Tag Archives: christianity

01.23.26
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The Keeler Presser’s Most Surprising Answer

I suspect some of these folks are the heroes Temple needs right now.

Now that their offseason personnel work is done, Temple football fans finally got a chance to hear some questions and answers.

Some were predictable.

Some came out of left field.

First, the predictable.

As we speculated in this space way back in December, we figured that Temple–specifically athletic director Arthur Johnson–was caught with pants down the day he received a call from Birmingham Bowl officials asking if Temple was interested in playing Georgia Southern.

For the record, this site anticipated that call because Temple players were not only in the classroom but killing it while there. (Unlike the Miami QB who admitted to not attending a class in two years.) After the season was over, we wrote that Temple might not receive a bowl call but, as a 5-7 team with a good academic record, it should be prepared just in case.

Head coach K.C. Keeler’s answer to that question was illuminating because he indicated by the time Keeler got the call Appalachian State already accepted.

That’s all I needed to know because, a week ago, we wrote that’s exactly the way we expected Keeler to answer the question and, if he did, that indicated that the fault was that the Temple administration wasn’t prepared for such a call.

Inexcusable.

This should have been buttoned down long before Bowl Selection Sunday. Johnson should have told President John Fry that the call was possible and that the university should say yes.

Why?

Because I–and almost all of the computer models–felt that Temple would have kicked the living crap out of Georgia Southern (unlike the non-competitive App State squad) and that would have jump-started momentum and possibly season-ticket sales–into the 2026 season.

We will never know because someone higher up than Keeler fumbled the ball.

Now to the good part.

Keeler indicated that he and General Manager Clayton Barnes “met with a group of donors” last week.

My reaction?

“We have donors?”

It’s nearly February, which means the Keelers will return to this boardwalk in Bethany Beach, Delaware for the annual Solar Plunge like this photo from 11 months ago. Hopefully, they will find a Temple grad there with bucoo bucks and a Yacht docked nearby.

As someone who worked his way through Temple on two part-time jobs and slept (maybe) an average of four hours a night and STILL scrounged my couch to find tokens to get to school, hard to believe we have donors.

But, according to Keeler, we do.

(Hell, if I parlayed those tokens and that degree into a multimillion business like the hero who gave $55 million to the College of Heath in October, my $55 million would have gone into the football program and not a penny for the COH or even Temple basketball but I chose the newspaper business about 20 years too late and I’ve returned to my scrounging for tokens days.)

Because, in college football these days, donors might be more important than even players or coaches and their very existence at this so-called “commuter” school is an indication of more wins in the future.

Until sanity is restored, it’s not the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s and the X’s and O’s that win anymore in college football.

It’s the money. If you want to get to the other side, you have to play the game the way it is and not the way you want it to be.

I’ll accept that only for now and hope we get back to room, board and tuition and what amateur sports is supposed to be all about sooner than later.

Monday: The Personnel Piece

01.18.26
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Good News for Temple fans: Some answers

For the first time since a tersely worded statement about a bowl game miscommunication, Temple fans will be hearing from their beloved football program.

Really, it was longer than that, because that statement came with no answers and only generated more questions.

Both Temple head coach K.C. Keeler and General Manager Clayton Barnes will be meeting with the media on Tuesday to answer questions really for the first time since the December signing day.

That’s a long time ago. It’s been radio silence ever since.

Ostensibly, the questions will be about the roster additions and, while that is important, the No. 1 question should be about the bowl game.

Grayson Mains (57) has been the bulwark for the Owls OL the past two seasons. RU’s John Stone wants that job. That should be a key position battle.

Here’s my five:

One, “K.C., did you hear about the bowl game offer BEFORE or AFTER App State accepted that bid?”

(That’s important to determine who fumbled the ball, Arthur Johnson or somebody else? If K.C. was asked before and he said something like “I need time to think about it” then that’s understandable. If, on the other hand, Johnson told the Birmingham Bowl people that he needed to ask permission from President John Fry, that indicates Temple wasn’t ready for the call.)

Two, “K.C., would you have said yes if asked?”

(Knowing K.C.’s competitive nature, I would guess yes, but it would be nice to get that answer on the record.)

Now we can get to the business of the day:

Who will apply the kind of pressure on the QB in 2026 that Badmus, Stewart, Poteat and Kromah did in 2025?

Three, “Would you have liked for one of the two quarterbacks you signed to have been a high-achieving FCS or DII guy and what were the obstacles that prevented that?”

(That question is open-ended, which means it cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Meaning, we might get an insight about whether the Owls were willing to spend $300,000 on a QB again. Everything Temple has done at the most important position on the field indicates it hopes someone will get the job done vs. someone who already did get the job done on a college football field.)

Four, “It looks like John Stone of Rutgers is your top offensive line acquisition. If Grayson Mains beats him out, can Stone play another position on the OL? Can Mains?”

(Obviously, if either can play another position, the OL improves.)

Five, “Who do you see fulfilling the pass-rushing roles previously held by guys like Poteat, Stewart, Badmus and Kromah and are those potential upgrades?”

(I don’t see any pass rushers, but this is a question probably better directed to Barnes who might.)

Bonus question: “Six, you indicated before that if any players entered the portal they would not be welcomed back. What made Tyler Douglas the exception to that rule?”

(Expect that answer to be something about Douglas being willing to switch positions to WR.)

Thanks, K.C.

Don’t wait until spring ball to have another one of these.

Friday: Analyzing The Answers