Temple coach Geoff Collins attempts to get his Owls to calm down.
by Jack Kerwin | [email protected]
Not all that concerned.
Or worried.
Or even disappointed.
With Geoff Collins entering his fourth game as head coach of the Temple University football team, have heard all the panic and propaganda before.
He'll never be as good as so and so.
He sucks. Get him outta here.
If they don't make a change, that program is going to hell.
Sound familiar? It should. The same stuff was said about Steve Addazio when he took over for Al Golden in 2011 and then Matt Rhule two years later – not so much as a successor to Daz, who forever will be seen as a guy who just used Temple to get a better gig, but, again, as a successor to Golden.
Ad nauseam.
Not for nothing, but after seeing Daz win 9 games his first season, including the Owls' first bowl conquest in more than three decades, and then Rhule post back-to-back 10-victory campaigns the last two years, along with an American Athletic Conference crown last season, pardon me for not joining the “he's gotta go” when it comes to Collins.
Had a good vibe about Rhule, even as the masses were ready to storm North Broad with torches and burn-Frankenstein intent, and perhaps an even better one about Collins.
So, gonna give it a little time before joining the knee-jerk, reactionary crowd. Frankly, doubt any union with it will be necessary.
That being said, all these guys have benchmark games. Win or lose, how their teams stack up against big-time competition says a lot about the coach, his players and where the program is headed.
In Rhule's case, the fact it didn't seem to register how well his initial squad played at No. 14 Notre Dame in the 2013 opener, going toe-to-toe with the Irish for three quarters before fading in a 28-6 loss, remains mind-boggling. Sure, those same Owls came up lame against FCS-level Fordham and a lowly FBS team in Idaho. They also got manhandled by No. 7 Louisville in Week 5.
By Week 10, though, Temple pushed 17th-ranked Central Florida to the limit, only falling 39-36 when a couple miraculous catches sealed the deal for the visitors from Orlando.
A year later, the Owls knocked off No. 23 East Caroline. The following season, 2015, the breakout one that even got people in Philly to stand up and take notice along with the rest of the country, saw the Penn State win and a 7-0 start as a prelim to an attention-meriting, albeit losing, effort to No. 9 Notre Dame as Temple, Philly and Lincoln Financial Field became the center of the college football universe for a weekend.
Before winning the AAC title last fall against Navy, Rhule's Owls blew out highly skilled and super quick South Florida.
Then the coach left. It happens.
Someone was hired to replace him. Also happens.
So, here Collins stands Thursday night ... 2-1 in his first season, facing, ironically enough, South Florida – which returns many of the same players who got embarrassed at the Linc last October, chief among them quarterback Quinton Flowers.
Indeed, this is a benchmark game for him, taking on the conference favorite and a top-25 team ... with bad intentions on its mind.
But concerned, worried or even disappointed? Nah.
Not yet at least.
Not all that concerned.
Or worried.
Or even disappointed.
With Geoff Collins entering his fourth game as head coach of the Temple University football team, have heard all the panic and propaganda before.
He'll never be as good as so and so.
He sucks. Get him outta here.
If they don't make a change, that program is going to hell.
Sound familiar? It should. The same stuff was said about Steve Addazio when he took over for Al Golden in 2011 and then Matt Rhule two years later – not so much as a successor to Daz, who forever will be seen as a guy who just used Temple to get a better gig, but, again, as a successor to Golden.
Ad nauseam.
Not for nothing, but after seeing Daz win 9 games his first season, including the Owls' first bowl conquest in more than three decades, and then Rhule post back-to-back 10-victory campaigns the last two years, along with an American Athletic Conference crown last season, pardon me for not joining the “he's gotta go” when it comes to Collins.
Had a good vibe about Rhule, even as the masses were ready to storm North Broad with torches and burn-Frankenstein intent, and perhaps an even better one about Collins.
So, gonna give it a little time before joining the knee-jerk, reactionary crowd. Frankly, doubt any union with it will be necessary.
That being said, all these guys have benchmark games. Win or lose, how their teams stack up against big-time competition says a lot about the coach, his players and where the program is headed.
In Rhule's case, the fact it didn't seem to register how well his initial squad played at No. 14 Notre Dame in the 2013 opener, going toe-to-toe with the Irish for three quarters before fading in a 28-6 loss, remains mind-boggling. Sure, those same Owls came up lame against FCS-level Fordham and a lowly FBS team in Idaho. They also got manhandled by No. 7 Louisville in Week 5.
By Week 10, though, Temple pushed 17th-ranked Central Florida to the limit, only falling 39-36 when a couple miraculous catches sealed the deal for the visitors from Orlando.
A year later, the Owls knocked off No. 23 East Caroline. The following season, 2015, the breakout one that even got people in Philly to stand up and take notice along with the rest of the country, saw the Penn State win and a 7-0 start as a prelim to an attention-meriting, albeit losing, effort to No. 9 Notre Dame as Temple, Philly and Lincoln Financial Field became the center of the college football universe for a weekend.
Before winning the AAC title last fall against Navy, Rhule's Owls blew out highly skilled and super quick South Florida.
Then the coach left. It happens.
Someone was hired to replace him. Also happens.
So, here Collins stands Thursday night ... 2-1 in his first season, facing, ironically enough, South Florida – which returns many of the same players who got embarrassed at the Linc last October, chief among them quarterback Quinton Flowers.
Indeed, this is a benchmark game for him, taking on the conference favorite and a top-25 team ... with bad intentions on its mind.
But concerned, worried or even disappointed? Nah.
Not yet at least.
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