When Astronauts first landed on the moon, the phrase of the day was: “Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed.”

That referred to the lunar module, which was The Eagle, and the spokesman was the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. (And to you skeptics, yes, it was real and we did it 57 years ahead of the current technology.)

On Thursday, another bird, the Owls, have landed, not on the moon, but at St. Petersburg, Fla., the home of the American Conference Media Day. It’s hot in St. Pete (real feel 110) but that’s child’s play compared to the real feel the Owls had in an outdoor practice at the E-O in Philadelphia (111) on June 24. (FYIW, the temperature on the moon 7/20/69 was 250 degrees.)

Tranquil, we’re not sure but it will be today’s home base for the Temple Owls.

So the two Owl player representatives, tight end Peter Clarke and linebacker, should not be sweating much.

Maybe the rest of the league should but they don’t know it yet.

Thursday was just a feeling out day and the big show begins today on ESPN+ at 8 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. with every head coach taking the stage. At 10 a.m., it’s K.C. Keeler’s turn. (That’s 4 a.m. Hawaii time for our many Owl fans on the island.)

There will be plenty of questions and plenty of optimism from the assembled head coaches, including Temple’s K.C. Keeler. Usually, there is a Media Poll, which ranks the teams from first to last but that was discontinued last year and there are no plans to have it revived.

Yet there are other media outlets who either plan to or have released a poll and one of them was Athlon Sports (see inset). They had the Owls listed for No. 8 in the league and, shockingly, Navy as No. 1.

Shockingly, because Navy lost a lot of talent, including the single closest thing to a one-man team the American has ever seen in quarterback Blake Horvath. New quarterback Braxton Woodson was absolutely dreadful in a blowout loss at Notre Dame when Horvath was injured last year.

Horvath was the only reason Navy beat Temple. Heck, he might have been the only reason Navy came CLOSE to Temple last year and so that prediction may be more based on reputation than reality.

However, despite the fact that the Owls returned every single eligible starter–no other American nor G5 team did that–there are legitimate questions about the Owls, too. One, is quarterback, where, for the first time in a long while, the Owls will have to go without someone who has started a college football game. That’s always a crapshoot.

Some people have expressed concerns about the defensive secondary but the Owls have a guy in Adrian Laing who returned an interception for a touchdown at Charlotte and was absolutely robbed of another goal-line interception in the North Texas game on a ridiculous PI call. Still, it’s not certain if he’s won the starting job this year so the Owls should be OK at corner. If his competition is that good, and I’m more than OK with Laing as a starting corner (and I am), cornerback is the least of my worries.

All of this could be addressed at 10 this morning. I’ll settle for most of it.

That’s why it’s must-see TV.

If you are a die-hard Temple football fan like me, it will be the last must-see TV until you get home from the Sept. 5 opener and check out the Rhode Island-Temple highlights on YouTube.

Monday: Media Day Recap

Friday: Keeler’s Biggest Gamble Yet

Monday: An Under-The-Radar Story

A couple of things were pretty apparent from the last two hours of the first day of American Conference Media Day.

One, summer is coming to a way-too-fast end. (But we sort of knew that with the shorter days and the fact that the Eagles started camp two days ago.)

Two, at least some depth chart moves are made.

Sekou Kromah wouldn’t be there if he wasn’t a first-team defensive lineman and the same can be said for quarterback Evan Simon.

That wasn’t clear a couple of weeks ago.

It was pretty clear on Thursday. Kromah was mostly second team DL in 2024 but for new head coach K.C. Keeler to bring him to media day, it must be an indication that he’s moved up the food chain.

There was a school of thought that Temple would not have brought in Gevani McCoy if he wasn’t going to be the starting quarterback. That thinking was fueled by the fact that McCoy was THE starter at Oregon State and he better fits the scheme designed by new offensive coordinator Tyler Walker.

College Football Nation caught up with both Kromah and Keeler on the first day of festivities and did a great job interviewing them. Give those guys a like and a subscription on YouTube.

However, Simon was the guy who Keeler brought to Charlotte and that says more than any scheme or fit. It says Simon has done enough to impress Keeler, particularly in the area of how hard the workouts are.

“I’d be thinking twice before the runs,” Kromah said. “We do stuff that’s worse than that (stadium runs).”

Kromah on Keeler:

“He’s a man of his word. Since he’s came in a lot of things have changed. Coach K.C., I love that he loves to win. He takes care of his players.”

The thing that makes Kromah stand apart from the rest of the D-Line is that he can play nose tackle, tackle, and end.

In fact, he’s even talked to Keeler about a goal-line offensive package.

“I can play anything. I want coach K.C. to give me a package.”

Kromah was asked what the fans should expect.

“What you all can expect is a lot of wins and a bowl game,” Kromah said. “Temple TUFF.”

Simon says:

“That was a really fun game that Utah State game,” he said. “We’re going to do it some more this year. … I’ve been in a situations where I was the backup and, I feel, with God’s plan here I am. It’s been awesome.

“Right away, within the first week he (Keeler) was there, he met with every single player. Right away, you know there’s something about him. We’re ready to win some ballgames. No more of this 3-9. We gotta start winning more games and there will be more fans.”

Then CFB Nation spoke with Keeler:

Keeler on the growth of the locker room: “We had a great recruiting class for 2026. One of the constant themes I hear from the parents and recruits is that they can tell this is a brotherhood. First thing I did I talked to every single player, 4 1/2 days. These kids love going to Temple. A lot of these guys are staying because they made a pact to get this fixed.

“Our recruiting philosophy is simple. Recruit the locker room first. We wanted to retain those best players. If you are just bringing in mercenaries, it’s hard to main a culture. We retained most of those guys.”

Keeler also established a relationship with the alumni:

“I got on a zoom with 130 football alums. You guys are always welcome. I’m just the guy who turns the lights out at night. You could tell how proud they were of the 10th and Diamond Culture, especially the Matt Rhule guys and the Al Golden guys.

“I thought this was going to be a good job. It’s a great job.”

On the season:

“It’s going to be a challenge,” he said. “I put together a great staff. It’s a real family atmosphere in our building.

“My talk with our players coming up. If you are realistic, you are playing for the wrong guy. When you work as hard as these guys have worked this summer, there’s a belief they start to get … I think that’s pressure is good. Let’s go win that bowl game. Let’s go win that conference championship.”

To fans:

“We want to go win that first game and get that thing rolling. It helps a lot more when you come out and support us.”

Monday: Biggest Turnarounds

Friday: Misconceptions