12.15.15
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The Fallacy of the Fall

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We don’t mention it in the story below, but it’s comforting to know that Temple returns an outstanding trio of holder Tom Bradway, kicker Austin Jones and punter Alex Starzyk (not pictured).

There are certain assumptions in life which are given, like water is wet and a fire is hot, and then there are others that just make you laugh.

One of those latter ones is making the rounds on just about every future opponent message board and some ex-rivals ones, like the know-it-alls at Rutgers. The prevailing one over there is that the Owls will fall off the grid next year because “they lose so many seniors.”

Connecticut v Temple

Colin Thompson: Back

I call it the Fallacy of the Fall. There will be no fall, but there will be a lot of know-it-alls with egg on their faces, maybe as early as Temple’s second-straight win over Penn State.

Father forgive them because they know not they do, say or write. While it is true Temple loses a lot of valuable seniors, what is also true that Temple head coach Matt Rhule has done a sensational job assembling a line of succession that probably averts any kind of drop off. Due to a weaker schedule (no Notre Dame), the Owls just might have a chance for a better record. USF might be better and Houston will be good again, but the Owls do not play Houston in the regular season, have a decent chance to beat USF (the game is at the Linc) a better chance to win the others. After the Houston game 10 days ago, Rhule said: “I hope this game is at our place next year.” It was not an empty wish.

Once again, on defense, they could be just as good if not better.

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Owls return Jahad Thomas, who could be up for national awards.

While the Owls lose an All-American in linebacker Tyler Matakevich, they gain someone who can make enough plays from the linebacker position, Nick Sharga, to contend for all-conference honors. They have a number of linemen returning who made outstanding plays all season, like Averee Robinson, Haason Reddick, Jacob Martin, Michael Dogbe, Freddy Booth-Lloyd, Praise Martin-Oguike and Sharif Finch. That’s some good quality and quantity right there and defensive coordinator Phil Snow would be wise to at least think about a 5-2 with that personnel (both Robinson and Booth-Lloyd can play nose guard).

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P.J. Walker: Back

Linebackers returning who got plenty of playing time in addition to Sharga include Avery Williams (who made the play to beat Tulane at the end of the 2014 season), Stephaun Marshall and Jared Alwan. The depth is so good at LB and DL, the Owls might want to consider keeping Sharga at fullback. Or even go to a 5-2. When three of your projected linebackers already wear single digits (Sharga, Williams and Marshall) you know you’ve got tough guys at a tough guy position.

Where the Owls lose corner Tavon Young, they gain one in Kareem Ali Jr., who might even have a higher upside. Holding down the other spot will be Sean Chandler, who was the only player in the nation to return two interceptions for touchdowns. Artrel Foster and Nate Hairston are back to provide depth if not steal a job or two. Nate L. Smith, Jyquis Thomas and Delvon Randall are seasoned safeties.

Connecticut v Temple

Jacob Martin: Back.

The Owls will be just fine on defense and, on offense, every skill player of note returns with the exception of Robby Anderson, Brendan Shippen and John Christopher. Anderson made a number of big plays, while the two Christopher will be most remembered for are the throwback pass to P.J. Walker against PSU and the catch to set up the field goal at UMass. Shippen’s biggest play was the touchdown catch against Notre Dame. Still, there is reason to believe that Ventell Bryant, Sam Benjamin, Brodrik Yancy and Adonis Jennings will be able to more than replace the production. Rhule has already stated that Yancy is the closest player to a clone of Christopher that he has.  Cortrelle Simpson gives them a chance to do what they have not done in two years—stretch the field with long bombs, opening up a lot of underneath stuff. Speaking of underneath stuff, both tight ends, Colin Thompson and Kip Patton, return.

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Sharif Finch: All he does is make big plays and he is back.

There are a lot of guys who have not been mentioned, due to injuries and redshirts, but who can force their way into the picture with good springs.

Of course, P.J.  Walker, potential Heisman Trophy candidate Jahad Thomas and the running backs are back and Brendan McGowan should do an admirable job replacing Kyle Friend. In addition, tackle Eric Lofton and guard Shahbaz Ahmed are leaving but the Owls should find capable replacements in Jaelin Robinson and Jovahn Fair.

Speaking of fair, it might be fair to make USF the AAC East favorite next season but to think the Owls do not have a chance to beat Penn State again or have a better record than a year ago is a big mistake. They have a chance to be better. It is up to them to make the most of it and make the know-it-alls look like the no-nothings again.

Get your season tickets and a 12-game supply of popcorn now, because it’s going to be a show.

12.14.15
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5 Things That Should Be on the Owls’ Spring Cleaning List

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Great cartoon from the Northeast Times.

Something Temple offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said in the offseason a year ago gave a rare insight into the way the brain trust approaches problem-solving at the Edberg-Olson Practice facility. He said the staff realized midway through the 2014 season that the four- and five-wide sets that had been at the core of the Owls’ offensive philosophy needed be scraped but it was “too late in the season” to fundamentally change the offensive approach. So do not expect any major changes for the bowl game, but these five things need to be addressed in the spring.

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  1. Another Nick Sharga

There will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth when fullback Nick Sharga moves to the other side of the ball as ostensibly Tyler Matakevich’s replacement at the “Mike” linebacker position next year. Most of those molars and tears will belong to Jahad Thomas, who was sprung for many of his 1,000-plus yards and 17 touchdowns off lead blocks by Sharga. The Owls will need another fullback to replace Sharga because Nick’s backup, Mike Felton, will be graduating. My recommendation is to give all the Sharga film to Daiqwon Buckley, a 5-9, 225-pound freshman from Dunmore, and tell him to do exactly what he sees Sharga doing. Then work on those lead blocks in the spring. Also, reward Buckley with a few carries a game to keep the defense honest. He rushed for 2,322 and 35 TDs as a senior and led Dunmore to the Class A state final. Since he’s ambidextrous—able to throw with either hand—he might also be a candidate for a few trick plays.

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Elite Edge Speed

The Owls haven’t had a James Nixon or Travis Sheldon type since, well, Nixon and Sheldon. Ventell Bryant, Sam Benjamin and Romond Deloatch and all the returners are pretty much the same type receivers, tall targets that will not necessarily stretch the field.  Cortrelle Simpson, a 5-10, 175 pound freshman who ran a 4.3 as a high school senior, is that guy.  He was the scout team player of the week prior to both the Penn State and the East Carolina games.

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Kareem Ali Jr.

  1. Return Punts

Simpson, who had 795 kick return yards in high school, also might be the guy to wake the Owls from their two-year punt return slumber. The Owls haven’t had that flip-the-field guy since Delano “Positive Man” Green. They need to turn the punt return into an offensive play again, the way it was when Green  played, and when past greats like Anthony Young and the late great Paul Loughran played.  Kareem Ali has the speed to handle that role, too.

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Freddy Booth-Lloyd stopped Paxton Lynch for no gain on a QB  sneak.

  1. Build Depth

One of the fallacies floating around out there is that the Owls’ defense will not be elite because of the losses of people like Matakevich, Matt Ioannidis and Tavon Young. Head coach Matt Rhule appears to have a done a good job building a line of succession because Sharga will plug in for Matakevich, Freddy Booth-Lloyd for Ioannidis and Kareem Ali for Young. I don’t expect Sharga to become a first-team All-America like Matakevich was, but he’s certainly capable of making all-league. Ali will be a star and FBL has certainly showed he’s ready for prime time. The challenge is to build the backups for those guys and the next line of succession.

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The 2-minute drill worked against UMass and flopped against Houston.

  1. Two-Minute Drill

Let’s be honest, the Owls looked lost when they had to preserve precious time for a fourth-quarter comeback at Houston but we know they are more than capable of running an effective two-minute drill because they executed one flawlessly to beat UMass. The challenge is to make sure what happened at Houston never happens again and to learn from what was done well at UMass and make that a permanent two-minute package—even for long stretches like seven minutes. That probably should not wait until spring because it might be needed against Toledo.

12.13.15
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Critical Thinking and the Media

Zach Gelb was the only reporter at the Temple-Houston game who called it like it was in the first minute of this video.

When will we know Temple football has arrived in Philadelphia?

It certainly won’t be after beating Penn State or playing Notre Dame tough or even winning an AAC East title.

You will know Temple football has arrived when someone picks up a phone, dials one of the two all-talk Philadelphia sports radio stations and discusses what Zach Gelb talks about in the opening part of the above video for Temple’s student-run TV station. It should not be surprising that Gelb called out the Elephant on the Field, because breaking down sports runs in his blood. Gelb is the son of Mike and the Mad Dog Producer Bobby Gelb, who was the brains behind the greatest sports talk show in the history of radio. Now, due mostly to greed, that great pair has split up. It was like breaking up Laurel and Hardy because one without the other is no good.  When Mike said something outrageous, Chris was there to put him in line and vice versa.

Here’s a little snippet of what made Mike Francesa and Christopher Russo great.

I, for one, would have loved to hear Mike and the Mad Dog go off about Temple’s atrocious clock management the fourth quarter of the Houston game. Or wish Philly had a Mike and Mad Dog equivalent who cared enough to vent.

Temple had a problem in Houston, but you would not know it from the way the media reported the game. You didn’t read about it in the Inquirer or Daily News or Pravda (Owlscoop.com) or even Owlsdaily.com.

All except for Zach Gelb, who broke down the reason for the loss in a few words in the beginning of the post-game report that appears above. That’s the way it should have been broken down in Philadelphia and the way it should have been addressed on sports talk radio or in the next day’s newspapers. Gelb said he asked about it but that none of the team members felt it was a problem. That, in and of itself, is another problem.

For reasons only known to those who cover the team, TV, radio and newspapers never even addressed the problem. All they talked about was what a great season it was, not the snafus that could have made it a greater season.

Temple lost to Houston in the title game with a two-minute offense that was an abomination of Epic Fail proportions and the only reaction from Temple afterward were innocuous  “it was a great season” and “I’m proud of my team “quotes.

Yeah, but what about those 20 seconds wasted on virtually every play of the fourth quarter? Can we have one comment about that?

You can certainly bet if the Philadelphia Eagles wasted the last large chunks of any final quarter in the manner that Temple did, eliminating any chance of winning a game that had a slight chance to be won, it would have been hashed and rehashed on sports talk radio for the next five days.

We still have not found out why Temple wasted precious seconds in the final quarter of its most important football game and, because we have not, the Owls still have a long way to go in this great sports town.

12.12.15
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5 Other AAC Bowl Matchups Worth Watching

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Where is the T, M and P?

 

Just four months ago, the AAC was lumped as just another Group of 5 football conference trying to make its way in a Power 5 world. Then the AAC won some big games, with Temple beating Penn State and Memphis beating Mississippi, finished 4-3 against a P5 conference (the ACC) and separated itself from the pack. Now it can enhance its image by winning these five bowl games.

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  1. Miami Beach: USF vs. Western Kentucky

The big storyline in this game (2:30 p.m., EDT, Dec. 21, ESPN), is Willie Taggart’s old recruits, the ones who play for 11-2 WKU, going up against his newer 8-4 South Florida recruits. Despite the game being played in South Florida, the Hilltoppers are slight favorites and a lot of that has to do with the motivation on one side against an less-motivated group on the other. Plus, WKU’s Jeff Brohm probably is a better game day coach than Taggart.

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  1. Birmingham: Memphis vs. Auburn

The fact that the 9-3 Memphis Tigers are a slight underdog against the 6-6 Auburn Tigers is a product of this being a home game for Auburn. In reality, Memphis is a team that beat Mississippi by 13 points and should have no problem handling an overvalued Auburn team that has an edge in SEC name recognition and little else. The game is Dec. 30th on ESPN at noon.

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  1. Hawaii: Cincinnati vs. San Diego St.

The Bearcats have one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Gunner Kiel, who has played significantly better in the second half of the season since coming off a concussion. The 7-5 Bearcats’ most impressive showing was a 33-30 loss at champion Houston. SDSU, which is 10-3, is a slight underdog in this game (Dec. 24, 8 p.m., ESPN).

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  1. Military Bowl: Pitt vs. Navy

In what is a home game for 9-2 Navy, played at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, this game serves as a showcase for someone who should have won the Heisman Award, Navy Midshipmen quarterback Keenan Reynolds, against a successful Power 5 team in 8-4 Pitt. This is probably too tough a spot for the four-point underdog Panthers.

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  1. Peach Bowl: Houston vs. Florida State

The one takeaway from Houston’s 24-13 win over Temple in the title game was two takeaways, an interception and a fumble, which were really the difference between Temple being there and Houston taking the spot. The fact that the Owls had to play a perfect game to beat the Cougars probably bodes well for the touchdown underdog in the Dec. 31 game (noon, ESPN). The AAC can make its ultimate statement winning this game.

12.11.15
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Bednarik, Nagurski Awards for Tyler Damages Butkus’ Credibility

When members of the Dick Butkus Award committee watched as Temple’s Tyler Matakevich took home another impressive piece of college football hardware on ESPN Thursday, it was dinner, not breakfast, time, but they surely had to have egg on their faces.

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This is just huge for Tyler, TU and recruiting.

Left off the list of finalists for the Butkus Award given to the nation’s best linebacker, Matakevich won the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s best overall player, which had to be embarrassing for the Butkus people.  An uproar of epic proportions followed  release of the Butkus finalist list with committee members peppered with emails and letters from Temple and AAC football fans who were wondering what the criteria was. Many of those same fans posted on social media that the committee claimed they had nothing to do with the selection of the finalists.

Matakevich not only took home the Bednarik Award, but it was his second such award as the nation’s best defensive player. Earlier this week, Matakevich won the Charlotte Touchdown Club’s Bronko Nagurski Award. That begs this question: If Matakevich, a linebacker, is named the top defensive player by two historically more prestigious groups than the Butkus one, just why was he left off the list of 10 finalists as the nation’s top linebacker?

The answer has to be that the Butkus “committee,” or whoever is in charge of pairing the list down to 10, did a sloppy job without a whole lot of homework done. Matakevich is one of seven players in the history of the FBS to have at least 100 tackles in four-straight seasons. With one game left in a soon-to-be 14-game season for Temple this year, Matakevich has 126 tackles and that is 13 more tackles than Butkus winner Jaylon Smith of Notre Dame. In a head-to-head matchup on Halloween Night, Matakevich was the clearly the best linebacker on the field as he had 13 tackles and an interception in a 24-20 loss, while Smith had 10 tackles. Matakevich had five more interceptions than Smith, who had none, and five more interceptions than anyone competing for the Butkus, Bednarik and Nagurski Awards.

The latter two groups took their jobs seriously, while it now apparent that the Butkus people shirked their responsibility. That is a hit on the credibility of their award from which it could be very hard to recover.

12.10.15
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Throwback Thursday: When Temple-Toledo Sold Out

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Owls’ first “bowl game” with Toledo in 1984.

There has been much speculation over the last few days about Temple fans traveling for a bowl game with Toledo and I’ve seen figures ranging from 3,000 all the way to 10,000.

There was once a time when Temple played in a bowl game away from home with Toledo and sold the place out with almost all Temple fans. The year was 1984 and, for the Centennial Celebration of Temple University, the team played a regular-season home game, called it the Boardwalk Bowl, and played it at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The school sold all 7,000 tickets to the game, but “only” just fewer than 6,000 Temple fans made the trip.

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Still, it was a memorable game because Toledo came into the Nov. 30th game as the Mid-American Conference champions with an 8-1-1 record. That thing about Al Golden never beating a winning MAC team did not apply to Bruce Arians, who was 5-0 against winning MAC teams.

Arians’ 1984 team pummeled Toledo, 35-6, on the way to a 6-5 record against the then 10th-toughest schedule in the country. (By comparison, Temple’s current scheduled is rated No. 71.)  One of the interesting things about that game was that Toledo’s defense was the No. 4 scoring defense in the country and gave up only 9.9 points per game. It allowed no more than 17 points in a single game before that, but Temple doubled up that figure.

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Temple had a lot of exciting players on the 1984 team, one of which was a sophomore running back named Paul Palmer, who had a then career-high 148 yards. He would later top that in several more memorable games, including 349 in a 45-28 win over East Carolina in 1986.

Another was wide receiver Keith Gloster, who arguably is the fastest man ever to play for Temple. (We say arguably because you will get some arguments from Devin Hester’s cousin, Travis Sheldon, and James Nixon, who took a kickoff back for 103 yards against Navy in 2009.) Gloster caught a 74-yard bomb from Lee Saltz that appeared seriously overthrown when it left Saltz’s  hand, but he was able to run under it.

As good as the offense was, the “no-name” defense was even better with too many good players to single out one or two.

In 1987, Temple visited the Glass Bowl and Toledo coach Dan Simrell called the Owls the best team to ever come into that stadium. The Owls rotated future NFL running back Todd McNair, then a junior, with sophomore Ventres Stevenson, and grinded out a 13-12 win.

No one knows how many Owl fans will be able to make the trip to Boca, but you can be certain most of Arians’ players from  that 1984 team will be there as will a large group of Arians’ players from other years. That group has been tight as a fist and, while a trip to Florida will be a reward for the current Owls, it will be another chance for them to get together.

12.08.15
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But the Big Story on Action News Is ….

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The first time I ever heard the name Bronko Nagurski was holding the transistor radio close to my ear as a kid and listening to the great play-by-play guy, Ron Menchine, do a Temple game at Pitt.

“There’s Dynamo Hyno with the ball getting, 10, 15 yards and he’s running like Bronko Nagurski,” Menchine said.  “The Pitt defenders just cannot bring him down.”

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Tyler cleans up good. (Photo courtesy Charlotte Observer)

I didn’t know who Nagurski was, but I knew who Dynamo Hyno was—Temple fullback Henry Hynoski—and I knew this Nagurski guy must have been pretty good if he was being compared to Hynoski.

Now I can say the same for Nagurski and Tyler Matakevich. This Nagurski guy must have been pretty good if they are giving an award named after him to the great Temple linebacker, who I know is pretty good.

Great, really.

Years from now, the alumni from this team will gather around the post-game tailgates and talk about Tyler Matakevich with alumni from other eras. They will have plenty to talk about because the big story on Action News tonight is that Matakevich became the first Temple player to bring home a major award in 41 years when he was named the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Winner as the nation’s best  defensive player.

It is an award well-deserved.

I had a long conversation with Tyler in Lot K the week before the UCF game and I told him the greatest thing about the Leave No Doubt motto was that UCF was a championship game, like the week before that one and the week after.

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Ron Menchine

“Absolutely,” Tyler said. “We know that’s the only way we can have success.”

Then he explained the what’s the #what’snext hashtag. It was a fascinating conversation and he could not have been more gracious with his time. We talked about other things, like his visit to 97-year-old former Temple end James Woodside, but his take on turning a couple of slogans into a meaningful foundation for this season was illuminating.

I had an inkling Matakevich might win it when a story I wrote for Rant Sports.com ranking the five finalists for the Nagurski Award and putting Matakevich as No. 1 was not only liked by the official twitter account of the Charlotte Touchdown Club, but retweeted to each and every one of the voters.

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I followed that up with the following chart and it was a pretty stark black and white (well, cherry and white in this case) difference between Matakevich and the competition.

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The last Temple player to earn a major award was Steve Joachim, who won the Maxwell Award was the nation’s best college player. Matakevich is also up for an award from that same club called the Chuck Bednarik Award, also as the nation’s top defensive player.

I have a feeling that he’s also going to bring home that trophy as well. It could not happen to a nicer guy or a better player. Dynamo Hyno should be, and Bronko himself, who has long since left us, would have been, proud.

Related:

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2015/11/24/ranking-the-5-bronko-nagurski-award-finalists-for-nations-top-defensive-player/

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-football/2015/11/04/dick-butkus-award-will-be-a-complete-farce-without-including-temples-tyler-matakevich/

Tomorrow: Temple vs. Houston Photo Gallery

12.07.15
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Finishing Near Bottom of Bowl Lotto

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As someone who occasionally dabbles in the lottery, the selection of Temple vs. Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl today reminded me very much of a Super 7 lotto ticket I purchased around 21 years ago.

The Super 7 no longer exists and I think I know why.

My selection of 1-3-6-13-19-20-21 was just one number off the jackpot of $2 million. If I had 26 instead of one of the above, I would have won $2 million.

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The second-place prize was $90. No, that’s not a misprint. That’s the way the old Super 7 was set up. When I explained the situation to my father, who was living at the time, he simply said: “Shouldn’t the second-place prize be halfway between $90 and $2 million?”

No, dad, it’s a bleep-up game.

I thought about that bleeped-up game today when I heard the opponent for my beloved Temple Owls in the Boca Raton Bowl would be Toledo. My first thought that the bowl selection game is just as bleeped up when the second-place team in a good conference like the AAC gets short-shrifted in comparison to several teams it beat, some in its own conference.

No offense to Toledo, who I really believe is better than most of the Power 5 teams the Owls would have faced in the other bowls, but beating Toledo does absolutely nothing to advance the Temple brand. Before that Super 7 pick, I won at least $90 before in another lotto game (Cash 5), but I was in this thing for the big payout.

A 10-win Temple team should get a better payout than this, both literal and figurative.

Toledo? Been there, done that, too.

Beating Auburn, who the Owls could have faced in another bowl, would have. So would have beating Georgia, who is facing Penn State.

In fact, Penn State, Cincinnati and Memphis are getting to play in better bowls than the Owls are and that’s the reward the Owls get for beating all three.

Being in the Boca Raton Bowl is nice, but it’s a little like winning $90 when there was $2 million on the table. The payoff should have been much more.

Tomorrow: The Big Story on Action News

12.06.15
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Two Ways to Look at This

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Look how far off the boundary corner is. One 3d and 3, Anderson had the same cushion on the other side  later in the game. Take it, and Owls have a new set of downs with 7:18 left and a possible 24-21 deficit.

 

There are two ways to look at Temple’s 24-13 loss to Houston on Saturday.

There is the Kumbaya view and the real world view. The Kumbaya view seems to have carried the day in the post-game Matt Rhule press conference and on much of social media. You know, “I’m proud of the kids” and “this is one of the greatest days in Temple football history” and “we’ve gone from point D to point A.”

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That’s born out of T-ball mentality. You know, there are no losers and everybody gets a trophy for participation. Little Johnny goes home with a pat on his head. The coaches are great. The kids are great. We’re all just so darn proud of everybody.

Kumbaya.

Ugh.

Then there is the real world view. You know, the “what the hell is going on out here?” view.

The last quarter was a cluster, err, bleep that made you wonder what goes on at the $17 million Edberg-Olson Complex the other six days of the week. In the last seven minutes, Temple showed itself either unwilling or incapable of running a functional two-minute drill that every high school, college and pro team seems to run efficiently.  (If you don’t believe it, take a look at the way St. Joseph’s Prep runs it. The offensive line sprints to the ball. Plays are called at the line, not looking over to the sidelines, with the emphasis on a short passing game to get out of bounds and stop the clock. Prep coach Gabe Infante is only seven blocks away. Invite him over this week.)

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That was a blown opportunity to win a championship due to a number of brain cramps by the coaching staff.  There is no guarantee that the Owls will be back in the title game next year and, if they aren’t, the coaches have no one but themselves to blame for a number of perplexing offensive miscues.  With four minutes left, they seemed incapable of running a true two-minute offense, taking precious seconds off the clock on every play by having the kids stare over to the sidelines for plays. Those 20, 30 seconds a play add up and, before you know it, the game is over.

That wasn’t the worst. This is the worst.

After closing the gap to 24-13 with 7:18 to go in the game, the Owls had a 3d and 3 at the Houston 38 but inexplicably attempted a long pass into the end zone. The call was made even more confounding because Houston was playing 10 yards off Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson on the play.  A simple pitch and catch would have moved the sticks.

Moving the sticks then would have cured a lot of earlier self-imposed ills. Early on, the players had just as much to do with it as the coaches did but after fighting back they deserved a coaching staff that was more focused. The Owls have been a team all year whose motto was to not beat themselves by turning the ball over, but on their first drive of the game, quarterback P.J. Walker threw an interception. That resulted in a 7-0 lead. The Owls were driving for a tying touchdown when Anderson—who caught 12 passes for 150 yards—was fighting for yardage and fumbled the ball on the Houston 5-yard-line. That led to a 10-0 lead.

Had the Owls moved the sticks on 3d and 3, instead of taking the shot into the end zone, they might have scored to make it 24-21 and that would have left seven minutes to bleep around with the dog stare offense. Instead, they followed that botched call with a clinic in mismanaging the clock and never had a chance to find out what would have happened.

While the physical errors by the unpaid amateurs could be forgiven, the mental ones by the well-paid professionals cannot.

Tomorrow:  Thoughts on the Bowl Lotto

Tuesday: …. But the Big Story on Action News Is …

Wednesday: Houston Photo Gallery

Thursday: One Wacky Throwback

Friday: Matakevich’s Special Moment on ESPN

Saturday: A Look at the Other AAC Bowls

Sunday: Welcome Criticism

Monday (12/12): 5 Things the Owls Have to Clean Up

Tuesday: The Fallacy of the Fall Off

Wednesday: The Problem With Watch Parties

Thursday: The Pitt-Navy Monkey Wrench