Malcolm Eugene is playing like he did in this 2010 highlight reel.

Pick up a college football magazine, ANY college football magazine, and the thing that strikes you other than they come up way too early is the recurring theme throughout.
“They will be hurt by the graduation of _____, at quarterback, ______ at running back and ______ at linebacker.
Almost none of the magazines will mention that a team MIGHT improve at the position where a starter left.

Yet I see that happening at Temple in AT LEAST five positions from the way it was at start of the 2011 season:

Chris Coyer

QUARTERBACK _ Chris Coyer is unbeaten (4-0) as a Temple starter. Given his productivity (three touchdown passes) after he was inserted in the Ohio game, I believe he would have been 5-0 had he played the first two series. Heck, you can make a strong argument that the New Mexico Bowl MVP might have been a difference-maker against Bowling Green, Penn State or Toledo, too. Coyer is a major upgrade from a Chester Stewart/Mike Gerardi hybrid. I’ve studied game tape of all the returning Big East quarterbacks and Coyer takes a back seat to none of them.

Sean Boyle

CENTER _ John Palumbo, the 2011 starter, was hobbled by injuries throughout his final season. Sean Boyle, a 2009 starter, is back and more healthy than ever. A lot of people around the Edberg-Olson Complex believe Boyle is a better center than Palumbo was and Palumbo was very, very good.
Plus, it’s only logical that if Boyle can start over Palumbo in the opening game fo the 2009 season, he’s better than Palumbo now, too. Palumbo was here in 2009 as well.
FREE SAFETY _ Kevin Kroboth was a three-year starter and an outstanding player for the Owls, but he was a heady guy who didn’t necessarily make “talent” plays like intercept the ball and take it to the house. Incoming freshman Nate Smith is such a player, as is current first-teamer Vaughn Carraway. So is developing redshirt sophomore Brian Burns. Unless something unforseen happens, like Kevin Newsome switching over the defense in August, I see both of those guys being able to make all the cover plays Kroboth was able to make and also be able to pick off a pass or two and go to the house. If I had to predict one “true” freshman starter, it would be Nate Smith. Archbishop Wood is a fine academic school and has prepared Smith for the rigors of Temple.  Wood doesn’t produce writers the quality of, say, Archbishop Ryan or Father Judge, but recently has done a much better job of producing BCS football talent than the two mentioned schools.

Nate D. Smith

MIDDLE LINEBACKER _ Nate D. Smith didn’t get the nickname “Superman” for nothing. A Temple coach who was around for the Al Golden Era and the beginning of the Steve Addazio Era said the Owls have never had a playmaking linebacker with Nate D. Smith’s ability. Stephen Johnson was very good in his final season and got the most out of his talent, but Nate D. Smith was a three-time first-team All-State player in New Jersey and if Nate D. Smith gets the most out of his talent, you’ve got to believe he’ll be a major upgrade over a walk-on from Methacton.
SLOT RECEIVER _ Joey Jones was a dependable slot receiver for the last couple of years, but Jones lost a lot of his explosiveness when he tore his Achilles tendon in his freshman year. Jalen Fitzpatrick has all of Jones’ dependability and adds a lot more explosive element. Fitzpatrick is a special talent, who can play all over the field. He’ll be a major upgrade over Jones, who I liked very much.

Nate Smith, the free safety

WIDE RECEIVER _ As good as Rod Streater was, and I think he was good enough to be drafted, Malcolm Eugene has shown more in practice than Streats ever did. As we found out with Chester Stewart, practice can be deceiving but the actual game (recruiting) tape on Eugene as a junior college player his a virtual highlight reel and the recruiting tape on Stewart was spotty at best. I think Eugene is going to be enough of an upgrade on Streater for everyone to notice. In fact, I like the different talents this receiving corps brings to the table better. Deon Miller is a nice 6-6 end zone target and Eugene and Fitzpatrick can make explosive plays in the passing game plus Ryan Alderman is a solid and dependable possession receiver. Alex Jackson is a potentially great tight end as well. You need that kind of mix.

This is how good programs become better and it appears Temple’s recruiting is so back-loaded (talent level in subsequent years) that in  most cases better players are coming in to replace the ones who leave.
That’s consoling to know after losing three players to the NFL draft and eight more to free agent contracts.

Often, we get suggestions/requests to take Temple Football Forever out of the google blogersphere and either create a dedicated domain name or join a “big-time” sports network, most notably SB Nation.
The Domain was out, because all of my work is here and I don’t have the technical ability to move it. Plus, I’ve gotten used to all the bells and whistles from the graphic end here.

SB Nation was tempting, but it required two things: 1) I cover all Temple sports; 2) If I ever leave the network, they get to keep the name and all of the intellectual “properties” (stories I’ve written on this website since 2005).
I don’t have the same level of passion for other Temple sports nor the desire to lose my work, so SB Nation was out (I do like their design templates).
Spreading the word about Temple football IS a passion of mine so I have decided to partner up with No 2-Minute Warning, a group of outstanding college sports websites.
This opportunity just dropped in our laps the other day and I’m proud to associate TFF’s name with a quality group of dedicated college sports websites like No 2-Minute Warning.
All they require is that little photo link you see under the TFF banner on the right and, hopefully, this will mean more eyeballs directed to TFF.
Word-of-mouth has been important to TFF for the last seven years and now No 2-minute warning gives us our first platform to spread the gospel in other forms.
Donations are the lifeblood of TFF (in seven years, we’ve only made $169 from the google ads, a little less than $30 a year) so we’re counting on your support to keep the website alive for the next seven years and, God-willing, beyond that.
We are offering advertising opportunities this season. For $100 a month, you get a clickable  ad underneath the No 2-minute warning link on the sidebar  (approximately the same size) directing TFF readers to your website. That’s ideal for say, Temple athletics, to push Temple tickets or for spots on campus like Pub Webb, Maxi’s or the Draught Horse or, say, any Pizza place in Philadelphia to push customers through the door or advertise their specials.
And from now until the first kickoff of the Villanova game, a $25 or more contribution yields a TFF bumper sticker. For more information on that, click on the “Support Temple Football Forever” spot on the sidebar below the poll question.
So supporting Temple Football Forever can be mutually beneficial.

Sports Illustrated’s rankings of the Temple players.

Bonecrusher (left) and Wayne

From the moment several seniors walked off the field for the final time after Temple’s win in the New Mexico Bowl, the waiting began.
Waiting. Working out. Waiting some more, working out some more.
Many of the seniors were hopeful of a pro career.
“I need only one team to love me,” was the way wide receiver Rod Streater put it.
A lot of the Owls could have said the same thing. The draft begins for everyone on Thursday night (7:30 p.m.), but our Owls will probably go on Friday and Saturday.
I think the team that gets Streater is getting a steal, probably as a free agent.
Look at it this way: Streater was a state high jump champion in New Jersey, runs fairly well, has good hands, goes over the middle fearlessly and can win any fade pass jump ball with a DB.
If he was as fast as, say, Travis Shelton, was (4.29, 40), he’d probably be a first-round pick. He doesn’t have burning speed, but he can get separation.
I don’t see a whole lot of difference in ability between the Eagles’ Riley Cooper and Streater.
If Riley Cooper can play in the league, so can Streats.
Temple had its pro day on March 16 and head coach Steve Addazio said “I wouldn’t be surprised if three-quarters of them make a (NFL) camp.”

Sports Illustrated rated the Owls (above graphic). I don’t think SI saw very many Temple games, let’s put it that way.

If you don’t have the NFL network, go to NFL.com for live streaming.

If I had to take a guess, Bernard Pierce will go near the end of the third round and Evan Rodriguez will go in the fifth. Derek “Bonecrusher” Dennis will go  in the sixth and Adrian Robinson has a chance to go in the seventh round.
Robinson will finally be playing the position (OLB) I told his dad Al Golden should have had him from the jump. Temple, though, had a need for a pass rusher and Robinson fit the bill. He was too valuable for the new staff to move out but he’s got a motor like nobody’s business and that should serve him well in any pro camp. Rodriguez had an excellent combine and played well in all-star games. I think in a system like New England runs (but not necessarily New England), Erod’s ability to catch the ball and break tackles after the catch make him a particularly effective player.
I think Wayne Tribue, Kevin Kroboth, Tahir Whitehead, Streater, Kee-Ayre Griffin and even Joey Jones have a chance to land free-agent contracts. Bonecrusher and Wayne have been inseparable for four years and wouldn’t it be great for them to end up in the same camp?
They might have to wait a little longer than Pierce or Rodriguez, but their wait is nearly over.
In the league where they pay for play, most of them will get paid at least for a little while.
How well they play after that will determine their long-term futures.

Terry Bowden has a tough selling job ahead at Akron.

Television sets in a sports department are little more than background noise, but around 8 p.m. every evening someone invariably gets up and starts to flip the sports channels.
Such was the case on a fall weeknight night about 15 years ago at The Philadelphia Inquirer, long before Temple became involved with the MAC.
One of my colleagues stopped on a MAC football game and I said:
“That’s it’s. MAC football. Gotta love it.”

Even famed pitchman Andrew Sullivan doesn’t envy the selling job Terry Bowden has ahead of him at Akron.

Fortunately, I had a fellow MAC football football fan in the room and we pursuaded the house to have MAC football on over every other option.
Soon, the rest of the newsroom was hooked on MAC football and not much convincing was required after that.
I was a MAC football fan long before I worked at the Inky, long before Temple was in the conference and remained a MAC fan throughout Temple’s tenure and probably will follow the conference’s games more closely than any other not named the Big East going forward.
I’ll take the MAC over the SEC, Big 10 or PAC-12.
Not saying the MAC is better than any of those conferences, I just think their games are more entertaining to watch.
I just came to the conclusion the MAC was a bad fit for Temple.
Temple fans never warmed up to the new “rivalries”  like Buffalo and pined for old ones like Rutgers.
Temple is, institutionally and geographically at least, more like Rutgers or UConn than it is like Central or Eastern Michigan.
Nothing illustrates the struggle Temple would have faced had it continued in the MAC more than the enormous task that faces former Auburn coach Terry Bowden as the new Akron coach.
Good luck to him. He’s got a brand new $61 million stadium that Al Golden envied and they can’t come close to filling it. Unlike Temple, Bowden can’t promise a recruit playing time in a BCS conference or a CHANCE to win a national championship.
Temple finally has a seat at the adult dinner table, while the MAC presses its adorable noses outside the window looking into the ornate room.
Without the MAC, though, Temple never gets that seat.
So my final word on the MAC is thanks.
I’ll still be watching on nights when the BE isn’t on TV.
As always.

Cap Poklemba kicks game-winning FG at West Virginia in 2001.

Listen to sports talk radio in Philadelphia and you’d think the NFL Eagles played a 365-game schedule.
Even with the Flyers involved in an exciting playoff series with the Penguins and the Phillies’ offense more impotent than a North Korean rocket, I would say at least 33 percent of the airwaves were devoted to a game-by-game breakdown of the recently released Eagles’ 2012 schedule.
Each caller would call out a game and give a “win” and a “loss” and come up with a figure.
I got out of that business a long time ago because there are too many variables involved.
When it comes to this season and Temple football, I’d like to think that the high end is 11-0 and the low end 8-3 but I simply don’t know.

Five games nobody thought the Eagles would win with a backup QB, but they did.

If, say, Brandon McManus goes down in the first game, I could see 3-8 as well. Field position would be terrible and the Owls would not have a reliable field goal kicker.
This isn’t like the NFL where you can get a good Canadian or Arena League kicker off the waiver wire. Toledo’s Todd French comes to mind.
This is Temple where the only backups are ex-high school kickers or guys from the lunch room in the Student Activities Center.
Typically, there is a huge drop in talent between the first- and second-team kickers at Temple. The only time I can remember two good kickers on the Owls was when Cap Poklemba and Jared Davis were on the roster. Davis was the “Chester Stewart” of Temple kickers. Great in practice, terrible in games. Poklemba was the Adam DiMichele. OK in practice, great in games. Poklemba was an All-Big East kicker. As good as Poklemba was, McManus is better. Knock on wood, he will be the BE first-team punter and placekicker.
Wayne Hardin had success recruiting guys off Walt Bahr’s soccer team at Temple like Don Bitterlich and Nick Mike-Mayer. But that was when Temple soccer was good.

What I don’t buy is this specious argument that if Temple can’t win the MAC, the Owls won’t be able to compete in the Big East.
I completely reject that argument. Last year, Temple, Northern Illinois, Toledo and Ohio would have done very well in the Big East.
The MAC was an underrated conference. The Big East was overrated.
This won’t be as difficult a transition as many think.

Nothing proved the “game-by-game” predictions more ridiculous than the Eagles’ 2006 season. Back then, even going in with a healthy (and, at that time, rather productive) Donovan McNabb, most observers picked the Eagles to lose four out of a tough five-game stretch to end the season.
Then McNabb got hurt.
What happened?
Backup Jeff Garcia led the Eagles to five straight wins over good teams and the Eagles won the NFC East.
Go figure.
Or don’t figure.

Most TU fans took it in good humor.

The gates to Lincoln Financial Field opened at 10 a.m. on Cherry and White Day.
I walked up to the entrance at 10:15 and finally got in at 10:45.
I’ve been going to Temple football games at the facility since it opened in 2003 and I don’t remember everybody being “wanded” before, but everybody was.
There was only a little grumbling and most fans took it in good humor.
“If we’re getting this kind of security for a Temple spring game, then the terrorists have won,” was one comment.
Even the security people realized how ridiculous it looked and one of them said to me they were using Cherry and White for training purposes.
I didn’t know if he was kidding or what, but he sounded serious.
No suspicious packages were found.
The only thing I carried in was a roster.
The only thing I carried out was a super T-Shirt, thanks to Temple promotions.
The front says “Return to the Big East” and the back lists the Temple football schedule.
When I go to LA Fitness tonight (where there are about 1,000 people in a space designed for 200), I will be wearing it. Whether or not you go to LA Fitness or are just walking through the streets of Center City, try to wear the shirt as much as possible. Just pick a place where there’s a whole lot of population density.

If all of the Temple fans did the same, that’s the best word-of-mouth advertising the university can have.

Some other final thoughts on C and W:

Third-funniest?

• Visited with three members of the Bill Cosby-era Temple squad and they all agreed with what Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub said: “Bill was the third-funniest guy on the team.” To that I said, “If Bill was the third-funniest guy on the team he had to be the smartest third-funniest guy on the team.” I don’t think the first two guys made $368 million for being funnier.
• Talked extensively to Bill Bradshaw after the game and I had to agree when he asked everyone in our group if the day TU re-joined the BE was the best in the history of Temple sports. That would probably be topped by an appearance in this season’s Orange Bowl, though, if the Owls are fortunate enough to get there. They will get that opportunity, though, if they win the Big East.
• Brian Burns’ uncle was sitting in front of me when I mentioned to him I have a new set of fans I dislike more than Villanova’s. “I can’t stand Rutgers’ fans,” I said. “I better not show up for that game, I guess,” he said. “Why?” “I played at Rutgers.” Whoops. Turns out he is a great guy. “I was always for you guys coming back into the Big East,” he said. Well, I like ONE Rutgers’ fan now.
• Phillies Nation was out in impressive tailgating force afterward. Not the brightest bulbs in Lot K, though. Each Porta Potty line was about 60-people deep. The Temple fans just walked into the Linc where there were no lines. One of the values of a Temple education, I guess.

Stats told some of the story.

Some scattershot observations from a long day in South Philadelphia:

Not a big stat guy, but I had to rush home and look at the stats for Saturday’s Cherry and White game because I could have sworn one guy on the White team carried the ball 30 times for minus 25 yards.
I was wrong.
It was 17 times for 27 yards.
Ugh.
The Cherry offensive line opened holes for Matty Brown and Jalen Fitzpatrick, but the White team runners had a hard time finding open holes. That could be due to playing behind a second-team offensive line, but I saw holes close due to lack of foot speed by a running back.
Suffice it to say that a high-end speed of 4.64 for the 40 is not fast enough for a top-level FCS tailback, let alone a top-level FBS or BCS lead rusher.
I tried to warn head coach Steve Addazio that Chester Stewart can’t play at this level and he, like Al Golden,  learned that the hard way. Both coaches saw enough by midseason in each of the last two years and were forced to pull the plug. Hopefully, the backup running back positions will be plugged in by the summer when the Calvary arrives.

Wes Welker, err, Ryan Alderman catches everything in sight.

That problem will be solved by the arrival of elusive runners like Khalif Herbin, Brandon Peoples and Jamie Gilmore in July. There is plenty of opportunity for one of those guys to rocket up the depth chart. I’d like to see Fitzpatrick and Herbin fight it out in the slot and Peoples and Gilmore get a decent shot to back up Brown, but all of that should be ironed out in the summer practices. Both Peoples and Gilmore have the kind of explosiveness and open-field vision you are born with and can’t be taught. Peoples was a dynamic player in a great high school league. Gilmore was a dynamic player in a great high school state. Herbin scored 36 touchdowns last year for Montclair (N.J.), despite sitting out second halves of four games that were over by halftime.
From the looks of the running backs not named Brown or Fitzpatrick, the new guys are going to be needed  right away.
Still, the good outweighed the bad in Cherry’s 17-10 win.

• Cherry quarterback Chris Coyer was on target with his passes all day. Had he not worn the orange “no tackle” jersey, there’s no doubt in my mind that he would have scored on one of his patented 80-yard touchdown runs.
• Wide receiver Ryan Alderman, who New York Giants’ assistant coach Matt Rhule called “Temple’s Wes Welker” is a human vacuum cleaner out there. He caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Coyer. Toss anything near him and he’s going to come down with the ball. That’s comforting to know on third-and-eight.
• White quarterback Juice Granger was also impressive, although I would have liked to see him throw the DEEP ball better. (He throws a nice short and intermediate range pass.)
• Brandon McManus was outstanding again, both in punting and placekicking. He had only one bad punt all day and his 53-yarder would have been good from 60. He’s an NFL talent.
• As advertised, some players have really stepped up.
• Middle linebacker Nate D. Smith was making plays all over the field, but that’s something he’s done all of his life as an Owl. (He was an Owl in high school as well.)
• Hershey Walton, a 6-2, 290-pound converted offensive lineman, was solid in the middle as a nose guard.
• Brian Burns, wearing No. 48, made a statement with an interception, several nice breakups and a big-time open field hit. He could be in the hunt for the starting free safety position.

The concerns coming out of the game were the same ones coming into it.
The Owls need to develop depth along the offensive line (they have good depth on defense) and find a kicker to replace McManus, who unfortunately won’t be playing Temple football, err, forever. My nightmare scenario is that he gets roughed and injured on a punt and misses significant Big East time. Didn’t happen last year, so keep those fingers crossed again.
The offensive line was a bright spot. I think the starters are going to be at least as good there, if not better, than last year’s.
So does Daz.
“We have five (starters) on the offensive line and we’re not going to skip a beat there,” said Addazio. “We’ve got to get that up to six, seven, eight guys and we’ll be working on that.”
If anyone can whip this offensive line into shape, it is Addazio.
Running back is a different story, though. You can’t be taught that.
Either you have it or you don’t.
Brown and Fitzpatrick have it and we’ll leave it at that.
For now, we have to.

Daz with hair as an assistant coach and after getting an ACC scalp as a head coach.

If Temple wins the Big East this year, a lot of people will be surprised.
Not me.
In fact, I will coin a new phrase for it.
The Steve Principle.
The Steve Principle is The Peter Principle in reverse.
The Peter Principle states that “in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence”, meaning that employees tend to be promoted until they reach a position in which they cannot work competently. It was formulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1969 book The Peter Principle.

When it comes to BE critics, Temple and Steve Addazio could have the  last laugh

The Steve Principle will be named in honor of Temple head football coach Steve Addazio, who was vilified by Florida fans for his perceived incompetence as an offensive coordinator (something I never really understood) but who rose to a solid level of competence as head football coach.
Some people are born leaders and, after a year of closely observing Addazio, I believe he has passed that muster. Some, like current Miami defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio, are born followers.
Temple had the incredibly bad luck of hiring one of those types in Ron Dickerson, who was called the “greatest assistant head coach in America” by none other than Joe Paterno.
That was the problem with Dickerson. Great assistants don’t always make great head coaches. Addazio has a CEO’s knack for organization and both hiring and delegating authority to terrific top-level management (see Chuck Heater).
Contrast Temple’s current coaching situation with the rest of the Big East teams.
Rutgers was forced to hire an offensive line coach who never won a football game as a head coach anywhere when its top two targets turned down the job. Kyle Flood may turn out to be an Addazio (I seriously doubt it), but there is a chance he could turn out to be a Dickerson or a Terry Shea, too.
Pitt’s head coaching situation has been a carousel, with another guy, Paul Chryst, who never won a game as a head coach before. Chryst is the Panthers’ fifth head coach since November, 2010 (Dave Wannstedt, Mike Heywood, Todd Graham and Keith Patterson came before him). If you don’t think the Panthers are going to take an on-the-field hit because of that in 2012, you are underestimating the importance of stability in big-time college football.
Louisville coach Charlie Strong is 14-12 over the last two years.
UConn coach Paul Pasqualoni lost two of his last three games against some pretty bad Temple teams. He is 62, but he looks 92.
Syracuse coach Doug Marrone was 5-7 last year and brought only 65 players to his team’s Saturday scrimmage at Sahlen Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., some 90 minutes from the Carrier Dome. The ‘Cuse program is in bad shape. Temple will bring 105 players to Saturday’s Cherry and White scrimmage (11 a.m., Lincoln Financial Field).
Cincinnati has a fine head coach in Butch Jones, but his two top assistants, defensive coordinator John Jancek and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, can’t hold a candle to Heater or Ryan Day in terms of experience and accomplishments.
Temple will need a little luck in the form of avoiding key injuries to win the Big East this season, but Addazio has a knowledge of how to win on the BCS level and a solid blueprint in place for executing that plan in addition to an impeccable character that makes mothers and fathers want to send their sons to play for him. (For the opposite of that principle, see Bobby Petrino.)
“Coach Addazio is the realist coach who ever lived,” wide receiver Rod Streater said, an interesting use of the word realist while paying Daz the highest compliment. (Remember, Streater also played for Al Golden.)
That didn’t stop Streater from throwing the bucket of Gatorade on Addazio after the 37-15 win over Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl last year.
“I had to get him, though,” Streater said.
Streater got him and now Temple’s got him for what will hopefully be a long and successful haul.
That has to be bad news for the rest of the Big East.

The Nate Smith from Wood (left) and the Nate Smith who starts at linebacker.

A great philosopher (OK, it was Allen Iverson), once said: “Practice, we’re talkin’ practice. Not an actual game, practice.”

It was funny and clever and heartfelt and, in many respects, true.

Jamie Gilmore: RB help is on the way.

I’ve always felt that practice made perfect and it was necessary but, after attending the last 30 or so Cherry and White games, I’ve come away with the feeling that I’ve just watched another practice.

The best ticket money can’t buy …..

Great weather for C and W, but Channel 6 needs to ditch the soccer ball for a Temple T.

Kickoff to Saturday’s Cherry and White game is 11 a.m., at Lincoln Financial field.

BOX OFFICE: (For free tickets) opens at 9 a.m.

RADIO/TV: None.

PARKING: Free in Lot K to all who arrive before 11 a.m. Vehicles arriving after kickoff will be charged $15 to park due to the 4:05 Phillies game with the Mets.
There is no overnight parking.

TICKETS: Prior to the game, tickets are available (also for free) at the Liacouras Center Box Office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until Friday.

GATES: Open at 10 a.m.

NOTABLE: The first 1,000 through the gates will receive a FREE Temple in the Big East T-Shirt.