J. Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

One of my good friends is a great FCS official, warned me in the early part of the summer: “Mike, watch out for Stony Brook. Chuck Priore has a pretty good head on his shoulders.”

Consider myself warned.

In many respects, Priore’s career mirrors that of Matt Rhule in that both have one win over Army (SB’s was 23-3, 2012) and both have had one 10-win season. The difference, other than the obvious FBS and FCS designations, is that Priore literally brought the Seawolves up from the very bottom of college football. Starting as the team’s head coach in 2006, Priore had only 20 scholarships to offer and now has 63—that is quite a bit fewer than what Temple has, which offers 25 every season.

The thought process among many Temple fans is that the Owls are going to smoke Stony Brook. That might happen, it might not. My thought process is a little different. Remember, Stony Brook opened with a 16-9 win over a North Dakota team that beat FBS member Wyoming on the road last season.

For Temple, it’s got to be survive and advance because a loss means this season is done. There is no reasonable person who believes that Temple can open with losses to Army and Stony Brook and win the AAC. As Spock would say, it’s just not logical.


Priore has a good
offensive mind and
probably will try the
counters, deep throws
to stretch the field,
reverses and traps
the Owls eschewed
against Army in one
of the most boring
offensive game plans
I have ever seen in my
40 years as a Temple fan

I was against scheduling this game because, if you win it, it’s “meh.” If you lose it, you will hear Temple sucks for the entire next week and have no acceptable comeback. For me, Temple should always avoid the “too much to lose” games. That’s the athletic director’s job, though. The coach’s job is to win it and that is that is why Matt Rhule is making $1.5 million. He’s got to get the job done.

Stony Brook not only beat No. 19 North Dakota last week, it beat No. 13 New Hampshire last season. It is used to beating good football teams. The Seawolves have nine FBS transfers, so at least nine players have played significant time against opponents on a par with Temple. They have an All-American offensive tackle in Timon Parris (6-5, 310), who lines up on the left side. The two guards are P5 transfers, Mason Zimmerman (Maryland) and Jonathan Haynes (West Virginia). Running back Jordan Gowins (Boston College) is a talent.

Priore has a Philadelphia connection, having served as the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania from 1992 to 1999. During Priore’s time at Penn, the Quakers compiled an impressive record of 52-27, including three Ivy League titles and a 24-game winning streak. In 1998, the Penn offense set a school record for points in a season with 297.

He is the older brother of the current Penn coach, Ray Priore.

Despite scoring only a special team’s touchdown last week, Priore has a good offensive mind and probably will try the counters, deep throws to stretch the field, reverses and traps the Owls eschewed against Army in one of the most boring offensive game plans I have ever seen in my 40 years as a Temple fan.

Hopefully, the snooze fest ends for the Owl fans this week in a 49-10 type win, but I will sign for a 16-9 Temple win right now because the alternative is too horrid to even think about and the coach on the other side of the field has a head on his shoulders he uses for more than a hat rack.

pickings

Saturday (posted by 10:30 p.m.): Game Analysis

Monday: Penn State Week

Wednesday: Rolling Pocket

Friday: Penn State Preview

09.07.16
by

Unintended Consequences

Thanks to TU’s refusal to play an 8-man front, we may have already reached our high-water mark for number of Temple fans this season.

Two steps forward, one step back.

That has been the pattern for Temple football, even in the era of resurgence that came with the hiring of Al Golden late in 2005.

Have a chance to get bowl-eligible in 2008, lose on a Hail Mary pass at Buffalo instead. Go to Ohio for a chance to win a title in 2009, lose that game instead. Bring 23K Temple fans to a frozen tundra in D.C., have them go home losers instead. Win a bowl game in 2011, have a disappointing season in 2012.

Two steps forward, one step back.

Now, it has happened again with the embarrassing and unacceptable loss to Army in the season opener. The Era of Good Feeling (two steps forward) was sustained for most of 2015 because of a 7-0 start and because of the big win over Penn State.

laborious

Former Temple player Fizzy brings up a lot of good points in this email.

Even last year, though, a dumb decision by the administration to turn down a chance to play Auburn or Virginia Tech resulted in a return to the MAC, where the Owls proved once again that they cannot beat a winning MAC team. That was a game the Owls could have and should have avoided at all costs, because they had nothing to gain and plenty to lose and they lost plenty. It was embarrassing and a step back in a two-step forward season.

If the Owls had beaten Army before a crowd of 34,005, they would have set themselves up for a nice run of home crowds in the first-ever season where they played seven home games. They would have not drawn the 34,005 for Stony Brook that they did for Army, but they might have gotten the 30,181 they got for a winless UCF team in the mid-point of last season. Hard numbers point to the major reason for disappointing attendance is a disappointing early loss. That pattern is likely to repeat itself because hard numbers do not lie.

Now, they will be lucky to get 22,000 fans—if that—for Stony Brook on Saturday. The fans cannot be blamed. The players did not deserve to be thrown under the bus (they were). It was just two God-awful coaching game plans, one on offense and one on defense, which deserve the brunt of the blame. Nine months to get ready for a one-dimensional team and the Owls approached the game like they were playing any other foe. Still have not heard a word from CEO Matt Rhule on how poorly prepared this team was or a word criticizing either of his coordinators game plan that showed little imagination on offense and no semblance of a clue as to how to stop even the most basic option on defense.

Do not hold your breath.

Accepting responsibility at the top is not coming, but the unintended consequence of a mostly empty stadium for the balance of the season is bound to be on display Saturday. It will be impossible to get the stadium as lively as it was on opening night unless the Owls take a long winning streak into the USF game.

That is the unintended consequence of two steps forward, one step back, which seems to be par for the course for Temple football the past few years. There are words to describe the feeling for the fans and they must include agonizing, frustrating and infuriating.

The fans deserve better.

Friday: A Look At Stony Brook