College Football | OWLS GAMEDAY

The Temple Owls, under the direction of head coach Matt Rhule, have been a football team on the move in 2015.

Temple’s What 2 Watch: Boca Raton Bowl
OWLS (10-3) vs. TOLEDO ROCKETS (9-2)
​FAU STADIUM, 7 P.M., ESPN, 97.5 FM THE FANATIC

1. Find a way to overcome the letdown
The reality is Temple was the best story in the American Athletic Conference, its Eastern Division champion, a title-game participant, host to its biggest game of 2015, owner of the most great-escape acts in college football this season and home to one of the nation’s top individual performers, not to mention head coaches, and … it received the worst bowl bid available to AAC members. That hardly seems fair or just because, well, it isn’t. But it is reality, and the Owls, if they have any intention of setting a program record for victories in a season, must accept that, deal with it and play ball. Some serious, legit, hardcore ball. Toledo is no slouch, and, save for Houston facing top-10 opponent Florida State in the Peach Bowl, arguably the top opponent an AAC bowl entrant will face this postseason. It just doesn’t have the “name” power. Frankly, it’s a double slap to the face. Temple obviously deserved a bigger, better bowl, but gets a lesser one against an opponent that is actually better than it would face if it got its just desserts … and only a scant few know that (Toledo was ranked earlier this season, and higher than Temple ever was). Whatever. It really doesn’t matter. This is the game at hand, and it is an opportunity to reach 11 wins for the first time in Temple football history, and to cap off the most important season ever for the program in style. So do it. Get over the letdown, and do it.

2. Thomas refreshed or not, spread the wealth
If the wear and tear of a 13-game regular season was apparent on any individual it was Jahad Thomas. The junior RB, all 185 pounds of him, was a workhorse all season long, whether he was up to being one or not, as head coach Matt Rhule and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield hitched their hopes to him time and again no matter the situation or the player’s stamina/health level at any given moment. Truth be told, if you want the real reason why the Owls went 3-3 down the stretch after a 7-0 start, look no further. The depth at RB was never truly utilized outside of games against Southern Methodist and Memphis, and neither was the talent at QB, where fellow junior and former high school teammate of Thomas, P.J. Walker, brings a run-pass option threat that can strike serious fear into any defense. Ironically enough, because of the over-reliance on Thomas running the ball, the Owls actually missed out on him catching it, and he is a very good receiver with obvious yards-after-the-catch skills. Thing is, Temple has too many weapons to just be utilizing one of them so often. The receiving corps, headed by Robby Anderson and Ventell Bryant, is loaded. So use it, and Walker, and the other RBs … and you make Thomas that much more effective when you do turn to him.

3. Be prepared for balance
You look at the stats and see that, essentially, Toledo scores a little more and Temple gives up a little less. That being said, the Rockets, in many ways, were a far more polished team this season, especially on offense. They throw for 250 yards per game and run for another 213, both of which are vastly superior to what the Owls produced. You can count on one finger the amount of times Temple surpassed that kind of output in a game (Southern Methodist), and another one (Memphis) in which it came close. Otherwise, the Owls have been a much more inefficient offense than Toledo, far more reliant on the big play or great field position courtesy of their defense. Rockets QB Phillip Ely is solid and he has a deep group of receivers that includes three guys with 500 yards or more. But the real pain they present is at RB, where two individuals – Kareen Hunt and Terry Swanson – have run for close to 900 yards. Hunt (6-0, 225) is the thunder to Swanson’s lightning, but the latter is hardly “small” at 5-10, 202. Both have been productive from the moment they stepped on Toledo’s campus. In three years, Hunt has rushed for more than 3,300 and 32 TDs. In two, Swanson has rushed for more than 1,600 and 13 TDs.

4. Blitz, blitz, blitz ... and then blitz some more
Consider this a smart call, and a selfish one because it likely would mean a massive, career-ending effort by Temple senior LB Tyler Matakevich, who finally has received the national attention he has so richly deserved for the last three seasons – and it would be pretty special to see him set a school record for tackles (with 481 he’s 12 shy of that), if not flirt with 500. Whether it’s pass blitz or run blitz, this attack would allow him to get off and make things happen, which is when he’s truly dangerous. Make no mistake, T-Mat is very good at reading and reacting. But when he’s creating havoc for the opposition, he’s even better. The aggressive mentality is just better suited for the team’s defense in general anyway. As good as it has been this season and last, when it gets in trouble it has been when coordinator Phil Snow opts to have Matakevich and Co. sit back, give some room and then try to make a play. Against the lickety-split likes of multi-threat QBs Quinton Flowers at South Florida and Greg Ward Jr. at Houston, perhaps that was the only way to go, but the Owls got burned anyway. Ely doesn’t present the same kind of issues. So get back to what has worked best, teeing off at the point of attack and then swarm. That, as much as anything else, is what got Temple into the top 25 this season.

5. Keep things rolling the right way
You get a bowl, regardless of whether it matches what you accomplished during the season or not, it’s a chance to send the seniors off in a good way and springboard the returnees into the following season. Rhule and Co. are aware of this, and it stands to reason that they’d do everything they can to make use of the opportunity. The coach “rewarded” his players by giving them some time in Boca Raton, Fla., to enjoy the festivities and have fun, not putting them through a never-ending meat-grinder right up until kickoff. You’d have to think that would work in his favor, with the players appreciating that and showing that appreciation by being ready to roll tonight. We’ll see. Thing is, the outgoing players, such as Matakevich and center Kyle Friend and defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis, have made an incredible impact on the program, pumping it full of life, energy and some seriously much-needed pride AND belief. They deserve a good send-off, and, really, a positive legacy in which their effort, attitude and success is carried on within the program by the likes of not just Thomas and Walker but everyone else coming back and those yet to join the ranks. Indeed, another win here will do nothing but help recruiting.

- Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com
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OWLS BOWL HISTORY

Despite ESPN’s pronouncement on its website that this is Temple’s third bowl, the fact is it is the program’s fifth. Here is a brief rundown of the previous four.
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1935 Sugar Bowl
The Owls faced Tulane in its own backyard and lost, 20-14. Under the direction of legendary coach Pop Warner, Temple entered the game ranked 15th and unbeaten at 7-0-2, but was unable to recover from a lateral on a kickoff that resulted in a 75-yard TD run by the Green Wave’s Monk Simons. Temple actually held a 14-0 lead in the first half, with QB Dave Smukler (24 carries, 88 yards), a big dude for a skill-position player in those days at 212 pounds, factoring in both scores, throwing for one and catapulting into the end zone from 2 yards out for the other.

1979 Garden State Bowl
The Owls held off California, 28-17, after squandering much of a three-TD, first-quarter advantage before halftime. The sub-freezing climes at the Meadowlands not only kept many fans away, but both offenses from doing much of anything in the second half, when Temple QB Brian Broomell sealed the deal with his second TD pass of the game, this one a 5-yarder to Gerald “Sweet Feet” Lucear. Owls FB Mark Bright (19 carries, 112 yards) was named the game’s MVP and backfield mate Kenny Duckett ran for two first-quarter TDs.

2009 EagleBank Bowl
The Owls’ fates changed dramatically for the worse in a 30-21 loss to UCLA when star RB Bernard Pierce went down with a shoulder injury. Prior to his exit, Pierce had run for 53 yards and a score on 12 carries. With him sidelined, Temple squandered a 21-10 halftime advantage as QB Vaughn Charlton actually completed more passes (two) to Bruins defenders than to his own receivers (one) in the second half. One of the INTs resulted in a 2-yard “pick 6” for UCLA LB Akeem Ayers, who received MVP honors largely for that one play.

2011 New Mexico Bowl
The Owls rolled over Wyoming, 37-15, as multi-threat QB Chris Coyer, who threw for 169 yards (including a 61-yard TD bomb to Rod Streater) and rushed for another 71, took home offensive MVP honors and LB Tahir Whitehead, who racked up 11 tackles, grabbed defensive MVP honors. Pierce stuck around in this one, rushing for 100 yards and two scores, but it was the Owls’ defense that really was the story as it held the high-powered Cowboys to just 267 yards and just a single score until 3 seconds remained.

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BREAKING DOWN 2015

GAME 1: Penn State
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 2: Cincinnati
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 3: Massachusetts
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 4: Charlotte
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 5: Tulane
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 6: Central Florida
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 7: East Carolina
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 8: Notre Dame
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 9: Southern Methodist
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 10: South Florida
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 11: Memphis
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 12: Connecticut
Preview  |  Recap
GAME 13: Houston
Preview  |  Recap​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​