Hopefully, the presser above was the last SA will have to meet the media after a loss.

Love the return of the shovel pass to Matty Brown and Montel Harris. That’s the first time I’ve seen Temple use that play since the Wayne Hardin Era. Get Brown and Harris in space, not between the tackles, and watch them go.

Going into the season, I felt this was the most intriguing one in a long time, maybe ever, for Temple fans.
Now it’s shaping up as a strange one with a crossroad coming up in six days.
A return to the Big East after being the only school ever evicted from a major conference offered a chance for some sweet redemption.
Now, after the first three games, I don’t know what to think except that the Temple football team I saw the last two games should have been better than that. Maybe the best competition is in the past. Villanova (4-1) is better than expected. Maryland lost by three to UConn, but stayed in the game against No. 8 West Virginia. Penn State hammered Illinois, 35-7.
It’s Temple’s turn to impress this week.
This week’s theme is “Get ‘er done.”
If Pete Lembo and Ball State can deliver their fans a win over USF,  Steve Addazio and Temple should do the same for Temple fans.
Whatever Ball State did to beat USF should be copied and done better by Temple. William and Mary stayed in the game against Maryland by relentlessly blitzing a true freshman quarterback and Ohio beat Penn State by negating a Big 10 pass rush with a short passing game that featured quick slants. Ohio bled PSU to death with nickel-and-dime passes, then would take a deep shot downfield.
There was no evidence Temple tried to copy the same thoughtful strategies against Maryland or Penn State.
That was disappointing.
The Temple players and coaches should win on Homecoming  Day for all the Temple fans who were disappointed by the Maryland and Penn State outcomes but, most importantly, for themselves . They know they are better than this. It’s time to show it.
There are five encouraging things going forward into the last eight games of the season:

Owl QB situation is in good hands with CC.

CHRIS COYER _ The most important position on the team is in good hands. The team dropped eight passes against Maryland and seven more against Penn State. If just half of those passes get caught, Coyer’s quarterback rating is among the best in the Big East. I just watched the Penn State game replay and both announcers were raving over him, saying this is a kid you can win with and that’s something I’ve been saying all along. In fact, they said far more positive things about Coyer than Matt McGloin.

Ryan Alderman: Sure-handed

DROPPING THE DROPPERS _ The Temple coaching staff has had three game tapes to evaluate who is dropping the passes. I don’t think we need to go into that here, but Jalen Fitzpatrick, Ryan Alderman, Cody Booth and Romond Deloatch can all go after and catch the ball. Keep them in the rotation. I’m somewhat surprised we haven’t seen more of Khalif Herbin, but maybe they are grooming him to be an RB replacement for Matty Brown next year instead of the slot WR they recruited him to be. He needs to get on the field in some capacity, though. He’s a touchdown-maker. If you think he’s too small to be an RB, just remember this: He’s two inches taller and 20 pounds  heavier than Brown.

Get Montel Harris “in space” and watch him go.

OFFENSIVE RECOGNITION _  Addazio said all season “we’re going to run the ball, I promise you that.” After two games of running into a brick wall, I think even he recognizes that the way to move the ball is to get Coyer out of the pocket and strike fear in a defense with the ball in Coyer’s hand, the same way the Eagles do with the ball in Michael Vick’s hand rolling out. Coyer should pump once. If no receivers are open, take off. If the DBs come up on run support, float the ball over their heads to wide-open receivers. Then take a few cracks at the running game, not the other way around. Love the return of the shovel pass to Matty Brown and Montel Harris. That’s the first time I’ve seen Temple use that play since the Wayne Hardin Era. Get Brown and Harris in space, not between the tackles, and watch them go. Harris showed what he could do against PSU with a late long gain that set up the touchdown.

It’s only a matter of time before he breaks one.

SPECIAL TEAMS _ Brandon McManus is one of the top placekickers and punters in the nation. In a close game, he will win it for Temple. Field position should be in Temple’s advantage the rest of the season and, in Matty Brown, Temple has one of the top returners in the nation. It’s just a matter of time before he breaks one. I hope it’s Saturday.

Whenever TU fans have to watch UConn football, they think of this.

Not that you could tell it by the last two games, but a Saturday without Temple football is a Saturday without sunshine.
Since there will be no sunshine tomorrow (literally, as well as figuratively), I will be out for a three-hour jog during most of the early football games.  I’ll have the headset on set to scan to pick up whatever games I can get on the radio.
When I get home, I hope to check in on some games on TV.
These are five games Temple fans should care about tomorrow since they involve past and future foes (my picks are underlined):

Buffalo at UConn two years ago.

Buffalo at Connecticut (noon, 6ABC) _ Buffalo is pretty putrid this year, even more so than recent years, and this should be an easy UCONN win, something on the order of 36-7. Buffalo lost to a Kent State team that got blown out by Kentucky. UConn lost to a Western Michigan team that got hammered by Illinois, which lost by four touchdowns to Louisiana Tech. We’re talking last-place Big East vs. last-place MAC and even though the top of the MAC has proven to be better than the top of the Big East this year, the BE bottom half is better than the bottom half of the MAC. Huskies should easily cover the 16 1/2.

Penn State at Illinois (noon, ESPN) _ Don’t have the foggiest idea why the Lions are 1 1/2-point underdogs, but I think they should win the game outright. Louisiana Tech’s passing game exposed the Illinois’ defensive backs and I think PSU has enough of an improved quick-strike passing attack to do the same.

Stony Brook at Army (noon, CBS Sports Network) _ Stony Brook gave Syracuse a good game. If that was a one-time deal, I would pick Army but Stony Brook also took UTEP into overtime last year and UTEP took an unbeaten (at the time and for most of last year) Houston team into overtime as well. Army is the FBS program, but this is one time where the FCS program prevails. No line since this is a FCS/FBS matchup.

Virginia Tech at Cincinnati (3:30, ESPNU) _ I previously thought Cincinnati, not Louisville,  was the best team in the Big East and that was reinforced by a 34-10 win over Pitt. But Cincy struggled to a 23-7 team over a Delaware State team Delaware beat by 48-14. Virginia Tech lost to Pitt, but I think that was more an abberation than the Cincy struggle because of the Hokies’ solid body of work elsewhere and I think Frank Beamer and company should have no problem with the touchdown cover.

Florida State at South Florida (6 p.m., ESPN) _ A must-see for all Owls, players and coaches.  Hopefully, the Seminoles running roughshod over the Bulls won’t make the Owls overconfident because any team that loses to Maryland shouldn’t be overconfident against anybody. Still, I’m a little concerned that Temple’s coaches didn’t follow Ohio’s game plan to beat Penn State (short passing game) or William and Mary’s game plan to stay in the game against Maryland (blitzing on defense) so I’m hoping Steve Addazio and Chuck Heater are using this telecast to take copious notes. Florida State should win this game easily, but I wouldn’t bet the 17-point spead. This could be something in the order of 31-14, 37-23. This is a game to stay away from at all cost which, for me, is nothing. For TU’s sake, I hope USF wins but I don’t think that’s possible.

Locks of the week: Ball State (giving 1) at Kent State and Toledo, a pick at Western Michigan.

Steve Addazio talks some Penn State.

There’s an old UPS commercial about what can Brown do for you, which reminds me of what beating Penn State can do for you, a long-time Temple fan.
A strong argument can be made that beating Penn State would mean more to Temple than any other school in the country.

Owls will have to fly to the football like this to beat PSU.

More to Temple than Pitt, more to Temple than Syracuse, more to Temple than Rutgers.
And it has nothing to do with the fact that Temple’s last win over PSU came the same year the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The reason is simple.
Penn State is 250 miles away from Philadelphia, yet the Philadelphia media has for the past half-century treated Penn State as one of the Philadelphia pro teams, not a college team four hours away.
It’s the same media centered no more than one mile south of Temple’s main campus in the former building of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.
At the same time, Temple’s football team was ignored, comparatively speaking.
You can make an argument that Penn State deserved all this coverage and Temple did not, but that argument doesn’t make the lopsided coverage any less aggravating to the average Temple fan.
Temple is the city of Philadelphia’s largest employer, is the largest school in the region the newspapers, TV and radio stations serve, is the largest educator, has the most alumni.
Penn State is largely an outsider getting insider treatment.
I have a feeling Penn State will be an afterthought very soon, but the Lions’ 34-7 win over a solid Navy program gave them some credibility that it did not have after losses to Ohio and Virginia.
Penn State is credible now.
I don’t think they will be by the time the Owls next face them on Aug. 30, 2014. Two years of 15 scholarships will do that to a program.
So this is the year to beat Penn State.
The Lions can still lose to Temple this year and finish with a respectable season in the Big 10. Despite the defections, they have enough talent leftover to be dangerous the rest of the way.
More defections and lack of scholarships will take a larger toll in ensuing years.
The next time they lose to Temple, they will be struggling to 1- and 2-win seasons.
If the Owls want a win over Penn State to mean anything, they better take advantage of the opportunity now.
They might even win back their own town by doing it.

Hopefully, the Owls will have the last laugh on Saturday at Penn State.

In about six days, we’re going to find out the answer to this question:

Are the 2012 Temple Owls more like the team that opened the season with a 41-10 blowout of Villanova or the team that fumbled and stumbled during a disappointing 36-27 loss to Maryland?

I must admit being surprised at the lack of execution against a Maryland team that was ready to be had.
Temple travels to Penn State on Saturday afternoon (3:30, ABC Regional) and brings with it a couple of “secret” weapons in Kevin Newsome and Montel Harris.
Secret to Temple fans because they only saw Harris play a couple of downs against Villanova and Newsome hasn’t played a down yet on offense or defense.
Both, though, are great athletes and potential playmakers who can make a difference against Penn State.
Temple coach Steve Addazio approached Newsome after the loss to Maryland about playing either wide receiver or safety and Newsome was receptive to the idea.
I found the “either wide receiver or safety” comment interesting.
I’ve always felt that Newsome can help the Owls out most as a safety on defense.
There’s no real history of him catching the ball, either at Penn State or in high school, but there is a solid history of him being a playmaker on defense in high school.
Newsome has been taking snaps with the offense, though.
Harris is back to 100 percent since his hamstring pull against Villanova.
More importantly, though, the Owls are going to have to eliminate the mistakes they made against Maryland in order to have the chance to beat Penn State.
Any help that Harris or Newsome can supply would be a bonus.

Rutgers and South Florida square off on national TV tonight.

When Temple was in the MAC, the non-conference scheduling philosophy was pretty much this:
“We’ll play anyone, anywhere,” taking a page out of the book that John Chaney used to put Temple basketball back on the national map.
 At the Big East press conference on March 12, Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw indicated that the strategy might change a little in future years due to the BCS nature of the new conference. The implication was clear. Temple would scale down the opponent, while trying to keep Penn State on future schedules.
That makes sense.
Still, I hope that Bradshaw doesn’t go all Rutgers on us. (I think, due to Notre Dame’s ACC deal, Temple will likely lose both back-end games of the three-year deal, one that was due to be played at Temple, but those are the breaks in this crazy conference shuffling era. So Temple will have to replace Notre Dame soon, probably with Villanova.)
Rutgers’ philosophy under Greg Schiano was to play the worst 1AA team imaginable (think Norfolk State and North Carolina Central in past years and Howard this year), build some confidence and then attack the Big East schedule.
That philosophy has resulted in no (zero) Big East titles since, well, Rutgers got into the league.
Their fans, though, act like they’ve won multiple titles.
Right now, Temple plays arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in the Big East. Villanova is better than Howard. The Wildcats are also better than Tennessee-Chattanooga (a team South Florida played and beat, 37-15). Penn State could finish in the middle of the Big 10 pack. Maryland could be decent, although we’ll find out if they are able to cover the 1 1/2-point spread vs. UConn this week. I’m not sold on Maryland. Temple made every football folly play imaginable lost by nine.  In fact, I think Villanova is going to beat William and Mary by double digits this year and W&M held Maryland to seven points before losing to Lafayette, 17-14, last week.
The difference between W&M and Temple was that Bill and Mary blitzed  on defense, while Temple didn’t.
There are no Howards or Tennessee-Chatanoogas on Temple’s schedule and I hope that helps the Owls come Oct. and Nov.
Rutgers played Tulane and won, 24-12, but Tulane went out and laid a 45-10 egg to Tulsa the next week. I like the Nevada team South Florida beat, 32-31, so I will have to take South Florida in tonight’s game as well.
Temple will find out where it stands pretty much in the Big East when South Florida comes to town on Oct. 6.
Until then, though, tonight’s game between Rutgers and South Florida might provide some valuable scouting film. Expect to see a lot of empty seats in Tampa, but that’s seemingly only a story line written about when Temple plays home games. The non-conference schedule of both teams might be an indication of where Temple is headed in future years.
Just don’t bring Howard, North Carolina Central, Norfolk State or Tennessee-Chatanooga to town, please.

Wayne Hardin was, without a doubt, the best coach Temple and Navy ever had.

Hardin’s Bounce Back Wins:
(all occurred the next game after a tough loss)
1974: Lost at Pitt, 35-24; Won at West Virginia, 35-21
1977: Lost to Pitt, 76-0; Won at Delaware (1AA National Champ), 6-3
1979: Lost to No. 1 Pitt, 10-9; Won at 8-3 Rutgers, 41-20
1982: Lost to Boston College, 17-7; Won at Louisville, 55-14

 A couple of years ago, at one of Steve Conjar and Mark Bresani’s ex-player tailgates, former Temple head coach Wayne Hardin asked me a question.
 “Mike, do you golf?” coach said.
 “No, coach, one of these days I’m sure I’ll take it up, but I’m playing tennis in the summers now.” I did tell him I like a lot of things about golf, all that began with a C: competitiveness, challenge, camaraderie.
What most intrigues me about golf is the concept of a Mulligan, a do-over, if you foul up.
Now I know a Mulligan isn’t in the “official” rules of golf but, in a friendly game, you get a chance to do over a shot if you mess up.
I thought a lot about Mulligans and Temple’s football game with Maryland the last couple of days. The only Mulligan I’ve ever known in football is Kevin Mulligan and he was a fine Eagles’ beat writer for The Philadelphia Daily News. He later became golf coach at the now defunct Kennedy-Kenrick High School. (Mulligan, what a great name for a golf coach, huh?)
 Since there are no other Mulligans I know in football, this is going to be a long two weeks for me, personally. I don’t rebound from losses as well as I used to and I hope the kids are as resilient as I was at their age. (I know it’s not two FULL weeks until Temple’s Sept. 22 game at Penn State. It’s just going to seem like two years.)
 That got me to thinking about Hardin’s years at Temple. He was the greatest head coach Temple ever had, and that includes Pop Warner. Heck, he was the greatest coach Navy ever had.
Think about it.

This is what “Beat Army” looks like in Chinese.

 In the post-war period, Navy rose to No. 2 in the country only once and that’s when Wayne Hardin was the coach.
Temple rose to No. 17 in the country only once and that was when Wayne Hardin was the coach. It’s a disgrace that he’s not in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Both schools were blessed to have him as their head coach.
One year Army led the nation in interceptions. The Army defensive secondary was called the “Chinese Bandits” for their ballhawking ability. Prior to Navy’s game against Army that year, Hardin had “Beat Army” written on the side of the Navy helmets.
In Chinese.
Navy won, 35-7.
I don’t remember any bad quarterback/center exchanges, any snaps over the center’s head in the shotgun or bad penalties (other than bad calls by the refs) during any of his 13 years as head coach at Temple. Heck, I don’t even remember him ever getting a field goal or a punt blocked. Hardin always beat teams he was supposed to beat and lose to the teams that overwhelmed him with talent, like Penn State and Pitt. (Despite losing to No. 1 Pitt, 10-9, and No. 1 Penn State, 10-7, among many close games against those teams.)
Temple’s teams played smart and sharp under Hardin. I’ll have to ask him what his secret was next time. Other than fumbled kickoffs or punts, they never beat themselves.
There were mistakes, sure, like the five fumbled kickoffs (all lost) inside the 3-yard line that led to a 76-0 loss to Pitt but Hardin’s teams always bounced back.
There’s a lot of Wayne Hardin in Steve Addazio and that’s the best compliment I can ever pay Steve. He’ll fix whatever procedural problems ailed Temple against Maryland.
As a motivator, he is every bit Hardin’s equal.
Heck, he might even have “Beat Penn State” written on the helmets in Chinese. (Although, I’d prefer TEMPLE on one side and the T on the other.)
After all, you’ve got to admit beating Penn State would mean more to Temple fans than a Mulligan against Maryland.

Hopefully, Rod Streater’s play will help me get my mind off Saturday.

A couple of days before the NFL draft, I wrote a post on the current crop of Temple football seniors about to enter it.
Rod Streater led my story, above Bernard Pierce, above Erod and above Tahir Whitehead.
I wrote then, and I believe now, that Rod Streater was going to be a steal for any NFL team.
Despite him not being drafted like the other Owls, that prediction looks to be on solid ground.
Streater will be in the starting lineup tonight when the Oakland Raiders kick off the Monday Night Football season with the San Diego Chargers (ESPN, late game).

Brandon Boykin (22) tries to pad his stats by getting in on Jaiquawn Jarrett’s tackle of Josh Cribbs on Sunday.

I based my opinion simply on this: Streater catches everything in sight, is faster with the ball than he is without it, is fearless over the middle, has some nice moves and, at 6-foot-4, was the state high jump champion in the state of New Jersey.
In other words, he’s going to catch those fade pattern passes in the end zone that are so much a part of any NFL offense.
Plus, more importantly, he’s a character guy who dumped the Gatorade on Steve Addazio after the 37-15 win over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl.
“He’s the realist coach there is, but I had to get him, though,” a smiling Streater said after the game.
I wish the Eagles had him instead of Reilly Cooper.
A lot of other ex-Owls are in the NFL:
Mo Wilkerson – Jets:  Had seven tackles, four solos, in a 48-28 win over Buffalo.
Jaiquawn Jarrett – Eagles: Played on special teams and was credited with one tackle. Eagles.com lists him only as playing on specials “25 percent” of the time.
Bernard Pierce – Ravens: Plays on Monday night football (early game, 7 p.m.) vs. Bengals tonight. I think he would have been better served by another year at Temple than being Ray Rice’s backup, but that’s water under a bridge that’s washed away. Don’t know if Maryland could have stopped him on Saturday.
Terrance Knighton – Jaguars: Started DT and made two tackles, including a sack, in a 26-23 loss to the Vikings. The sack resulted in a  fumble recovery that set up a Josh Scobee field goal.
Evan Rodriguez – Bears: Started at fullback and blocked great in the Bears’ 41-21 win over Andrew Luck and the Colts.
Tahir Whitehead – Lions: Placed on the inactive list prior to the win over the Rams.
Andre Neblett – Panthers: Did not play in a 16-10 loss at Tampa. Returns from one-game suspension next week. Panthers’ defense only allowed one touchdown.
Adrian Robinson – Steelers: Made the 53-man roster, but Steelers.com does not report him playing in the 30-19 loss to the Broncos last night.
Steve Maneri – Chiefs: Back to his old tight end position, but DNP due to injury according to Chiefs.com.
Rod Streater – Raiders: TBD.

This is how the day went for the Owls.

Memo to Chuck Heater: Mike McGloin is a statue. It’s time for Temple to cut him down and wrap a Temple T flag around his head, ala Sadaam Hussein

Way early  in the book of Football Game Planning 101 should be a chapter on true freshman quarterbacks.
The chapter should be titled “Blitz Early, Blitz Often.”
On the way home from Temple’s embarrassing 36-27 loss to Maryland, I remembered all of the video I watched on Maryland’s 7-6 win over William and Mary.
Since I thought it was odd the Tribe stayed in the game until the end, I was determined to find out why.
The Tribe brought two extra linebackers on every passing situation, one from each side. William and Mary rolled the dice and essentially won with the strategy despite losing the game.
Perry Hills, Maryland’s true freshman QB, never had the time to breathe, led alone find a receiver more than 15 yards down the field. The pressure caused Hills to throw three interceptions and allowed a 1AA football team with a 5-6 record to limit a BCS school to seven points.
Going into the game, I figured Temple defensive coordinator Chuck Heater would see that, too, and sic Ahkeem Smith and Nate Smith through open gaps on Hills. Instead, Hills faced a four-man pass rush.
Heater, in my mind, is still the best defensive coordinator in the country but he rolled the dice, too, believing guys like John Youboty and Sean Daniels would get enough pressure on Hills so he could eschew the blitzes.
If you don’t get there, it’s not enough and you should ratchet up the pressure as needed.
Putting the quarterback on his ass is always the best pass defense.
To me, failure to get significant pressure on a mistake-prone true freshman QB was Reason No. 1 why Temple lost today.
 Reasons, not excuses.
My first “oh-no” offensive moment came a couple hours before the game in the parking lot when someone told me Chris Coyer had a 101-degree fever and was getting intravenous treatment. I remembered the old story about Mickey Mantle having a 101.5-degree fever and hitting three home runs in an NBC game of the week, but I forgot Mantle wasn’t being chased by 6-3, 230-pound linebackers with 4.6 speed.
To me, Coyer wasn’t showing the burst I know he has. He must have had some Holy Water sprinkled on him at halftime because he was cured for the final two quarters.
Reason No. 2 Temple lost today was a lack of a passing game in the first half.
Again, a reason, not an excuse.
Three personal foul penalties, a fumble on the opening drive, not a good way to start.
Reasons, not excuses.
As good as Temple’s special teams were last year, you can’t have a field goal from essentially extra-point territory blocked. Had that field goal been made, Temple leads, 30-29, and the complexion of the game changes dramatically.
The Temple fans were GREAT in the second half. Imagine how loud they would have been if Temple had a 30-29 lead?
Maybe Zack Smith’s departure for Ohio State will be felt more than I thought.
The good news is that these mistakes are fixable.
Matty Brown might not be an every-down back in BCS football, but a healthy Montel Harris sure is. Maybe they are saving that nuclear device to drop on State College.
Geez, I hope so.
Memo to Chuck Heater: Mike McGloin is a statue. It’s time for Temple to cut him down and wrap a Temple T flag around his head, ala Sadaam Hussein. I hope they can do it with four but if you can’t get to him with four, send five. If you can’t get to him with five, send six or seven. Heck, you have to send all the guys on the team named Smith through the unblocked gaps to get him, do it.
We all know a healthy Chris Coyer can deliver at a high level. Hopefully, the next two weeks will be good for his mind and body.
Other good news is that future national champion Rutgers beat Howard, 26-0. (If Temple can’t beat Howard, 26-0, they might as well padlock the E-O right now.) Penn State’s 17-16 loss at Virginia is not good news, but I don’t see them as the Penn State team of a year ago. Pitt is 0-2, including a blowout loss at home to Youngstown State.
There are a lot of winnable games left on the schedule, but not if the Owls can’t pressure the quarterback, play with better discipline and avoid turnovers.
It should have happened today, but you can only go forward, not backward.
Oh yeah.
Lafayette won at William and Mary, 17-14.
Freakin’ Lafayette.
I might not have a 101-degree fever, but I’m officially sick.

Matt Brown was the runaway winner last year of a poll on this website that asked “Which RB best epitomizes the term   “Temple TUFF”, beating  Heisman Trophy runnerup Paul Palmer and Bernard Pierce, among others.  In this photo , taken  after the New Mexico Bowl win, Brown holds up two hands,  signifying his number change this season.

Temple vs. Maryland
Lincoln Financial Field
Kickoff: Noon
TV: ESPNU
Radio: WPHT (1210AM)
Tailgate: Lots open 7 a.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 82 at kickoff, 87 by 3 p.m., slight wind (15-25 mph), rain coming in after the game is over
Notable: Owls have won five straight at LFF and are 16-3 at home in their last 19 games

A famous football coach, now disgraced and dead, once said:
“You always improve the most between the first and second week.”
I’ve always agreed with that.
Some of the best Temple football teams in my memory did not start out well opening week, but had a heckuva Week 2 on the way to a terrific season.
So here’s the formula for today’s noon showdown with visiting Maryland:
Mix in an improved Temple football team vs. an improved Maryland team, add a touch of revenge on Maryland’s part and what comes out of the oven?
Well, I think the faulty ingredient in that mix is the revenge part.
Sure, there are SOME Maryland players still on the team steaming about Temple’s 38-7 win at College Park last year.
Still, what about the 14 new players, 12 true freshmen, who saw their first action for Maryland last week in an opening 7-6 win against William and Mary?
I’m not sure they are feeling the same rage.
Temple, on the other hand, talked all week about avoiding a letdown ala Toledo last year.
I don’t think it’s going to happen against Maryland.
Look at it this way.
That “letdown” had to do as much with two awful picks thrown by Chester Stewart as it did with overlooking Toledo.
It’s what I call the CSF Syndrome or, simply, the Chester Stewart Factor.
There is no CSF now.
Matty Brown, Temple’s dynamite tailback, plays every game like it’s a freakin’ Super Bowl.
If Brown could give his teammates a pre-game shot in the arm that gets their blood flowing as fast as his, that’s the kind of thing that would ward off any emotional advantage any other team could have. I don’t think that’s possible, but they seem to feed off his energy.
Brown is a Temple fan favorite. Last year, after a season in which Bernard Pierce gained 1,747 yards and scored 27 touchdowns, I asked a question on this website. “Which RB best epitomizes the term Temple TUFF?” Brown was the runaway winner, garnering 75 percent of the vote, and solidly beating Pierce and former Heisman Trophy runnerup Paul Palmer.
I could not argue with that choice.
Another factor is that we haven’t seen the “real” Montel Harris yet and you know he’s got to be motivated to show his skills on Saturday.
So there you have it.
Take away Maryland’s rage, which is a red herring, and decide whether an improved Temple team in Week 2 is better than an improved Maryland team.
Since William and Mary, in my view, is no better than Villanova, I think Temple takes this one by a fairly comfortable margin.
I’ll go with 28-13.

Later tonight: Game analysis

This is the most beautiful 18-second video I’ve ever seen.

Imagine the home-field advantage the Owls would have if this entire stadium is as loud as the students?

From the time the first cave man showed his kid how to light a fire, older people have been teaching younger ones.
Occasionally, though, the kids teach the old folks how to do things.
Such was the case on Friday night in Temple’s 41-10 win over Villanova.
Temple’s student section was absolutely electric, as evidenced by the video above shot by former Owl kicker Cap Poklemba.
They were a large group and, more importantly, loud, involved and proud.
Temple had 14,000 students there, according to reliable sources. That’s about half of the full-time student population and about a thousand more students than the number who currently live on or near campus. Meaning, of course, a significant number of commuter students joined their resident comrades.
Temple head coach Steve Addazio correctly gave the crowd breakdown on WIP-AM earlier this week as 32K Temple fans and 1K Villanova fans. Anybody who has two eyes knows that the entire lower bowl, sans two sections of blue, were wearing Cherry.
Unless Villanova fans wore Cherry, you’ve got to assume that Addazio was right.
That’s the good news.
The bad news was that electricity did not seem to me to spread from the student section through the alumni group.
I brought a “Let’s Go Temple” sign into Section 121 and tried five times to start a loud and proud “Let’s Go TEM-PLE!” cheer. Except for the three 10-year-old kids sitting across the aisle from me in 122, everyone else stayed quiet.

Cap Poklemba led a few cheers in the student section on Friday night.

After the fifth time, I gave up.
For the most part, those alumni sections sat dispassionately and politely applauded good plays from the Owls.
When the PA announcer urged the fans to get up on third down, most of the alumni sections stayed seated.
Ugh.
This is a college football game, not Opera at the Kimmel Center.
It’s OK to go crazy.
The kids on the football team who I talk to every week tell me when the whole stadium gets up on their feet and makes noise, it makes a difference on the field.
That’s reason enough for me.
There is hope, though.
It comes from those eight sections of Temple students and it comes from the fact that the alumni got as loud and involved as the students did at the Penn State game last year.
Maybe it was because Temple was on the verge of an historic win and everybody wanted to be part of the moment. On BlueWhiteIllustrated, a Penn State website, one of writers said the breakdown of the crowd was “about 55-45 Temple, but it sounded like 80-20 with the noise they made.”
That’s the way it should be every game.

I also have to give the 500 Temple fans who made the trip to Maryland last year a lot of credit. Whenever I started a “Let’s Go TEM-PLE” cheer, all 500 joined in and the people who watched at home on TV said they heard every one. Temple’s Adrian Robinson even pointed to us and blew us a kiss and bowed a nod of thanks after he recorded a sack. The kids on the field heard us. Even the Maryland fans were giving us a “geez, Temple fans are loud” look. By halftime, we were the only fans left in the stadium.
Maybe that was because the “road 500” were the die-hards.
Imagine what kind of noise 32K fans could make if they were all die-hards?
Temple is on the verge of an historic season and every win and every play means something.
If all of the Temple fans getting up and going crazy helps the Owls to one or two more wins than expected, it’s surely worth it.
For that lesson, I thank the wonderful Temple students.
Starting against Maryland, it’s time for the rest of us to show them we did the requisite homework.