AGITA-INDUCING OWLSPenn State | 27-10 Temple fell behind the visiting Nittany Lions 10-0 in the first quarter before a sold-out crowd at Lincoln Financial Field before ultimately flipping the switch midway through the second quarter, marching 93 yards on 12 plays in 6:40 to kickstart a strong finish to the game’s final 38 minutes or so. As much as Owls fans want to talk about dominance in this one, Temple didn’t grab the lead until a minute remained in the third quarter and then put it away in the fourth. Cincinnati | 34-26 The reality is, the host Bearcats dominated this one at Nippert Stadium, outgaining the Owls 557-296 in yards. But the big-play exploits of RB Jahad Thomas saved Temple, and even spearheaded it grabbing a 34-12 advantage in the fourth quarter. Still, it wasn’t until LB Tyler Matakevich intercepted Gunner Kiel in the end zone with the clock winding that the Owls could breathe a sigh of relief, and victory. Massachusetts | 25-23 Hard to believe the Owls won this one. Even now. Still seems like a loss. QB P.J. Walker arguably had his best game as a collegian, throwing for a career-best 391 yards and a TD, but even he was outdone by his Minutemen counterpart, Blake Frohnapfel, who posted 393 yards and 3 TDs. Surrendering the lead with 1:20 to go, Temple managed to block a point-after kick and return it for two points, making the UMass advantage just 23-22. From there, the Owls marched 50 yards on 14 plays in just 1:04 for the game-winning score: a 32-yard FG by Austin Jones. Charlotte | 37-3 Don’t be fooled by the score. Temple only led 10-3 at half and, really, didn’t get the better of the 49ers at all. Charlotte RB Kalif Phillips made Owls defenders look overmatched all night, even after his teammates crumbled after intermission. Consider this: the 49ers racked up 354 yards to Temple’s 322. The score, clearly, was not indicative of everything that went on here. Charlotte definitely put a scare into Temple by halftime. Tulane | 49-10 Almost a carbon copy to the Charlotte game, although the Green Wave didn’t cause as many problems, nor for as long. They did lead 10-7 in the second quarter, though, taking advantage of Temple’s recent propensity to turn the ball over. Fortunately, the “threat” ended before intermission as the Owls took control before the break and then coasted in the second half, their D allowing just 110 yards of total offense to Tulane. Central Florida | 30-16 Way too close for comfort for too long, especially against a winless team with an insanely obvious “trap” game at East Carolina up next and then a date with No. 11 Notre Dame after that. Temple’s D, again, was stingy with allowing just 134 yards. But the Owls turned it over four times and actually found themselves trailing 16-14 entering the fourth quarter. Fortunately, Sean Chandler returned a punt 66 yards to ignite the offense right then. Before that, it was lifeless. | ![]() Not all wins are created equal. Some, depending on circumstance or psyche, carry more importance. Some are wonderful examples of pinpoint execution and talent coming together in symbiotic unison. Some are fluky exhibitions that display in neon-bright colors that luck can play a much larger role in an outcome than performance or effort. No matter how they are achieved, though, wins are a good thing. Let’s be clear about that. Even to me. That being said, my preference with any rooting interest is to see it play well, prove itself better than the opposition and then actually beat that opposition. Convincingly if not completely. In short, leave no doubt that it was the better team … at least on that day. Which brings us to Temple University. My alma mater. Whose football team is enjoying a season like few others along North Broad in my lifetime, and apparently like none other in the minds of Philly area sports fans innately and intensely focused on the pro franchises in town. In a clever motivational tactic, the Owls have utilized one of the comments shared by outgoing senior Kenny Harper following last fall’s disappointing no-bowl-bid end to a bowl-eligible campaign as inspiration to their 2015 season. In short, following Harper’s words, “Leave No Doubt.” It has been the battle cry for Matt Rhule’s program throughout the year as it seeks to prove that those making the decisions messed up in not awarding the Owls a spot in the postseason after their 6-6 effort in 2014. From offseason workouts right through summer camp and into this season, they have preached that and relied on that. The only thing is, for someone like me, this “leave no doubt” team is leaving an awful lot of doubt out on the field. You can’t argue 6-0, or that it merits Temple a spot among the nation’s top 25 in the AP and Coaches polls. But you can debate how all that was achieved. Frankly, despite what the naysayers and non-believers out there state or think, the Owls are not overachieving or enjoying some once-in-lifetime experience in which the cosmic spirits finally have aligned themselves in Temple’s corner. Rhule’s squad is good, damn good. It’s talented and it’s deep. That’s a credit to both the players on the roster and the staff that recruited them. Rhule adds a special, personal and uplifting touch rarely seen in coaches or other professionals in high-pressure positions whereby he consistently goes back to people who fail in certain spots because he wants to show his surefire belief in them. Arguably the two most important plays for the Owls in Saturday night’s 30-16 American Athletic Conference victory against Central Florida were prime examples of that. Ventell Bryant’s 3-yard TD catch in the second quarter came the play after he dropped an easier ball on a fade route into the end zone. Sean Chandler’s 66-yard punt return on the first play of the fourth quarter came after he had previously fumbled away another opportunity to return a punt. All well and good, and appreciated immensely by yours truly. It’s just … is it too much to ask for a thorough thrashing of an opponent? Geez, Louise. Four times the Owls have faced a team that had no business being in the same ballpark after the opening kickoff, and all four times, annoyingly, frustratingly and frighteningly, they made the game “interesting.” Tulane gave Temple trouble for a quarter, Charlotte a half, Central Florida three quarters and Massachusetts an entire game. The combined record for those teams: 5-20. C’mon … It would be nice for Temple fans, and obviously the team itself, to sit back and enjoy a start-to-finish runaway against an inferior foe, or at least a solid, consistent performance vs. a comparable one (hello, Cincinnati). Honestly, it would make those worrying that “unbeaten” and “ranked” is simply fool’s gold at this point take a step back and wonder if, hmmm, maybe the Owls really are that good. That they’re good enough to beat the best teams on their 2015 schedule, all of whom still remain to be played, shot at Penn State intended (and warranted). They are. Potentially. They’re even better than their current No. 22 standing in the one poll and No. 24 in the other. Potentially. But in the college game, you have to show that … beyond the bottom line. Even in the current playoff system, it’s a subjective situation here. How the Owls play does matter. It’s not just about accumulating Ws in some new-fangled version of in-state Big Brother Penn State’s former knack for winning despite being beaten. Not for nothing, but the proverbial “60-minute effort” will be required in at least half of the Owls’ remaining six games if they hope to compete, never mind emerge victorious, and that begins with Thursday night’s contest at East Carolina. Nine days after that, No. 11 Notre Dame visits Lincoln Financial Field and then No. 18 Memphis does the same Nov. 21. Leave no doubt? OK, for once this season, let’s see that. - Jack Kerwin | [email protected] |
AROUND THE NATION
URB OVERTHINKING Never understood his decision in the first place, choosing Cardale Jones over J.T. Barrett as Ohio State’s starting QB for 2015. But Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer has, inexplicably, painted himself into a corner here in which he’s teetering on the edge of breaking some fragile egos. Thing is, he got caught up, like everyone else, in the hype surrounding Jones’ surprising performance in the team’s final three games and all the talk about the kid’s big arm and pro potential, and ignored one simple fact: for Ohio State, Barrett is the better QB. Period. He’s better than Braxton Miller was. He’s better than Jones is. The body of evidence, over the long haul and in small snippets, to that reality is anvil-to-the-head obvious. For your team’s sake, make the switch, Urb, and just be done with it. | SHOCK TREATMENT For those still struggling with Michigan’s last-play meltdown against Michigan State, perhaps this may help: the Wolverines had no business being ahead 23-21 right then in the first place. The visiting Spartans outgained Michigan, 386-230. Heck, MSU should’ve been ahead 10 to 14 points by then already. The bigger fallouts from this one were individual: for Michigan punter Blake O’Neill, whose botched recovery of a bad snap and lame throw paved the way for the impossible, Michigan LB Joe Bolden, who wrongly was ejected for targeting the helmet of Connor Cook when he merely was pushed into the MSU QB by an MSU offensive lineman, and MSU hero Jalen Watts-Jackson, who incurred a season-ending hip injury during his game-winning fumble return for a touchdown. | BETTER RECOGNIZE Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi may be drawing some attention to his program with some well-placed and well-timed commentary aimed at nudging in-state No. 1 (among fans and media) Penn State, but, really, what about the job the former MSU assistant is doing with the Panthers? They’re 5-1 and ranked for the first time in five years at No. 25, and they’re doing this with RB James Conner, the best offensive player in the ACC, sidelined for the rest of the season due to knee surgery. Frankly, they could be 6-0, only unbeaten Iowa, now ranked No. 13, kicked a game-winning FG on the final play to seal a 27-24 decision in Week 3. Regardless, Pitt is the best ACC team this side of top-10 squads Clemson and Florida State – although fans of fellow Coast Division member Duke may debate such talk. | UNI WATCH My other alma mater, Illinois, will break out its ode to Red Grange for the second year in a row on Homecoming, with the Illini set to wear the same “Gray Ghost” attire that nabbed them an upset victory over Minnesota when unveiled last October. They blew an early 14-0 advantage, but had the Galloping Ghost smile down from the heavens when LB T.J. Neal stripped the ball from Gophers RB David Cobb and DB V’Angelo Bentley scooped it up and ran it into the end zone to make it 28-24, Illini – a score the hosts’ D made hold up over the final 6:33. Frankly, the Illini have many sweet combos from which to choose, courtesy of a recent rebranding with Nike, all of them probably nicer-looking than the Gray Ghost getup. But it does have a certain charm to it, and history behind it. |