Tommy Tuberville coolly counted down the seconds with his glove to call timeout at the appropriate times to beat Temple yesterday, a stark contrast to his counterpart.

That old saying that “the truth hurts” came in the press conference after Temple’s 14-6 loss to Cincinnati and it was offered up in helpings in this Thanksgiving Day leftover:

“Every game there are different reasons why you win or you lose. I put this game squarely on me,” Temple head coach Matt Rhule said. “Mismanagement of the clock, mismanagement of timeouts, timeouts down the stretch that we had to use early on for ridiculous reasons that the head coach is responsible for. That hurt us. We didn’t have a chance to stop the clock or keep that game going despite the really heroic effort from those guys on defense. As I told the team, that’s on me. There’s nobody else you can point at.”

He’e right, for one of the few times this season. Really, though, was anyone surprised?

“Every game there are different reasons why you win or you lose. I put this game squarely on me. Mismanagement of the clock, mismanagement of timeouts, timeouts down the stretch that we had to use early on for ridiculous reasons that the head coach is responsible for …”

This guy uses timeouts like they are eight in each half, not three, and it has been going on like this for almost two full years now. Timeouts for things that should have been taken care of during the week in that $17 million practice facility Temple University paid money for by paid professionals who Temple University is paying good money to do those jobs. St. Joseph’s Prep, a team that practices a few blocks away 17th and Thompson’s Brady Athletic Field, gets those things done during the week and is flawless on gameday because of it but Temple does not and is not.

This game was over long before it should have because those paid professionals are not doing the jobs they are paid to do and, because of that–win or no win over Tulane–there will be no bowl. Temple is limping to the end of the season, much like the 2010 team limped to an 8-4 record that nobody wanted. The numbers are just not good for Temple. There CURRENTLY are 80 teams bowl eligible for 76 slots and there will be more eligible teams after next week.

There is a very real chance that even with a win over Tulane–and that’s not a given due to the fact that this coaching staff refuses to use a blocking fullback to even TRY to jump-start an anemic running game–no one will want this team, either.

Fans left the game with five minutes left because they knew there was no way Temple could stop the clock  due to the incompetence of the coaching staff.  By the time they got to the parking lot, the game was on several televisions and those fans could see a clear image of Cincinnati Tommy Tuberville counting down 3 … 2 … 1 … with his gloves and then pointing to the official to call a timeout.

That was a telling image. A paid professional clearly in control of the situation, with the paid professional on the other side of the field acting like a turkey with his head cut off.