Tag Archives: Manny Walker

09.12.21
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Now comes the hard part

Plenty of people who make millions on college football had Temple pegged for two wins before the first projection of the college football season in May.

Somewhere, a few months later, that was adjusted to 2.5 due to a lot of Temple money coming into the betting parlors.

Still, the thought was this:

Temple would beat both Akron and Wagner and the .5 covered the books in the event of a win over, say, USF.

With Temple’s 45-24 win over Akron yesterday, the conventional thinking is “now comes the hard part.”

Maybe.

But, really, how hard?

Gasparilla Bowl defensive MVP William Kwenkeu (35) had two sacks in the win over FIU in 2017. His game against Akron yesterday might have been just as impressive.

Boston College had a similar win over UMass, which Vegas generally considers is a team not even as good as Akron.

If the Owls can beat Boston College on Saturday, the entire vibe changes inside the $17 million dollar Edberg-Olson Complex.

Maybe the vibe has already changed.

Consider this: Justin Lynch is the FIRST quarterback we’ve found in the entire history of Temple football (playing the sport since 1884) who WON a game as a true freshman starting his first game. (Hell, for MOST of those years, true freshmen were ineligible to even play but what Lynch did was impressive nonetheless.)

He was much more than a game manager. A lot of pretty good “veteran” quarterbacks (Lee Saltz for one) never had a day this good: 19 for 23, 245 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

If the Akron game becomes a confidence-builder and a building block for Lynch, he becomes a much more relaxed quarterback against Boston College and that can only bode well for the Owls’ chances in their home opener.

Another positive sign is that the team’s stars on both sides of the ball took over when they needed to on Saturday. Down, 14-0, Randle Jones took a jet sweep to the house. Two years ago, Carey called Jones a “flat-out stud” but he really wasn’t able to show it except on the opening play of the SMU game last year. Jones has been hampered by injuries.

Now healthy, Jones is a difference-maker.

So is William Kwenkeu on the other side of the ball.

Only the die-hard Owl fans know that William was the “defensive MVP’ in the Owls 28-3 win over FIU in the Gasparilla Bowl way back in 2017 and he’s still here four years later.

Thank God.

Not all Owl fans stuck around for the thrilling conclusion.

His scoop and score was the other key play in the game.

With the announcers talking about Temple in a “malaise” those two plays took Temple right out of it and back into a Temple TUFF mode.

Does it last?

A win on Saturday will be hard, but nothing worth achieving ever is easy.

Maybe the home crowd makes a difference. If so, a lot of Temple football haters can rip up their betting slips.

Monday: Not Like That

09.28.20
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5 Temple Newcomers to Watch

It’s pretty hard for a newcomer, where it’s a true freshman, a redshirt freshman or a transfer to make a difference in college football these days.

The culture and the systems are usually so firmly entrenched it takes a year or two to make an impact.

Temple had at least one, running back, Ray Davis, make a big breakthrough last year and this year there could be at least five more. Not many predicted Davis would get more than 900 yards, but that’s the great thing about college football. Someone always breaks through and makes an impact.

At least five could do the same for the 2020 football Owls.

All five of them come in areas of need (kicking game, offensive line, defensive end) so we’ll just concentrate on those areas because guys like Nazir Burnett (wide receiver) and Muheem McCargo (linebacker) probably will need injuries at deep positions to get on the field and show their stuff.

Kicker (both No. 47)

Will Leyland and Rory Bell. Not much to chose between the Wilmington (Ohio) Bell and the Souderton (Pa.) Leyland so this is an interesting battle to watch. Bell was first-team all-Southeast Ohio and Leyland was on the roster of the Big 33 game as the kicker for the East team before that game was canceled. Both have pushed three-year starter Will Mobley for the starting job and, should the Owls need to kick a field goal from distance expect one of the two to get the shot. It’s been a long time since the Owls have been a threat from distance (Boomer, Austin Jones and Brandon McManus come to mind).

Offensive line

C.J. Perez (center) and Michael Niese (guard) are accomplished transfers from Northern Illinois and Dayton who should upgrade an offensive line that was battered in the 55-13 bowl loss to North Carolina. One of the reasons why it was battered was because one of the two most reliable performers, Vince Picozzi, was out with an injury. He’s back and they are here and the Owls should establish a running game that will make Anthony Russo that much more an effective passer. It will also help the passing game if these guys provide Russo with an extra second or two to throw and they should.

Defensive End

When Quincy Roche left for Miami, that meant the Owls had to replace the AAC Defensive Player of the Year and a double-digit sack guy. So the Owls dipped into the P5 and got Manny Walker out of Wake Forest. Will he get double-digit sacks? Doubtful, but if he applies enough pressure on the outside, expect NFL prospects Dan Archibong and Ifeany Maijeh to get better numbers in that area than a year ago. Roche was getting the attention last year. Walker will have to earn some of it this season.

Friday: 5 Improvements We’d Like to See

Monday: The Other October

Friday (Oct. 9): Finally, a Game Day

Sunday (Oct. 11): Game Analysis