09.13.11
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MAC Blogger Roundtable: Week 3

This week’s host is Mike Trumbell of The Chip Report, a Central Michigan blog.
We’ll get right into the questions and my answers:

1) This week featured some out of conference games in which MAC schools had some strong showings but were unable to finish. Do these close calls do it for you or do these teams need to complete the upset to earn conference respect?

TFF: They need to complete the upset.

2) What Senior is really standing out as a pro prospect?

TFF: Adrian Robinson, rush endy. Will follow Muhammad Wilkerson or Jacquaiwn Jarrett as a first- or second-round NFL draft pick from the defensive side of the ball.

3) With CMU traveling to Kalamazoo to take on the Broncos this weekend I thought it fitting to ask, which MAC rivalry is most heated and why?

TFF: Kent and Akron used to be. I’m thinking CMU an WMU now. If Akon an Kent were ever 1-2, that would be it.

4) Which bottom feeder from last season has looked most improved?

TFF: Eastern Michigan. I know the sked is not OSU’s, buit they are impressive. A lot is working against them, but Ron English is doing a much better job this year.

5) List your MAC power rankings

1-Toledo

2) Northern Illinois

3) Temple

4) Ohio

5) Bowling Green
6) WMU
7) CMU
8) Ball State
9) Miami
10) Kent State
11) Eastern Michigan
12) Buffalo
13) Akron
Temple Football Forever’s picks this week:
(odds are from the New York Daily News, HOME team in CAPS)
FRIDAY
Boise State 31, TOLEDO 20 _ Rockets easily cover the 17 1/2.
SATURDAY
CINCINNATI 41, Akron 3 _ Bearcats cover the 30-point spread.
BOWLING GREEN 35, Wyoming 21 _ Falcons have no problem covering the 8 1/2.
TEMPLE 24, Penn State 20 _ Owls shock the world, but not their own fans who watched as they beat Fiesta Bowl-bound UConn by two scores last year. Temple is anywhere between a 9 1/2 to 8-point underdog.
Central Michigan 14,  WESTERN MICHIGAN 7 _ Anything can happen in a rivalry game and I’m picking 6 1/2-point underdog Chips to win this one outright.
Miami 10, MINNESOTA 7 _ MAC champ, a 3-point underdog, pulls off the 3-point upset win on the road.
OHIO U. 24, Marshall 17 _ Bobcats might be Frank Solich’s best team and the 2-point spread seems small to me.
BALL STATE 17, Buffalo 10 _ Cards beat Indiana and Buffalo isn’t as good as Indiana. They cover the 4 1/2.
Season record straight up: 14-4
Season record against spread: 12-2
(A lot of MAC games have appeared with no lines and those are included in the straight-up record.)
Our only loss against the spread last week was USF covering the 22 against Ball State.
We correctly predicted a straight up and against the spread upset when we picked Louisiana Lafayette, a 6  1/2-point dog, to beat Kent State, 24-20. LL won, 20-12.

09.12.11
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Temple vs. PSU: Already a Buzz

There’s a buzz about Temple vs. Penn State this year that I don’t ever remember in my Temple vs. Penn State lifetime and that’s half of Joe Paterno’s years.
I really feel the stars are perfectly aligned for a Temple win over Penn State this time.
I’ve never felt this strongly before.



Here’s to you, Mr. Robinson.

We’ll go into those details later in the week but suffice it to say that Temple has a healthy NFL first-round draft pick and a stone-cold stud carrying the ball (Penn State doesn’t), Temple has a defensive coordinator who was 12-0 as a DC on a BCS bowl team (Penn State doesn’t), Temple has a relatively youthful head coach who is a master motivator (and Penn State doesn’t) and Temple has an offensive coordinator who developed Tom Brady and Tim Tebow (and Penn State doesn’t).
Apparently, the Buzz extends to people named Buzz.
Not just any Buzz, mind you, the most famous person in the world named Buzz, Pulitizer Prize winning author Buzz Bissinger who correctly predicts a Temple victory over Penn State here. You’ve got to figure someone who writes about football with that kind of insight and lives in Pennsylvania knows a little about the state  of the two programs at this time.
Temple also has a massive offensive line that averages 6-5, 320 (and PSU doesn’t) and a Big 33 MVP (Adrian Robinson) and Penn State does not.
What will Temple have on Saturday that Penn State doesn’t have?
A win that day, 24-20.
The stars are perfectly aligned.

09.11.11
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The view from Akron

TU fans could go head over heels
for Ahkeem Smith (24) and Kamel
Johnson (93).

Going into this game, I thought Temple would beat Akron, 38-7.
I was wrong.
It was 41-3 and it could have been much worse.
I thought to myself at the end of the first half that it would be nice if Temple head coach Steve Addazio rested Bernard Pierce for the entire second half, saving him for the Penn State game.
What’ya know?
Daz did just that.
Had Pierce played the second half, I had no doubt the final score would be 60-6 (if Akron was lucky).
Don’t get me wrong.
Matty Brown played well in relief, but he’s not a first-round NFL draft pick.
“DatBoy Nard” is a first-round NFL draft pick.
I believe it with every fiber of my being.
Mike Gerardi played OK, but he missed more throws than he did last week against Villanova.
No sense of urgency, though, and I think Gerardi is the kind of gamer who brings the play action when he needs it.
The defense and special teams played well.
Joey Jones should be first-team WR.
Right now, I think Temple is probably in the best position to beat Penn State since the Wayne Hardin years.

I don’t think Penn State can stop Bernard Pierce for four quarters. If Bernard Pierce plays four quarters, Penn State is going down.


Will the Owls get that done?
That’s the question.
I don’t think Penn State can stop Bernard Pierce for four quarters.
If Bernard Pierce plays four quarters, Penn State is going down.
For the first time since Hardin, I believe Temple has the better coaching staff from head on down to the graduate assistants.
Does Penn State have better talent?
Sure.
Talent doesn’t always win.
It’s up to the 30K Temple fans who will be there to outcheer the 40K Penn State fans who will be there.
I saw a lot of people sitting on their hands against Villanova.
If that happens, Penn State will win.
If Temple gets the crowd behind it and the coaching differential plus the fans give the Owls a push, I think the Owls can win.
Can, should and would are all different stories, though.
Whatever seats are left, Temple fans should do their best to buy them up and then vow to become part of the team on Saturday.

09.09.11
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MAC blogger roundtable: Week 2

It’s not even one-tenth into the Mid-American Conference season and, so far, all indicatons are that this is going to be a very good year.
Last year, New Hampshire beat Ball State on the road.
This year, Toledo hammered New Hampshire, 58-22, at home and Ball State beat rival Indiana.

Last year, Temple and Villanova were tooth and nail until the final seconds.
This year, Temple built a 42-0 lead and won, 42-7.
Eastern Michigan won and Western Michigan played well at The Big House.
Ohio scored 44 points with a win in New Mexico.
Miami played Missouri tough.
If this trend continues, that can be only good for MAC fans.
This week, it was my turn to host the MAC Blogger Roundtable.
What follows is five questions and we’ll pick the responses of Bull Run’s Tim Riordan (because he answered first) here, followed by the other MAC bloggers’ responses listed below.

My questions, followed by Tim’s answers and then followed by links to the answers from the other MAC bloggers. It’s the middle of the night Friday morning, so I’m posting the responses I’ve received to this point while watching the all-night coverage of the disastrous flooding in Eastern Pennsylvania on the local tube.

TFF: 9-1 against the spread
TFF was 9-1 against the spread in Week 1 and 8-2 straight up.
Our only loss against the spread was Missouri’s 17-6 win over Miami (we had Missouri cover the 17). We also picked the Ball State upset of Indiana against the spread, but not straight up.
We realize we set a high standard, but we’re going after it in Week 2.
Our picks:
Temple 38, Akron 7 _ Owls easily cover the 14 despite the fact that Akron doesn’t wear Villanova across the chests.
Western Michigan 43, Nicholls State 12 (no line, so no comment).
Ohio 44, Gardner-Webb 7 _ Gardner-Freakin’-Webb beat Arkon by a point last year. It will find out that Ohio is not Akron fast (NL).
Bowling Green 35, Morgan State 7 (no line).
Ball State 21, University of South Florida 20 (in a ballsy move, I’m going for an upset of the minus 23 line and a straight up win for the David Lettermans).
Lousiania Lafeyette 24, Kent State 20 _ even though KSU is a 6 1/2-point favorite in this oone, I’m going with LL both straight up and against the spread.
Ohio State 23, Toledo 17 _ The spread of 22 in this game is way too high. Easier money was never made.
Buffalo 31, Stony Brook 0 (NL) _ Stony Brook? Stony Brook? Are you serious, Buffalo?
Northern Illinois 21, Kansas 7 _ The class of the MAC so far handles a middle-of-the-road BCS team and covers the 7.
Season record: 8-2
Against the spread: 9-1

1) What was the most surprising result of the week and why?

BSU Beating Indiana:

I feel a bit dirty for calling out a Ball State game as the highlight but there it is. A win over an instate Big-10 Member something a lot of MAC teams would sell their mother for. Even if it is only Indiana!

I still think the cards may be in Bottom half of the west at but it shows how good the west is this season. This was a great emotional win for the program and could move them towards a 6+ win season. Ball State ran the ball down the Hosiers throats a lot of MAC teams will ahve to take notice of that.

2) What was the most expected result of the week and why?

NIU Beating up on Army:

The six point spread Vegas was giving to that game shows how ridiculously out of touch people are when it comes to the Huskies and the Mid American conference in general. NIU Returns so much talent but all people unfamiliar with the program see is the loss of Spann.

He may have been a big loss but last years Offensive player of the year had an amazing a line that could propel even an old fat guy like me to 3 or more yards per carry. There is real reason to think that the Huskies can give Wisconsin a run for the money this season, maybe they won’t have enough to close it but it should be one heck of a game.

3) Are you satisfied with the quality of reception and reliability of the current MAC online TV access of its games?

No! ESPN3 is not television coverage no matter how you brand it. I’m fine with it being used and the exposure on the weekends when everyone’s plate is full but when the mid week games roll around having them on the Tres is a slap in the face. Somehow we went from weeknight games on national TV to “Boy I hope we are on ESPN3 this week”

The announcers also tend to act like they drew the short straw. During the UB game the announcers were awful, they could have hired a fan from each school and gotten more things right. Factual errors, calling players the wrong name, and the overuse of old football sayings to cover up blatant ignorance.

4) Does Week 1 indicate that this is going to be the best year overall in the MAC in the last few or is that too soon?

I think so, no team gave away a game they should have won and the teams that did lose all made a decent showing for themselves. This is the first year in a long time with no inexplicable week one losses. No close calls, and no upsets by an FCS team.

This may be the best year since before Temple joined the conference. I expect Temple and Northern Illinois to flirt with the top 25 at some point this year. Toledo and OU have an outside shot if they run the table in conference.

5) Rank ’em, FIRST to worst:

# Team Change Comment

1 NIU – Many had this as a “Close” Game (Don’t ask me why). NIU should have fewer doubters this week after destroying the Black Knights

2 Toledo – Great showing by Toledo, UNH is a decent program and the Rockets punished them all game long. The score was far less lopsided then the game.

3 Temple 2 Nova is no longer one of the best teams in the FCS, but the Owls looked great and have a coach who knows how to use Pierce to set up the pass.

4 Ohio – Solid win over a team they should have beaten. The fact it’s on the road and at a pretty good elevation has them hold their spot

5 Miami -2 They have a huge number of very real chances to beat a ranked team but made too many mistakes in the first half. Still they walk away with a D that held Missouri to just 17 points.

6 WMU – A missed FG nad a red zone pick in the first half ended what was an impressive showing

7 BSU 3 IU is a low quality AQ team but they are an AQ Team

8 BGSU 1 Nice win but Idaho’s starting lineup belongs in a MASH unit right now

9 CMU -2 Yes they played a very good FCS team but they still should have played better on offense.

10 Kent -2 Not so much because they lost but because BSU and Bowling Green looked good. Kent played Alabama about as tight as any MAC school would.

11 EMU – Looked a bit hairy for EMU but they got it together and took down a lesser foe.

12 Buffalo – Definitely signs of life but still too much sloppy play. Dropped passes and a bad pick kept UB from really pushing the Panthers late.

13 Akron – Given some of the folks out at OSU I thought they would at least score a field goal

Around the league (we’ve only gotten a total of four responses, so we’ll add more by later Friday):
Bowling Green:
Bowling Green
Eastern Michigan:
Eastern Michigan
Toledo:
Toledo

09.06.11
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MAC haters and Temple


I don’t see Temple taking a step back in this video at all.
When I listen to an opinion, I usually consider the source and break it down into three levels of credibility:
Those who know a lot.
Those who know a little.
Those who know nothing.
You can put practically the entire MAC into the second and third category when talking about Temple University’s football team.

The notion that “Temple will take a step back without Al Golden” is widely regarded as gospel in the MAC community. Temple fans know a different reality.

Of the 14 MAC websites, including numerous blogs, only eight people picked Temple to beat Villanova and most of those who picked the Owls said it would be a “tight game.”
One of the guys  said “since Temple lost a ton of talent on defense” and “had a new system” that the Owls would lose to Villanova.
Huh?
I chalk this up to MAC haters. More specifically, Temple haters in the MAC.
Temple did lose some talent, but not a “ton” and the Owls returned nine of 11 guys who started AT LEAST ONE GAME on defense last year. One of the guys who started three games as a DE, promising left end Sean Daniels, is now a backup. Not due to any fault of his own but because Temple moved tight end Morkeith Brown, a born leader, to the DE slot. Temple’s defensive line is bigger, stronger, deeper and faster overall despite losing a first-round draft pick.
 Another returner, Steven Johnson, beat out one of the guys who went into an NFL camp for a cup of coffee at middle linebacker.
 New system?
Yeah, a new and improved system that does something the other system did not do, especially on offense _ put the Owls’ explosive players into the best position to explode. That is, establish the run with first-round NFL pick Bernard Pierce behind a massive offensive line (averaging 6-5, 320, the Eagles just wish they had that size) and then throwing play-action to talented receivers and tight ends.
The notion that “Temple will take a step back without Al Golden” is widely regarded as gospel in the MAC community. Temple fans know a different reality.
Did anyone notice that “Saint Al Golden” fielded a Miami team that committed nine penalties, including a false start and two illegal substitutions in a 32-24 loss at Maryland tonight? Does it sound familiar?
I thought so.
Look, one thing Al Golden did was bring in a ton of talent and it is still here but I maintain it’s coached better now. Al was a charismatic guy who was universally loved by mothers whose sons he recruited.


Good seats still available for PSU, but not for long.



On game day, not so much loved by Temple fans who remembered Wayne Hardin’s genius for those three hours of the week.
There’s an upgrade of talent on both offense and defense, but that’s something the MAC will start to learn the hard way on Saturday night at Akron.
For the record, I predicted on this website that the final score of the Villanova game would be 35-14 and on Owlscoop.com as 41-7.



My reasoning was that I saw this as an epic beatdown somewhere between that conservative 35-14 estimate and a possible 55-3 outcome.
That’s pretty much how it played out.
For Akron, I don’t expect a 42-7 beatdown because the word Akron doesn’t whip Temple players into a frenzy of hate that the word Villanova does.
So I will revert to the more conservative prediction of 35-14 and think that might drop to around 31-10, but no lower.
The season began last week, but breaking down perceptions around the league won’t start until Saturday night.
09.02.11
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What’s not to like about these Owligators?

Mike Edwards’ great photo captures Daz smiling ear to ear after his shower.

Watching that big smile on Steve Addazio’s face after being dumped with Gatorade told the whole story of last night’s 42-7 destruction of Villanova.
Gator Aid has arrived at Temple and it’s a pretty tasty drink.
All the key upper management in this program held key upper management jobs at the University of Florida.
Steve Addazio was Florida’s head coach for awhile (most people don’t remember that). Chuck Heater was defensive coordinator (officially, co-defensive coordinator but that was in name only). Scot Loeffler was the quarterbacks coach.
All showed their stuff impressively on Thursday night.

Addazio’s motivational skills + Loeffler’s play-calling + Heater’s fire-eaters = sky’s the limit

This is what an SEC staff can do to a 1AA staff, albeit probably the best 1AA staff out there.
This is what an SEC staff can do to the rest of the MAC.

Dare I say, this is what an SEC staff can do to a nearly 90-year-old head coach in a couple of weeks.
As I said in an earlier post, let’s go to the blackboard for Temple’s successful formula this season:
Addazio’s strength is as a CEO and a motivator.
Heater has impeccable credentials as a defensive coordinator.
Loeffler developed Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.
All showed their strengths on Thursday night.

The CEO in Addazio allowed Heater to run the defense and Loeffler to run the offense.
That read belly option Ohio abused Golden with the past two years?
Well, Villanova coach Andy Talley made it a staple of the Wildcat offense last night and Heater’s fire-eaters were not even fazed by it.
On offense, what have I been telling Golden and Matt Rhule for the past two years?
Establish the run behind franchise back Bernard Pierce, then use play-action off fakes to Pierce to find open receivers roaming through enemy secondaries.
Something that was so difficult for Golden to grasp Loeffler got right away.
The formula for Temple’s success in 2011 is simple:
Addazio’s motivational skills + Loeffler’s play-calling + Heater’s fire-eaters = sky’s the limit.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, though.
That 90-year-old (OK, 80-something) guy is known for saying a team improves most during the season between its first and second games.
If so, Akron better watch out.
It may take a week or two or three, but this notion that “Temple will take a step back without Al Golden” will be disabused in a hurry.

08.31.11
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TFF: More than a Labor of Love now

By Mike Gibson
After working full-time continuously since I was 17 (I worked my way through Temple by holding two part-time jobs), I recently became a victim of the terrible economy and the spiraling newspaper business.
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently cut back two full-timers from its high school sports section and I, unfortunately, was one of them.
Pretty tough news considering I never missed a day of work in my life from the time I started in the newspaper business at The Doylestown Intelligencer and always showed up for work on time, pretty much to the minute.
Temple Football Forever has been a labor of love through all of this.
Now, at least temporarily, it is more than a labor of love.

Hopefully, through the support of the great fans of this site, I won’t be reduced to sending TFF dispatches by flashlight while living in a cardboard box at 16th and Callowhill

Hopefully, through the support of the great fans of this site, I won’t be reduced to sending TFF dispatches by flashlight while living in a cardboard box at 16th and Callowhill. (If I had to set up a cardboard box home, that’s where I’d do it.)
I have a few months to look for another newspaper job, but I have to face reality here.
This business is dying and there is a lot of age discrimination out there in all areas of employment, so the prospects are not ideal.
So, we’re not asking for a Bill Cosby-like donation of $1 million here (Bill has never contributed a penny but that’s his prerogative as Bobby Brown might say), just anything between $5 and $10 would be greatly appreciated.
Either go through the pay pal link provided or  if you don’t like pay pal send a check to:
Mike Gibson
P.O. Box 243
Quakertown, PA 18951
Thanks again and only a few of my fellow tailgaters know of this and I appreciate their kind words of support.
Mike

08.31.11
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The Eve of (Villanova’s) Destruction

Once again, we’ll let the Lovely Laura be your guide on what to expect tomorrow.

Long before midnight tomorrow night, we’ll find out if Steve Addazio can coach.
Despite what many of my Florida Gator friends tell me, I suspect he can. The sign of a great CEO is his knack for surrounding himself with top upper-level management.
Already, for whatever flaws Addazio might have had as an OC, he appears to have this CEO thing down.
What makes me confident is that the guy has surrounded himself with coordinators who might be the two best in college football, regardless of the level.

Chuck Heater was the defensive coordinator at Utah when it went 11-0.
Yeah, Freakin’ Utah.
He was the co-defensive coordinator at Florida (with Teryl Austin) over  the past couple of years at Florida.
Don’t let the “co” title confuse you.
“I call Chuck Heater Mother Theresa,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer said last season. “He’s worked miracles with our defense.”
That kind of endorsement is good enough for me.
Loeffler was the quarterbacks’ coach at Michigan for Tom Brady and at Florida for Tim Tebow.
That’s all I needed to hear.
I think he can, and probably will, put this offense in a better position to succeed than Matt Rhule has done.
Addazio, by even his detractors’ accounts, is a motivator second to none and an accomplished offensive line coach.
I like what this equation can do for Temple’s football team this year.
Addazio’s motivation + Loeffler’s playcalling/QB developmental skills + Heater’s fire-eaters = big-time success for the Owls.
Offensively, I look for Bernard Pierce, “datboy Nard”, to run wild over this team. Remember, in the first year, as a true freshman, Pierce gained 66 yards on six carries against the Wildcats despite being cleared by the NCAA to play only a couple days before kickoff. Last year, in the joke move of all joke moves, Al Golden helped Villanova out by alternating Pierce with Matty Brown on every other series.

Adrian Robinson: Three sacks.

Defensively, I look for Adrian Robinson to get three sacks and for guys like Kadeem Custis and Morkeith Brown to be spending more time in Villanova’s backfield than the Wildcat quarterbacks and running backs.
We won’t have to wait until the second or third game to find out if Temple has the right people in charge.
We’ll know by 11 p.m. tomorrow night.
My gut tells me a 55-3 Temple win. My head tells me more like 35-14. The score will probably end up somewhere in between.
Anything less than 35-14 and we’re not in as good a shape as I thought.
Don’t worry.
The Eve of (Villanova’s) Destruction is at hand.

08.31.11
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The MAC Blogger Roundtable: Week 1

Our friends over at Bull Run (actually, friend, Tim Riordan is a one-man show over there) asked us to answer Week 1 questions and we are only too happy to oblige.
Here they are:
And here are the week one questions..

1) Lets start with the new blood. There are several new coaches in the conference, which coach was the best get and why?

TFF: I don’t think that’s possible to tell now but, hypothetically, the best coach should surround himself with the best staff. If that’s the most important thing, it’s hard to argue against Steve Addazio and Temple. Chuck Heater was the defensive coordinator for Utah went it went 11-0. He was the co-defensive coordinator for Florida last year. Urban Meyer called him “Mother Theresa because he’s been a miracle-worker for us.” Scot (one T) Loeffler is the new offensive coordinator. He was quarterbacks coach at Michigan for Tom Brady. He was QB coach at Florida for Tim Tebow. If Daz lets these coaches coach and he takes over the motivation, these SEC coaches are the best in the MAC.

2) Lets look at the old blood? Which coach is the most likely to be dumped after the season and which is most likely to be plucked away by a big AQ school?

TFF: I think Ron English is most likely to be dumped. I think Frank Solich gets another chance at an AQ school.

3) Which somewhat realistically winnable non conference game would give the MAC the most publicity? What are the odds of the MAC team winning that game

TFF: Penn State vs. Temple. 50/50. Last year’s game was a 22-13 PSU win before 106,000 in State College. This year’s game will be before 70K in Philly (30K Temple fans, 40K PSU fans). Temple is much better this year. I’m sure Chester Stewart won’t get a chance to throw three picks like he did last year.

4) What do you think of the UMass addition and how would you realign the divisions?

TFF: I wish they would have gotten Marshall back instead. It’s one thing for Temple fans to drive 4 miles south of the Main campus to a 70K stadium. It’s another thing for UMass fans to drive 105 miles from their main campus for games in Gilette Stadium.

5) Who wins the East and what is their key game along that journey

TFF: Temple. Ohio at Temple. Solich and his read option confounded Golden and Mark D’Onofrio. Heater won’t even be fazed by it.

6) Who wins the West and what is their key game along that journey

Northern Illinois.

7) Rank the teams first to last

1) Northern Illinois

2) Temple

3) Ohio

4) Central Michigan

5) Toledo

6) Western Michigan

7) Bowling Green

8: Akron

9) Ball State

10) Buffalo

11) Miami

12) Kent

13) Eastern Michigan

TFF’s Week 1 MAC picks:
Temple 35, Villanova 14 _ Every fiber in my being says this is going to be a more epic beatdown, somewhere between 35-14 and 55-3. I’ll avoid the temptation to split the baby down the middle and go for 46-19. I’ll stick with 35-14 and leave it at that. Temple is a 6 1/2-point favorite. Easier money you’ll never see.
Idaho 28, Bowling Green 24 _ BGSU covers the 8-point spread in defeat.
Ohio State 41, Akron 7 _ OSU barely covers the hefty 33-point spread.
Missouri 35, Miami (Ohio) 14 _ Twenty-one is good enough to lay for the Tigers, who are giving 17.
Alabama 45, Kent State 3 _ Trent Richardson runs roughshod over KSU and helps Bama cover the 37.
Michigan 31, Western Michigan 14 _ Western Michigan comes close, but not close enough to cover the modest 14-point spread. All that extra practice time helps the Wolverines.
PITT 42, Buffalo 0 _ Panthers beat Bulls by the same score Temple did a year ago and easily cover the 30.
Northern Illinois 42, Army 28 _ Huskies beat Army by the same score Temple did a year ago.
Indiana 14, Ball State 10 _ In an upset, Ball State covers the 6 1/2 against its in-state rival.
Ohio 34, New Mexico State 7 _ Frank Solich’s crew has no problem on the road covering the 7 1/2.

Join the picking fun by joining Bull Run’s pick ’em this year:

Remember, the group ID: 13180
user name: 2008champs

08.28.11
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Fans have to be Temple TUFF, too


Temple TUFF: Behind The Scenes With Temple Football – EP. 1 from 20/20 Visual Media on Vimeo.

It was about this time a year ago when I was trying to drum up Temple alumni support for attending the second annual Mayor’s Cup that an old Temple football player reached out to me.

No excuses, Temple fans. Thursday will be a great night
for both football and the Owls. Be there.

The guy, a good guy and someone who I remembered as a player, said:
“Mike, I love your blog and I’m going to try to get to a game this year.”
I wrote him back something to the effect that: “See you in the parking lot at the Villanova game, then.”
“I won’t be able to make that one, but maybe one later in the season,” he replied.
Huh?
I’ve never understood that line of thinking.
Temple fans, if you are going to make a game, make this one.
It’s important for a number of reasons:
One, you can’t lose to Villanova. A lot of the euphoria over the nine-game winning streak and the bowl game against UCLA was wiped out for me by a loss to Villanova in the opening game that year. Every Temple detractor (and we all know there are many) added a “yeah, but” … as in Temple’s good, but yeah but it is in the MAC or “how good could Temple be” because it did not beat Villanova?

Updated Temple vs. Villanova depth chart is here: thanks to Owlsports.com

Getting your Temple TUFF fan butt in the seats and yelling your lungs out for this team will insure there are no “yeah buts” at the end of the season.
Two, this is a message game. It’s a message to the college football world that Temple, not Villanova, rules the city’s college football’s rooting interest. It’s a message to the Big East that they are missing out on something, a school with 270K alumni and 37K full-time students in the heart of the nation’s fourth (not fifth) largest market. Temple football has a documented history, hard ratings numbers, of doing well on TV. What it doesn’t have is a documented history of adding fannies in the seats to those numbers. A crowd of 40,000, mostly Cherry-clad fans, would send that message to the Big East and the rest of the college football world. Wear Cherry, not white.
Three, this is new Temple coach Steve Addazio’s first game.  Daz says everywhere he goes Temple alumni keep asking him about the third game. He said he’s not even thinking about the third game, that all he’s thinking about is beating Villanova.
That’s not coachspeak. This game is that important.
Temple must not only beat this team, but beat it bad, both on the field and in the stands.
That’s what creates a sustainable momentum.
That’s the only way to make the rest of the games after that meaningful.
Making time to be there for three hours on a Thursday night is not too much to ask any Temple alumni or student.