Tag Archives: navy football

11.05.17
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Fizzy’s Corner: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

fizz

Editor’s Note: I was asked some new tailgate friends on Thursday night who Fizzy is. He is in the photo  showing what Swag really means. Here are his thoughts on the win over Navy.

By Dave “Fizzy” Weinraub

Wow, Temple was up over Navy by three touchdowns. Frank Nutile’s passing was pinpoint, and everyone was catching the ball. Had Dave Patenaude turned over a new leaf, throwing early and often? Lots of folks left early, and missed the conclusion. It was probably better for them.

graphic

Graphic thanks to Brad Ford

All in all, the coaching was pretty doggone good… for 54 minutes, and then the wheels fell off… again. Up by three touchdowns with a little over six minutes left, Dependable Dave Patenaude did the same thing he did the week before vs. Army. Temple gets the ball at midfield, and Dave runs three times up the gut. Instead of trying a variety of plays and/or throw the ball to get one or two first downs and sew up the game, he starts playing not to lose. In one fell swoop, he gave the momentum back to Navy. (How many times have we all seen coaches in football and basketball slow up their offense too soon, and give the momentum back to the opponent?)

Once more, we barely had a running game. I attribute this to Dave’s, everything’s straight ahead, “Broad Street Offense.” After our ninth game and for the entire season, we’ve run one reverse, one jet sweep, and one bootleg. And where was the “Cheese-Steak” split offense? How about the “wildcat” with Wright at tailback; can’t he throw too?

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We had five, “first and goals.” On four of those, the first play was “up the gut” against a goal line defense. Finally, on the fifth try, he ran a play action pass on first down, which resulted in a touchdown. Hoorah!

The defense played spectacularly for 54 minutes, and almost completely slowed down Navy’s vaunted offense. That’s until Navy’s first string QB, Zach Abey, got hurt. His replacement had quite an arm, and if he wasn’t sacked, he easily picked apart Temple’s pass defense. There were guys open all over the place. When Navy went to a “trips-left” formation, Temple tried to cover it with one and a half defenders. How’s that possible? On some plays, our pass defenders were obviously confused, as they were at the end of the Army game. I truly believe had Navy recovered the last onside kick, they would have tied the game. This is the second week in a row, the pass defense has fallen apart at the end of the game. This time though, time expired before we did.

Tuesday: Be All You Can Be

11.02.17
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Navy-TU: Ships Sailing In Opposite Directions

navy

A year  ago, the late, great Wayne Hardin gave the Owls good luck with this coin flip. He will be honored tonight.

Almost a year ago at this time, the sports talk show host with the highest ratings in the country was singing the praises of Navy’s football team.

“The one team in college football that intrigues me most is Navy,” said Mike Francesa of WFAN radio in New York. “That’s the most exciting team in my mind and, to me, that would be the one team that could throw a monkey wrench into this whole playoff thing.”

Fast forward only a couple of weeks until the AAC championship game and Francesa was still singing Navy’s praises.

milder

The weather has been the only good thing so far about this Temple season.

“Oh my God, they just scored 75 points on SMU,” Francesa said in an interview with Gary Daniels, a CBS sports network college football analyst. “They play Temple this week in the league championship game. I don’t know how good Temple is … “

“Temple is pretty darn good,” Daniels said, interrupting The Sports Pope.

“They better be to stay with that team,” Francesa said. “I’m going to be watching that game for sure.”

After Temple beat Navy, 34-10, to win the title, I placed my little Radio Shack transistor job—the only one that can get WFAN inside the building—on my desk at work hoping to hear Francesa sing the praises of Temple football before his vast radio audience.

Not a peep on the first day or the second day or the third. Temple was never given props at all.

Navy lost, so that was a subject Francesca conveniently dropped and went onto the next big thing that interested him, like the NFL.

“Temple punched us in the mouth,” said Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo after that game. “Usually, we are the ones punching other people in the mouth and we didn’t respond.”

Tonight (8 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field), Navy gets the rematch they have wanted a year for and they have the boxing gloves primed and ready. Wayne Hardin will be honored and, win or lose, that will be the highlight of the night for Temple fans.

ventell

The coaches keeping Bryant and Sharga on the field would be nice for a change.

Presumably, Temple will punch back but, on paper, at least, any hope of an upset here appears to be a ship that sailed a long time ago. The speed bags Temple has been working against don’t appear to be as big or menacing as the ones Navy has been punching.

The two teams have combined for four losses in the last few Saturdays but that’s where the comparison ends. These are two ships headed in opposite directions. Nick Sharga, who was so instrumental in that championship win, doesn’t even see the field for long stretches for this team. Ventell Bryant, whose touchdown catch started a good afternoon on offense for those Owls, seems to be an afterthought for these Owls. Blame it on the offensive coordinator all you want, but the CEO (Geoff Collins) bears ultimate responsibility.

Temple lost to a lousy UConn team, 28-24, and an Army team, 31-28, that the Owls had about 10x as much physical talent as two weeks ago. The blood for the scene of both crimes leads right back to the coaching offices at $17 million Edberg-Olson Complex.

During that same time frame, Navy lost to a great Memphis team, 30-27, and an even better UCF team, 31-21.

One of the more unabashedly optimistic followers on the Temple Fans Facebook page said “the Owls will NOT make  another service academy bowl eligible.”

To use another nautical term, I hate to torpedo his optimism but that assertion just doesn’t hold water. Right now, hours before the game, as far as an upset goes, it appears these are two ships sailing in opposite directions.

As a certain Commander-In-Chief might say: #Sad.

Friday: Game Analysis

12.03.16
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Game Day: Thanksgiving Plus 10

 

A lot of you experienced your Thanksgiving Day nine days ago.

Mine is today.

When you live long enough to see your brother, then father, then mother, pass on  all in a period of four years and realize that there is no place to go on Thanksgiving anymore, the feeling of loneliness can be overwhelming on that day.

That’s why I am thankful for my Temple football family and today’s championship game, no matter what the result, will be the best Thanksgiving Day ever.

I’ve always been at least a small part of the Temple football family and decided to step up to the plate a little over 10 years ago and give it a voice on the internet when the program was threatened by a short-sighted President. Over those years, it was a dirt poor family, then worked its way up to the middle class and now is on the verge of riches—all because of good, old-fashioned American hard work and upward mobility.

If the Owls win today (noon, ABC), they will have done it by beating a worthy foe and the trophy will be well-earned.

Temple would not have it any other way.

fifteen

The Temple football story is a great story because the Owls have been pushing that rock uphill in a BCS environment that is set up to reward the rich P5 schools and keep the G5 schools in “their place.” That’s why you see the same schools in the Top 25 just about every year.

If the Owls win today, they will finish the regular season in the Top 25 and might or might not be headed to the Cotton Bowl. Either way, a win will almost assuredly put them in a sweet bowl and assure another wonderful Thanksgiving with this beautiful family of friends, fans, players and coaches. Hoisting that trophy will be something no other Temple team can boast about.

There are a couple of things pointing to this victory. The Owls were just as impressive against SMU and East Carolina as Navy was and Tulane and UConn, while very competitive with Navy, were outclassed by Temple. The Memphis result was at Memphis, while Navy had Memphis in Annapolis. The distractions about possibly losing their head coach, which existed in the week before last year’s game, do not exist this year.

Most of the tea leaves are coming up Temple. That could all change in the first quarter, though, if the Owls line up in a 4-3 defense, but learning from mistakes should be part of any process.

It all comes down to whether the Owls can handle the road environment and, from what I hear, this will be as much of a home game from a crowd standpoint for Temple as it will be for Navy.

It should be a great trip for Owl fans and, if they bring the noise, a better ride home for a family that deserves a feast.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Tomorrow: Game Analysis

 

12.01.16
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Playing Possum?

Temple TV maps out road to the championship.

A possum plays dead when it wants to defend itself from predators and, in at least a couple of respects, the lead up to the AAC championship football game could be a case of the Temple football brain trust playing possum.

By extension, it also means to lay low to surprise the bad guys.

At least you’ve got to hope so.

Divulging an injury to P.J. Walker—err, walking around on a boot all week—could be a way of the Owls sending a signal to the Navy that their star quarterback will not play. I am not buying it. Walker will play and he will play at a high level. You heard it here first. I don’t think Ken Niumatalolo is preparing to play against Logan Marchi.

warmer

                                                                        49 in Philly, but 54 in Annapolis. C’mon down and join us in the warmer weather.

The more concerning case of “possum playing” are the comments coming about defending Navy’s triple option. They indicate that the Owls have not learned anything, or at least much, from their season-opening experience against Army.

“It’s not the offense, it’s the players,” Temple head coach Matt Rhule said in the Daily News today.

Err, Matt, it’s not the offense or even the players as much as it is the defense. Air Force proved that by taking care of the A gaps and putting a nose guard over the center. If Temple lines up in the same 4-3 it lined up on Opening Night, it will get carved up like a turkey. Navy had the same players against Air Force it will have against Temple and it scored 14 points on Air Force. Temple has better athletes on defense than Air Force.  It better not score more than, say, 24 against Temple.

SMU tried to play a 4-3 against Navy and allowed 75 points.  Of course, SMU’s players on defense are nowhere near as good as Temple’s or Air Force’s.

It will not matter if Temple attempts to defend the triple option the same way it did on Opening Night.

Hopefully, Rhule is playing possum here or Temple is in trouble. If so, I can understand where he is coming from. Even if Temple tries to put eight in the box, you do not expect Matt to say: “We screwed up in the opener. We’re going to put eight in the box and dare them to pass and disrupt their ass and hit their quarterback in the backfield.”  All Matt has to do is look at this Temple vs. Navy film from 2009, where the Owls tightened the A gaps and stopped a 10-win Navy team numerous times on third-and-short and fourth-and-short in a 27-24 win in Annapolis. That Temple team, and this year’s Air Force team, provided a blueprint for the Owls to win. Matt still has Al Golden’s phone number. I wonder if he has Mark D’Onofrio’s? The Navy team Temple beat that day was good enough to beat No. 21 Notre Dame (23-21) and lose to No. 6 Ohio State, 31-27.

Defensive coordinator Phil Snow also said something equally as concerning in the same article: “Any time you run the quarterback, you outnumber the defense in the running game.” No, Phil, you don’t. All 11 defenders are allowed to tackle. Not all 11 offensive players are allowed to run the ball. Send more than they can block and you can disrupt the running game at the point of attack. Sit back in a 4-3 and you are asking for the offense to dictate the tone and tempo of the game.

Praise Martin-Oguike joined in the possum playing (hopefully) with this comment: “When we played Army, we missed a lot of assignments.” Praise, you didn’t have the right assignments. Clogging up the middle against the fullback and stringing the option sideline to sideline can be done a lot better than in a 5-2 or “44 stack” than it can in the Owls’ base 4-3. Hopefully, the Owls put this in against Navy this week in practice.

Playing possum or history repeating itself?

I sure hope it’s the former.

Actually, praying.

Saturday: Thanksgiving +10

Sunday: Championship Game Analysis

11.29.16
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Mixing Things Up

Take the scenic route through Delaware and avoid most of I-95 hassles.

Take the scenic route through Delaware and avoid most of I-95 hassles.

While the notion about tackles in the A gaps and a nose guard over the center as the secret formula to beat Navy has been proven to work by Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, there is a strong conviction that a pretty good coach on the other side of the field has been breaking down Temple game film for the past couple of days.

Ken Niumatalolo has worked wonders at The Naval Academy since another great head coach, Paul Johnson, took his triple option to Georgia Tech.

Comparative scores indicate a close game.

Comparative scores indicate a close game, although the TU-USF score is a typo (real score was 46-30, not 20).

You do not overcome severe academic—getting into the Academy is like getting into an Ivy League school—and athletic (post-academy military commitment) without using your head for something other than a hat rack.

When he breaks down Temple game film, Niumatalolo probably sees a team that will attempt to establish the run and throw off play action. He will probably attempt to counter that by stacking the box himself and forcing the Owls to throw first and try to establish the run later. The way to counter an over-aggressive defense is to take advantage of their aggressiveness. That’s why it is important that the Owls mix things up and they can do that with these five plays they have not shown so far. Some people call them trick plays; I call them innovative ones and, if the Owls hit on just one, none of these plays will be wasted.  While I would not recommend the onsides’ kick (hey, it worked against Cincy last year), these are five plays that come with the TFF Navy Seal of Approval:

The Double Reverse

The Owls have tried the single reverse with Adonis Jennings at Tulane. That’s part of the film Niumatalolo has seen and is ready for; he has not seen the double reverse and Jennings handing it off to Isaiah Wright coming around from the other side should open up the field against an over-pursuing Navy defense.  That will set up the next play, somewhat later in the game.

The Double Reverse Pass

Virtually the same play worked four years ago for the Owls at SMU four years ago, where former Big 33 quarterback Jalen Fitzpatrick threw an 85-yard touchdown to Robby (then Robbie) Anderson off a reverse. We’ve been told Wright can throw an accurate pass between 60 and 85 yards in the air. We know that. Niumatalolo does not. That could catch Navy with their pants down.

The Shovel Pass

The beauty of this play is that it not only creates space for a guy like Jahad Thomas but, if it fails, it’s an incomplete pass and not a fumble. It’s like a delayed handoff except when P.J. Walker goes back to pass, he draws the rush to him and shovels a pass underhand forward to Thomas, who uses the newly created space to work his magic. The last time Temple used a shovel pass, it went for a touchdown from Chris Coyer to Matt Brown at Penn State (September 22, 2012). It is not on any recent Temple film and does not take a whole lot to put it into the playbook.

Throwback To The Tight End

A perfect play in the red zone offense that worked for a touchdown against USF a few weeks ago and Walker sells this play well, rolling out to his right and pumping a fake into one corner of the end zone (and drawing the defense to that side) before looking left to a wide open tight end. That tight end could be Thompson, who holds his block for a second and then releases. In that scenario, usually no one is assigned to cover him and that’s why he is always open.

Screen Pass to Jahad

This is a staple of the current offense, but an antidote to a defense that commits to stopping the run and the Owls should mix in a few of these every quarter.  No one is able to make defenders miss in the open field like Thomas and he is a weapon the Owls should use while they have him for a couple more games.

Thursday:  Temple-Navy Preview

11.27.16
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Mandatory Military Training Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wmxs-Diqys

Hopefully, Phil Snow is breaking down this game film frame by frame.

About a year ago, give or take a month, the slogan the team adopted for the 2016 Temple football season was Unfinished Business.

If not original, it was unmistakable in meaning.

The “Unfinished Business” was getting back to the championship game and winning it this time. In many ways, while the Navy game (high noon, Saturday) on the road is a challenging assignment, much of the heavy lifting already has been done. To even get this far again is a huge accomplishment and maybe the hardest part of the job.

Now the Owls have one more piece of business left to do and it involves a well-thought-out game plan that involves adopting some free military intelligence, courtesy of Air Force.

unfinished

Hopefully, they learned something from the first game of the season that they can apply to the penultimate game. The Owls have to know by now that “business as usual” will not help them finish their overall business. Matt Rhule hinted as much post-Army game when he said his coaching staff will have to review how they attack a triple option team and change things up. The manual says nose guard (hint, Averee Robinson), tackles in the A gaps (Michael Dogbe and Freddy Booth-Lloyd), and eight in the box to string out the option.

Send more defenders than the triple option can block and create havoc in the Navy backfield. There is a little risk involved in this process that puts all the pressure on defending the pass on three players—the two corners and safety Sean Chandler, but that’s a low-risk and high-reward process the Owls will have to adopt on Saturday. They have the athletes to defend the pass with three.

One thing the Owls do know is that sitting back in their base 4-3 defense against this type of offense is not going to work, no matter how many times you say “Temple TUFF” or “Unfinished Business.” Of course, the Owls will have to remain true to themselves on offense, by running the football with a mixture of play-action passing.

On defense, though, they cannot be as stubborn as they were on Opening Night.

To win this battle, they have to do their good diligence in military intelligence and all the intelligence they need has been supplied by another branch of the fighting forces, the Air Force.

Tuesday: 5 Plays That Will Work For Temple

11.24.15
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Temple at Navy Would Be a Dream Showcase for the AAC Title Game

Colgate v Navy

Members of the Navy Midshipmen take the field before the start of their game against the Colgate Raiders at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on September 5, 2015 in Annapolis, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Disclaimer: For all of the “let’s concentrate on UConn crowd” out there, nothing written below will affect the outcome of the game on the field on Saturday. Pure speculation is one of the joys in sports and we’ll speculate here on what the corporate offices are thinking. We’ll return to talking about UConn on Saturday.

When it comes to business, and the business of big-time college football, perception of success can mean everything. The big power conferences are perceived as such because, among other things, they are able to fill their stadiums for big games.

ebb

Temple fans filled 2 decks at RFK for EBB.

The life of a small, non-power, conference can reflect failure as much as success as, for years, the Mid-American Conference has attracted regularly around 10,000 people to its title game at the cavernous Ford Field in Detroit.

That’s why the site of the first-ever AAC football championship game is so important to the league right now. They are only two possibilities, either at the site of West contenders Houston  and Navy, and the bean counters in the league’s corporate offices in Providence, RI, have to be crossing their fingers and toes and hoping Navy wins and take the game to its home base in Maryland. For the other team, the league needs nearby Temple, bringing the nation’s fourth-largest TV market, Philadelphia, to the Dec.  5 (noon, ABC-TV) broadcast. Navy is located in the Washington, D.C. TV market, the ninth-largest but has the additional appeal of having a national fan base. Houston is the 10th-largest TV market.

For this dream matchup to happen, Navy will have to win at Houston and Temple would have to hold serve at home against UConn with both games coming up at  the end of the week. (The only other way Temple can get in without beating the Huskies is in the unlikely event of winless UCF holding off visiting South Florida on Thanksgiving Day.)

A couple of reasons have the AAC getting goosebumps over that potential matchup. The game will be a likely sellout at the picturesque 34,000-seat Navy Marine Corps Stadium, one of the most beautiful venues in college football. The sight of a sold-out championship game, when so many other leagues have had trouble selling out championship venues, creates an additional aura of success to project to league TV viewers. Although the stadium seats 34,000, Navy often sells standing room seats and an AAC title game could easily exceed the 38,255 stadium attendance record set on Oct. 5, 2013 when the Midshipmen beat Air Force, 28-10.

Any seats Navy is unable to sell will likely be gobbled up by Temple fans, who traveled 20,000 to RFK Stadium for an Eagle Bank Bowl at UCLA in 2009. They will not be able to get that many tickets this time, but it should be an overflow. The game would feature the G5’s best Heisman Trophy candidate,  Navy’s Keenan Reynolds, against a top-notch defense led by a likely first-team All-American linebacker in Temple’s Tyler Matakevich.

When it comes to the business of college football, nothing projects success like sold-out stadiums and TV ratings and Temple at Navy figures to project that image best and, in the case of a fledgling conference championship game, image is everything.

Tomorrow: The Competition

09.23.15
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5 Other Games of Interest to Owl Fans

The American Trophy heads to Memphis this week.

The thought just occurred to me that the top game of interest to Temple fans on Saturday, UMass at Notre Dame (covered in yesterday’s post), might be interrupted a few times. It is on one of the three major local channels at 3:30, right smack in the middle of the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia.

Geez, I hope Channel 10 has more respect for the region’s 1.4 million Catholics than that. When Notre Dame is on, they do not want any interruptions.

Just in case, though, keep the remote control handy. Here are the other Saturday games of interest to Temple fans (with earlier games added at the end).

Boston College's Alumni Stadium would be a nice model for TU to copy.

Boston College’s Alumni Stadium would be a nice model for TU to copy.

SATURDAY

Navy at UCONN (-8), noon, CBS Sports Network,

If Memphis does not win the AAC West, Navy will. Last week, I predicted Navy would beat East Carolina, 38-17. I was wrong. Navy won, 45-21.  Close enough. UConn was impressive in holding No. 18 Missouri to just nine points on the road, but that doesn’t erase giving up 15 to Villanova and 17 to Army. Navy should score 27 in this one and win, 27-14.

Northern Illinois at Boston College (-4), 1, ESPN3

This is only important because of Fraudazzio’s involvement with Boston College. Northern Illinois is coming off a 20-13 loss at Ohio State and BC is only favored because it is a P5 team at home. Anyone who watches BC can see that Addazio’s century-old approach to offense has not changed. Northern Illinois with the upset, 30-16. If the Owls do not make a BCS bowl, a matchup with BC in Yankee Stadium might make for a good storyline.

Virginia Tech at East Carolina (+7.5), 3:30, ABC or ESPN 2

ECU is probably a lot closer to the team that struggled to beat Towson and was blown out by Navy than the one that lost by a touchdown at Florida. Virginia Tech should win this won by about 20-10 on the road, slightly covering the spread. Right now, this is listed as an either/or game, but fans better hope this is on ESPN 2 because Channel 6 is going to be breaking in with Pope coverage every five minutes.

ECU's Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Let's hope the Owls come up with a better name, like The Apollo of Temple.

ECU’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Let’s hope the Owls come up with a better name, like The Apollo of Temple.

THURSDAY

Cincinnati at Memphis (-7), 7:30, ESPN

Probably the game of the year so far in the AAC pits West preseason favorite Memphis against East preseason favorite Cincinnati. Memphis blew out Kansas, scoring 55 points, but probably had a more impressive win at Bowling Green, 44-41, last week. That was more impressive because Bowling Green was coming off a 48-27 win at Maryland, the same Terps’ team that beat South Florida, 35-17, a week ago. Temple fans might like Cincy to get another loss to drive the Bearcats further down in the East standings, but would be also consoled by a Cincy win by knowing the Owls would be considered the defacto top dogs in the AAC. Gunner Kiel suffered a head injury and is day-to-day. Memphis wins this, 35-24.

FRIDAY

Boise State at Virginia (+2.5), 8, ESPN

Only important for Temple down the road because, if the Owls keep taking care of business, a Boise State team that lost only to BYU could be up against the Owls for a BCS bid. Unfortunately, I do not see Boise State losing this one. Boise State, 20-17.

Tomorrow: Fifteen Perfect Plays

10.06.14
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Coach Hardin’s Big Night

Wayne Hardin, Roger Staubach, Navy,

Getty Images

There will be a program given out on Tuesday night at the brand new College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta listing the accomplishments of the latest class to be enshrined.

Next to one name should be the description “greatest college football head coach ever.” No, Pop Warner, Bear Bryant and Amos Alonzo Stagg are already enshrined, but if greatness in a head coach is getting the most out of the talent he had, Wayne Hardin is the greatest head coach ever, period, end of story. Tuesday’s event will be rebroadcast on ESPNU on Wednesday night.

Pure coach Hardin. After the 1962 win over Army, reporters asked him what was the turning point: "When we walked onto the field." Classic. Love it.

Pure coach Hardin. After the 1962 win over Army, reporters asked him what was the turning point: “When we walked out on the field.” Classic. Love it.

Hardin was the last guy to coach two schools to Top 20 national rankings and both of those schools, Temple and Navy, do not travel to that stratosphere often. At Navy, he had the Midshipmen ranked No. 2 in the country and playing No. 1 Texas in the 1964 Cotton Bowl. Think about that for a moment. Navy did not give football scholarships in those days—technically, it does not now, either—and required its players to serve five years in the military after graduation. On top of that, the academic requirements just to get into the Naval Academy were Ivy League level. Interestingly enough, Hardin played for Stagg, coached at a school where Warner coached (Temple) and was succeeded at Temple by a guy, current Arizona Cardinals‘ head coach Bruce Arians, who was an assistant to Bear Bryant.

Yet Hardin had Navy competing and winning at a big-time level and that’s the very definition of a great coach. Hardin left Navy to coach in a fledgling professional league, the Continental Football League, and led that team, the Philadelphia Bulldogs, to a championship in 1966. That team played their games in Temple Stadium, which led to a 13-year-association at Temple, where Hardin was 80-52-3, the only winning coach in that program’s history. These days there are 39 bowls. In those days, there were only 15 and Hardin had the Owls in one of them.

In the 1979 Garden State Bowl, Hardin’s coaching directly led to Temple’s 28-17 win over California of the then PAC-10. Hardin found out by grading the Cal film if he pulled his guards up the middle (instead of right or left), there was no one to block. He pulled the guards straight ahead and the back followed through and, before Cal knew it, Temple had a 21-0 lead. The Owls out-rushed the Golden Bears, 300-23, in that game—a more than 200-yard advantage.

On the other side of the ball, Hardin discovered that Cal quarterback Rich Campbell was taught if he did not see his first read, to throw blindly in the flat to the fullback. Hardin developed a two-man pass rush and had one guy (all-time leading tackler Steve Conjar) meet the fullback and eight others into coverage. There was nothing to read, except a lot of Cherry-colored jerseys.

That kind of coaching was the norm, not the exception, for Hardin both at Temple and Navy. Before an Army-Navy game, Army had a group of defensive backs who led the nation in interceptions and who got the politically incorrect nickname “Chinese Bandits.”  Hardin had the Navy helmets painted to read “Beat Army” … in Chinese. Navy routed Army that day.

Nothing describes great coaching better than stories like that and perhaps that’s why next to Wayne Hardin’s name in Tuesday’s night’s program should be the words “greatest college football coach ever.” Guys like Stagg, Warner and Bryant did it with a maximum of talent. Hardin got the most out of what talent he had and that should always remain the standard for evaluating coaches.