10.01.19
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Fizzy: A new month and a short wait

 Editor’s Note: Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub, a weekly contributor, is a former Temple player who once dated Bill Cosby’s college girlfriend while both were teammates (but not while she was Cos’ girl). Maybe he’ll write about that later this season. 🙂

By Dave (Fizzy) Weinraub

The summer after Jayson Werth jumped to the Washington nationals, I saw the best sign of all times in the stands.  “Was it Werth it?” the sign read.  I wonder if coach Collins has any of those thoughts today?  Of course, he had a few million other reasons to consider.

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Before I get to a brief review of the Georgia Tech game, I’d like us all to consider a mystery of life question.  How is it Temple can secure so much outstanding talent when supposedly, we’re being out-recruited by all the schools that get the three- and four-star high school athletes?   Surely, we’ve had more talent than Maryland and Georgia Tech, two of the lousiest Power Five teams.  And Buffalo, who beat us the last two years, also seems to support this question.

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Other than the top six or eight teams in the country who have unbelievable depth, there’s been a great evening out of the talent. On any given Saturday, the outcome of a game between any other of the 115 top football schools many times comes down to the coaching and/or one or two significant plays or errors. One answer obviously is that it’s very difficult to predict which players are going to succeed at the next level.  Another reason is that more talent is getting into college than ever before.  That’s because, if we’re honest, a coach of a big-time football program can now get just about any recruit he wants to be admitted to his university. (See the number of people who are going to jail because they bribed coaches to say their kid was an athlete.)  Lastly, it’s as it’s always been, great coaches attract great talent. So for whatever the reason, Temple has been most fortunate.  It remains to be seen if Coach Carey can continue this recruiting success.

Now to the game.

This was a woulda, coulda, shoulda game for Georgia Tech.  Their very costly quarterback fumbles turned the game around. The first was one foot from the end zone, the other was at the tail end of a very successful drive towards the Temple goal.  Had they scored on both of those occasions, and not given us a lengthy fumble recovery for a touchdown, the game would have been a nail biter.  On the other hand, our defense kept them scoreless on at least five trips into our red zone.  So, congratulations to our defense once again.

As I’m the world’s greatest football nitpicker, I could isolate on a number of things.  But this is going to be Fizzy light.  I would like to congratulate wide receiver Branden Mack and quarterback Anthony Russo for finally running the hook pass just past the first-down chains, successfully.  The offensive line did a hell of a job, and running back Re’Mahn Davis timed his bounces to the outside perfectly. Before he was hobbled, Jager Gardner really pounded inside.

However, one bootleg or keeper wasn’t called for Russo, although they were wide open all day and we’ve still yet to see a speed sweep by Wright, or gasp, a reverse.  I still look forward to the day when Russo is damn near perfect.

It’s now conference time.  Take a nap on Thursday afternoon.

additional editor’s note… and now for shits and giggles … 

Thursday: Game Night

Friday: Game Analysis

09.29.19
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Georgia Tech fans now know the feeling

About 11 a.m. yesterday at the dimly-lit City Hall subway stop, I ran into a group of smiling Georgia Tech fans eagerly anticipating a win over the Temple Owls.

Nice people, but I had to shake my head knowing what I know about their head coach and offensive coordinator and what I know about my current guy.

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Carey towers over Collins in more ways than one

In one corner, you had those guys, mostly coaches who came from the ranks of the FCS to jump into FBS ball for the first time at Temple. In their first game at Temple, a 16-13 win over Villanova, the defensive line jumped offsides three-straight times.

“That was when I got the feeling this entire staff was learning on the job on Temple’s dime,” I told Temple AD Pat Kraft before the Maryland game.

They still are after a 24-2 loss to Temple.

In the other corner, you had a professional FULLY FBS staff mostly from Northern Illinois, who produced multiple league championships at pretty much the same level Temple plays.

When the doors to train opened, knowing the managers in both corners of this fight, I was never more confident about an outcome.

Now Georgia Tech fans know how we felt after losses to Villanova and Buffalo to start last season.

Last week, the Owls suffered their own embarrassing loss, another one to Buffalo, but the last time we saw Rod Carey he promised to fix what ailed the Owls and he devised a clever game plan that accentuated the run and allowed the offense to manage the game and allow the defense to do its thing.

Re’Mahn Davis rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns and the Owls controlled the clock and won the turnover battle. Football is a simple game. You protect the ball, control the clock to keep the defense rested and you usually win. It would be nice to see a downhill runner like Davis following a fullback through the hole, but you can’t argue with Carey’s results.

That was the game plan and it was executed to perfection. That’s what championship staffs do.

Still, you’ve got to feel for the other guys and gals sometimes. I’ve been there and I’m glad Carey, and not Collins, is here.

Tuesday: Fizzy’s Corner

 

 

 

09.28.19
by

Game Day: Revisionist History

 

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Maybe the Owls’ defense will finally show Collins what Mayhem looks like this afternoon.

You never like to say a guy is lying but, for two years, Geoff Collins stretched the truth a lot of his time at Temple University.

None more than earlier this week in the formal press conference leading up to today’s game (3:30, Lincoln Financial Field) when he answered a question this way:
On whether there’s familiarity in the Temple roster after being the coach there previously:

“The entire two-deep either played for us for the last two years or we recruited them.”

Hmm.

Not exactly a lie, but not exactly the truth either. The truth part is that “the entire two-deep either played for us” is correct. That’s to be expected, though. What was Collins supposed to do when he arrived at Temple? Play guys who weren’t there previously? The recruited part? Not so much.

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Checking the two-deep released in the pre-game notes against the recruiting charts of both Scout.com and Rivals.com, as many as 17 starters in today’s game were recruited not by Collins but by Matt Rhule and one (Harrison Hand) was recruited by Rod Carey.

Less even last year when only two starters–both offensive line tackles–were recruited by Collins.

When he arrived, Collins promised defensive Mayhem. If you count your own players not staying home on cutback running plays as Mayhem, he delivered. If not, and I don’t, Mayhem never arrived.

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Pre-game watching at the Steve Conjar tailgate …

OK, Geoff, whatever you say.

The bottom line of the Collins Era at Temple is that he underachieved with the talent he inherited and wasn’t the dynamic recruiter everyone expected him to be when he arrived in Philadelphia. Rhule, who won 10 games in consecutive years, left Collins with 10-win talent both seasons and Collins underachieved by roughly five games.

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Just a Cherry-colored tank top or t-shirt needed today. Hopefully, everybody goes in from the tailgates and cheers their lungs off for the Owls.

That’s not to say Collins–an engaging bull-crapper, no doubt–won’t be able to sweet-talk recruits to attend Georgia Tech.

It is to say that it did not happen for him here.

For Temple to win today, it will have to do something that Rhule put a premium on–protecting the football. The Owls have to treat it like Gold and, if they win the turnover battle, they should be all right. That should be the lesson of Buffalo going forward.

Something tells me Carey understands that better than the snake oil salesman who is someone else’s problem now.

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Post-game watching at the Steve Conjar tailgate (although I think he will be packed up long before the 10 p.m. game)

Tomorrow: Game Analysis

Tuesday: Fizzy’s Corner

Thursday: ECU Preview

Friday: Game Analysis

09.26.19
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Patenaude: Just what the doctor ordered

Let’s face it: The Temple Owls looked sick last week against Buffalo and they need a prescription to look like their old selves–or at least the Rosey-cheeked (Cherry-cheeked?) group that played against Maryland.

A Dave Patenaude pill washed down by a little of Geoff Collins’ swag juice might be just what the doctor ordered and that should be delivered at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) when Georgia Tech head coach Collins and his offensive coordinator Patenaude come to town.

At least that’s what Vegas thinks as the Owls were installed as a 9.5-point favorite and that rose to double-digits quickly.

Football is a strange game with an odd-shaped ball that takes funny bounces so it cannot be predicted from a mathematical standpoint. If that were the case, Syracuse, which beat Liberty (24-0) and lost to a Maryland-team (63-20) with Liberty beating Buffalo (35-17) would have meant Temple over Buffalo by 85 points.

It didn’t work out that way because it’s hard to give an X factor to overconfidence or a Y factor to turnovers or a Z factor to three dropped third-down passes.

Still, the variables involved with Patenaude and, to a lesser extent, Collins are pretty rigid and well-known in Temple land and have carried over to Atlanta.

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Patenaude with the approval of Collins overhauled a highly successful Temple pro-type (at least the same pro-type run by Bill Belichick in Boston) and turned it into a spread ill-advised to suit the talents of the team he inherited all because that’s what “everybody else” does or because that’s what he did at Coastal Carolina.  He probably should have won nine regular-season games his first year (instead of six) using the Matt Rhule system and at least 10 his second year but underachieved both years. In the 40-plus years I’ve followed Temple football, Patenaude was the worst coordinator-level coach here I’ve ever seen and there was not even a close second.

National people who don’t know better think Collins did a great job here. Local people here, not so much.

So what has he done in Atlanta?

He repeats the same mistake again, trying to force-fit square pegs into round holes.

Both have a team that was exclusively recruited to run a triple-option and have now turned it into a college spread because (you guessed it) “everybody else does it.” Great generals know if they have a strong infantry and weak cavalry they don’t design an attack based on the kind of cavalry they hope to have. Instead, they accentuate the infantry in any battleplan. Similarly, great coaches like Belichick don’t do things because everybody else does it. They do things to fit their personnel and make it work with flawless execution. If Patenaude and Collins were great coaches, they would recruit the personnel they want to fit their offense first and make it work only when those guys are ready to play and not the other way around. They would try to make some form of a triple-option work until then.

Rod Carey proved last week that he wasn’t perfect (really, no one is). I’m still no more thrilled that he has Anthony Russo run a read-option offense than I would be if Belichick did the same with Tom Brady. Overall, though,  I’m glad he’s the doctor to nurse this team back to health and those guys on the other sideline holding up silly money down placards are the cure.

At least that’s what my instincts tell me. We will find out for sure in 48 hours.

Predictions early this week (to get the Maryland-PSU game in): MARYLAND getting 6.5 against visiting Penn State, WAKE FOREST giving 6.5 against visiting Boston College, SMU giving 7 at South Florida, EAST CAROLINA getting 3 at Old Dominion, UAB giving 2 at Western Kentucky, TOLEDO getting 3.5 over visiting BYU, CINCINNATI giving 3 at Marshall. Last week: 5-0 against the spread with Coastal Carolina covering the 17 against UMass (winning, 62-28), Old Dominion covering the 30-point underdog status at Virginia (losing, 28-17), Boston College covering the 7 at Rutgers (winning, 30-16), Indiana covering the 27 against UConn (winning, 38-3) and Iowa State covering the 29.5 against Louisiana-Monroe (winning, 72-20). Season so far: 12-4 straight up, 6-5 against the spread. 

Saturday: Game Day

Sunday: Game Analysis

09.24.19
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Fizz: Buffalo was a team loss

Editor’s Note: Made only slight changes to include two first names on the first reference that were left out.

                                        By Dave (Fizzy) Weinraub

Wow!  Anthony Russo was over, under, in front and in back all day.  Then, when there were good passes in key situations, a lot were dropped.  Russo continues to look directly at his primary receiver as soon as he gets the ball.

All the while, both the offensive and defensive lines were outplayed to say the least, and we couldn’t stop the outstanding Buffalo running backs. (Number 5, Kevin Marks, reminds me of Brian Westbrook.)   The “targeting” calls didn’t help, and they were both questionable.  I guess it all depends if it was your quarterback or not.

There was no way we should have won the game, and we didn’t.  It’s a shame because we could have faced Georgia Tech undefeated, and a win would have us definitely ranked.

So let’s look at the coaching decisions that affected the game to some, but not a major degree.

  • There was a poorly executed screen pass where it didn’t seem to be a middle screen or an outside screen, and Russo threw right into the crowd.  Coaching?
  • Whoever has outside responsibility on our left defensive side, continued to penetrate and allow key yardage and a touchdown to go outside.  The defense should have been adjusted.
  • As it became apparent in the second quarter we had trouble stopping their running game, we should have started to run-blitz then. We did in the fourth quarter.
  • The long snapper was finally changed after another miscue which gave the momentum to Buffalo, but the punting is still only satisfactory with another shanked kick in the second half. Perhaps our punter, who could also be changed, should get practice fielding ground balls.
  • Down two scores at the end of the first half, why take a knee with 22 seconds left?
  • Someone on the coaching staff must have had a very low score on his math SAT’s.  I overlooked us going for two against Maryland when we shouldn’t have, and then we did it again against Buffalo.  In the fourth quarter, if we had kicked the extra point after a score, we would have been down 21 points.  The best we could have hoped for at that time, was a tie and overtime, so why risk being down by 22?
  • After Buffalo didn’t get a first down in our territory in the fourth quarter, we refused to take a 15-yard penalty before they punted.  Why?

So, cracks are starting to appear.  If we come back and beat the “Ramblin Wrecks from Georgia Tech,” there still won’t be enough seats on the bandwagon.

Thursday: Just What the doctor ordered

Saturday: Game Day

Sunday: Game Analysis

09.22.19
by

Temple-Buffalo: Humble Pie

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As far as desserts go, Pumpin Pie for some reason has always been my favorite followed closely by Boston Cream Pie and Lemon Meringue Pie.

Humble Pie, not so much.

Temple got a sour taste of that on Saturday in a 38-22 loss at Buffalo.

College football is a funny (odd) not funny (hilarious) game sometimes and Saturday was one of those times.

When Sam Franklin scooped up an apparent fumble to put Temple supposedly up 14-0, I was a pretty happy camper. Then the replay came and (rightly) the Buffalo runner was ruled down by no more than an inch.

Game of not inches, but maybe an inch.

That’s how fast a college football game can change.

Did Temple need a taste of humble pie?

humble

No.

Does it kill the Owls’ season?

Also no.

Saturday proved that Buffalo after leading Penn State at halftime can go on the road and get clocked by Liberty, 35-17. It also proved that Temple can beat Maryland at home and lose to Buffalo on the road.

The road is a pretty dangerous place and that’s probably why I don’t spend a fortune following my beloved Owls there.

What the hell does this all mean?

I think–and I feel confident in saying this–that Maryland will end up being a better team than Buffalo when all is said and done.

I also think that Temple will be a better team than the one that lost to Buffalo and that the Owls will take care of business against Georgia Tech.

Beyond that, who the hell knows anymore?

Rod Carey was 5-0 against Buffalo with a fraction of the talent he had at his disposal yesterday so this loss really does not compute. 

The Owls got a little full of themselves this week with all the praise they received and were served a heaping hot helping of humble pie.

Plenty of things to fix starting with the special teams. Yeah, I know punter Adam Barry got two bad snaps but at some point, you’ve got to be athletic enough to pick up a bouncing ball and make one step and kick the damn thing away. Barry hasn’t quite shown that yet. Is he the Steve Sax of Temple–a second baseman who had such a mental issue that he couldn’t throw to first–that’s yet to be seen. Yet he’s shown a lot of signs that Connor Bowler did not last year. Bowler had five-count them five–50-yard-plus punts in a 49-6 win over East Carolina yet Rod Carey felt he wasn’t good enough to continue as the punter for Temple University.

Having watched the great Casey Murphy punt for Temple, I remember him picking up every single bad snap and getting off a great kick. Murphy messaged me yesterday during the game that he always practiced bad snaps. Maybe Barry should do the same.

The run defense that looked so great against Maryland looked so bad against Buffalo I do not know what to think.

All I know is that I never felt Temple was going to go unbeaten but, if there was going to be a loss, this was the place to do it–a nonleague game that left all of the current goals on the table (with perhaps the exception of an NY6 game).

Those goals are still right on the table and could make for a delicious meal. Just skip the dessert, please.

Tuesday: Fizz’s Thoughts on Buffalo

 

09.21.19
by

Game Day: How Important is beating Buffalo?

When the time comes to say something meaningful at one of those post-game press conferences, Rod Carey seized the moment last week.

“It was a great win, but it wasn’t one-and-a-half wins,” Carey said.

That right there was the best quote of not only this season but the best quote of the last three seasons from a Temple head coach. Geoff Collins made a practice of saying words in those press conferences that really meant nothing.

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Early games today …

Carey hit the nail on the head.

You have 12 regular-season football games and every single one means just as much as the last one or the next one.

The next one is this afternoon at Buffalo (3:30, ESPNU) and, as satisfying as the last one was over Maryland, it means the same as that one or next week’s one against visiting Georgia Tech.

In college football, they like to talk about “trap games” but, in a 12-game season, there should be none of those. The players work too hard the other 353 days of the year to throw one of a dozen away and Carey’s no-nonsense approach should serve Temple well.

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Nighttime TV lineup

Temple received seven points in the latest Top 25 poll and, if it beats Buffalo, it should receive more next week. That’s the way this thing should work although it didn’t work that way in the preseason poll. In that one, the Owls received two coaches votes and then beat Bucknell, 56-12. In the next one, they received zero coaches votes.

Huh?

A 56-12 win dropped them in the eyes of pollsters? Should they have beaten Bucknell 79-0?

That’s what it seems like.

Beating Maryland got people’s attention, especially after the Terps beat Syracuse, 63-20, the week prior. No one knows what the score will be but how impressive from a national standpoint would it be if Temple was able to beat Buffalo by the same 45-13 score Penn State beat it by three weeks ago? Then, how far does Temple rise in the national polls with that victory piggybacked on a weekend where Maryland beats Penn State and Temple beats Georgia Tech?

Those dominoes have to start falling this afternoon, though.

Today, Buffalo is all about keeping people’s attention and that’s why the Owls have to play with the same fierceness and tenacity on the road that they did a week ago at home.

Survive and advance. A win today is as important as a win last week, not half as good or twice as good.

This Carey guy seems to say some pretty astute things. Hopefully, the kids are listening.

Picks: Iowa State laying the 19 against visiting Louisiana Monroe, Indiana laying the 27 against visiting UConn, Old Dominion getting 30 at Virginia, Wisconsin laying the 3.5 at Michigan, SMU getting the 9.5 against visiting TCU. Record last week: 3-3 overall, 1-5 against the spread (also the season record).

Tomorrow: Game Analysis

 

09.19.19
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Behind Enemy Lines: A conversation with Bull Run

Stadium

A good panorama look at 29,016-seat Buffalo Stadium. Even though the North Campus is located in the residential suburb of Amherst, the neighbors supported building it in 1992.

This is a real Throwback Thursday post, back to the days when the Temple Owls were a member of the Mid-American Conference

My favorite of the competing MAC blogs back when Temple Football Forever was a member of that conference was Buffalo’s Bull Run.

It still is and its platform is SB Nation.

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We had a running and friendly exchange with Bull Run back then and we’re resuming it now in advance of Saturday’s 3:30 game (ESPNU) in Amherst, N.Y. Buffalo’s home stadium is located on the North Campus, which is a little like Temple putting its home stadium on the Owls’ North Campus (Ambler).

The driving engine behind that blog Tim Riordan, which is the same name of a former great Temple (and Philadelphia Stars of the USFL) quarterback. They are not related other than they were and are very good at what they do.

Bull Run mixes in coverage of the Bulls with some occasional humor that always makes it a fun read.

We threw these five questions out to Tim and he was kind enough to answer them:

How was the fan atmosphere at Liberty and was there any audible cursing in the stands at the right-wing religious institution?

 I was not at the game, sadly, but for a team which had been beaten as thoroughly through two games as the flames were the atmosphere seemed rather impressive. I”m going to guess that the honor code there probably kept the cursing to a minimum.

Temple’s attempts to build an on-campus stadium have been seemingly blocked by no more than 20 neighbors. With the Buffalo Stadium located in a residential area, did the neighbors try to stop it when it was built many years ago?

 

Well, UB’s stadium is on Campus and was built originally to help host the 1992 World University Games. It’s one of the reasons that the layout is so bad in the stadium, it was built for track and field. 
Other than the QB and TE, who were the key losses for the Bulls last season?

 

 Where to start? UB only returned seven or eight starters this season. In addition to Tyree and Mabry, we lost three receivers, two linebackers, three defensive backs, and an all-MAC center. Basically, offensive guards and tackles are the returning units.
It will be almost a completely new team you’re seeing this year.
Thoughts from a conference foe on Rod Carey, who is 5-0 against Buffalo?

 

The guy went 38-10 in the MAC, won four division titles and two conference championships. That’s more a statement of his competence than the fact he owned Buffalo. Though I will say last year he really out-coached Leipold at the half. 
Would Buffalo be interested in taking UConn’s place in the AAC since it brings a better current hoop and football program and a bigger TV market?

 

While it might not be the best financial move in terms of the non-revenue sports I would love the move for Buffalo. The New York to DC corridor is a huge location for our Alumni base, and Buffalo is getting more students from that Area than they do from Buffalo itself.
That along with the better depth you have in hoops would make a move to the AAC a no brainier for Buffalo. So if you have any pull with the folks at the American office, pass along a note for us.
Saturday: Game Day and Polls

 

09.17.19
by

Fizz: Great win, but still work to be done

edfoley

Ed Foley has consistently had the Temple special teams near the top of the NCAA stats but was sorely missed on Saturday.

Editor’s Note: Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub is a frequent contributor to this website and former Temple football player and, later, a high school coach. These are his observations on the 20-17 win over Maryland.

weinraub

Fizzy here at the Boca Raton Bowl.

By Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub

In Texas, the sun is shining

In Waco the skies are blue,

But if your name’s Ed Foley

You’re really pissed off too.

Raising my right hand, I would like to forthrightly say I’m thrilled with the win over Maryland. Obviously, the defense was spectacular.  Four goal-line stands are the most I’ve ever seen and against a previously scintillating offense.  Defensive coordinator Jeff Knowles and every defensive coach and player deserve any and all the accolades you can muster.  It was a fantastic performance by very talented guys.

boumerhi

Boomer now kicking for Boston College while Connor Bowler is punting for UNC-Charlotte.

Now, let’s see where we can improve.  Wait, did someone mention special teams?

With the help of the Inquirer’s Mike Jensen, I totaled nine bad plays made by the not so special teams.  Besides the penalties, shanked kicks, bad snaps, missed field goals,  and a blocker running into a bouncing ball, there was some coach’s strategy I need to have explained.  After the bad snap which resulted in a safety, why would you kick-off and not punt where you’d get better hang time?  On some punts by Maryland, why did our receiving team do nothing?  I mean they didn’t try to block the punt nor try to set up a run back; they just stood around.

Now I know it’s Isaiah Wright, but common sense should tell you that when fielding a punt or kickoff on one side of the field, you don’t waste three or four seconds trying to get to the other side to find a lane. All that does is allow the defense to get further down the field.  straight upfield and one block could get the lane he’s looking for.  So before we leave the not so special teams, Coach Carey’s removal of Ed Foley as special team’s coach looks terrible right now.

Now, a few things regarding the offense.  One big negative is the four times Russo tried to throw a hook just over the first down marker, the same receiver never turned around.  How does that happen four times?  Why would you keep going back to that play?

In the first half, Wright would run a late-developing pattern across the middle.  It was open both times, but Russo didn’t make accurate throws.  Why didn’t they go back to that play in the second half?

Despite the fumble in the second half, Gardner looked to be the much stronger runner over Davis.  Why didn’t he get more carries?

On one of our drives down the field in the second quarter, we were chewing up the yardage on the ground, gaining nice chunks almost every play.  Suddenly, there was an incomplete first-down pass and the drive stalled.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

On a few fourth and ones, our play call was a handoff five yards deep against a stacked defense, allowing them penetration.  We have a 6′ 4″ quarterback who weighs around 230 pounds.  Certainly, a quarterback sneak is preferable.

I was surprised to learn from Jensen’s article that our two long bombs for touchdowns were from check-offs at the line of scrimmage by Russo.  Perhaps the coaches should let him call more of the plays.  It’s good, however, he’s allowed the freedom to change the plays.

With 2:25 left in the game and Maryland’s offense in disarray on fourth down, why would we call a time out?  It did turn out rather well though, didn’t it?

All in all, though, the offense is way more efficient than ever before.

So, Defense gets an A+, offense gets a B, and special teams an F.  Thank you Football Gods.  We should be among the top 25 this week.

Thursday: Questions and Answers

Saturday: Game Day

09.15.19
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Rest of Season: Brace For Impact

About four hours after the first Temple players appeared in many of the post-game tailgates on Saturday afternoon, an asteroid about the size of the Empire State building missed the earth by “only” 3.3 million miles.

(That’s considered pretty darn close by Asteroid miss standards.)

One of these days we won’t be as lucky and we will be bracing for impact, but that makes appreciating days like yesterday even more important. (Err, hopefully, that day is 100 years or more away.)

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Yesterday was a fun day to be on Planet Earth and at Lincoln Financial Field.

Maybe the most fun day.

As Wayne Hardin used to say, the only fun is winning and there was plenty of fun on the Owls’ side of the field.

Temple’s 20-17 win over No. 21 Maryland has to rank in the top three HOME wins in the Lincoln Financial Field Era. No win will ever top the 27-10 win over Penn State in 2015 because the Owls were pushing that rock up a hill for 74 years.

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Some observations from a game thread on a Maryland message board

Still, the win over Maryland has to rank right behind it because this was a very good Temple team beating what could be a Big 10 contender. The third biggest LFF win had to be handing another No. 21 team, East Carolina, a loss in 2014 but that Temple team finished a mediocre 6-6.

All signs are pointing to the fact that Temple will be much better than that this season. Consider this: The Maryland team Temple beat had a 42-13 lead at halftime over Syracuse. Last night, No. 1 Clemson could only lead ‘Cuse, 17-6, at a similar juncture.

Every game is a different entity but that’s pretty rarified air.

Temple’s defense really won this game with a big assist from the fans, who were involved and as loud as they needed to be from the coin toss to triple zeros on the clock.

Last week, Maryland had its own win over the No. 21 team in the country, Syracuse, and that catapulted the Terrapins into the Top 25.

Logically, that SHOULD mean that Temple moves into the Top 25 but the same level of logic and fairness that applies to Power 5 teams rarely applies to Group of 5 teams. The Owls will probably have to keep winning into October before getting their own chance.

Their defense should be able to keep them in every game and their offense has enough playmakers to do serious damage. The one area they have to work on is punting and placekicking but, sadly, special teams’ coach extraordinaire Ed Foley is working in Waco now. How nice would it be to have Aaron Boumerhi and Connor Bowler back?

That’s water under a bridge that needs to be repaired now. I fervently hope his plan is not this one:

So the task of fixing that third of the team has fallen on the CEO shoulders of Rod Carey, who is now an impressive 5-2 against Big 10 teams.

Unless he faces one in an NY6 bowl, he won’t get another chance this season so let’s hope he gets another chance. After yesterday, such a prospect doesn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.

Hell, it appears at least five more incredibly fun-filled home games are left.

Brace for impact and we mean the good kind.

Tuesday: Fizzy’s Corner

Thursday: Questions and Answers

Saturday: Buffalo Game Day