College Football | OWLS GAMENIGHT

AROUND THE NATION

BULLY PULPIT
Yeah, we get it, Nick Saban. You’re the college football god, it’s your world and we’re just lucky enough to live in it. So often his self-serving act is enough to drive yours truly insane. The arrogance. The condescending comments. Ugh, brutal. But, you know what, when a man’s right, he’s right … and no problem here with his thoughts about the College Football Playoff rankings after being asked a question about it. Every single word that he uttered is correct, and the funny thing is, most not waving a “Roll Tide” flag won’t get that. Instead, they’ll get wrapped up in the arrogance and the condescending comments. One thing to remember, sometimes the bully is right.

SPARTAN COMEDY
Anyone else notice the roller-coaster cruise that Michigan State has been taken on by voters since the start of the season? The Spartans kicked off 2015 ranked sixth, slowly moved up to third, then second … and began dropping back down right after. So where do they stand now? Exactly where they started, No. 6 in both polls, and in the first CFB rankings seventh. Why even bring it up? Umm, because the Spartans haven’t lost a single game this season. They’re 8-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten, heading into Saturday’s game at conference rival Nebraska.
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REAL DEAL
Not for nothing, but with all the QB talk going on around my town, about Sam Bradford’s performance and whether or not he should remain as the Eagles’ starter and, if not, who would replace him, Thursday night’s SEC affair at Missouri proved an awakening. As in, uh, Dak Prescott seems like he’d be a perfect fit in Chip Kelly’s offense. The guy can throw, run, think on his feet, make quick decisions, produce and, carrying 235 chiseled pounds on a 6-2 frame, take a pounding. Oh yeah, the big fella carried the visiting Bulldogs to victory against the Tigers, racking up better than 350 total yards and recording his 100th TD as a collegian.

BIG TICKET
The ACC showdown at Clemson between the CFP No. 1 Tigers and visiting Florida State, ranked 16th, takes top billing among valued seats this week, with StubHub offering ’em at $131 to start. No other game is even close, with the No. 8 TCU at No. 14 Oklahoma State matchup between Big 12 unbeatens being, amazingly, just $64 per ticket. Even bigger surprise, Notre Dame tickets last week in Philly were going for well over $200. This week, with the Irish at Pittsburgh, they’re only $90.

Freshman RB Ryquell Armstead, shown here racing for a TD against Tulane, is one guy YDKJ would like to see more involved in Temple's offensive game plan.

Temple’s What 2 Watch vs. SMU
No. 22 Owls (7-1, 4-0 AAC) vs. Mustangs (1-7, 0-4 AAC)  |  Dallas, Texas
​GERALD J. FORD STADIUM, TONIGHT, 8, ESPN2, 97.5 FM THE FANATIC

1. Better be ready to roll
Yeah, losing to Notre Dame was tough. Though the performance that yielded a 24-20 outcome before a sellout crowd proved the Owls and the city of Philadelphia were worthy of the nation's college football center stage, at least for one fall weekend, the reality is a loss is a loss is a loss. It sucks, no matter how valiant a team plays, especially when the team giving that valiant effort was unbeaten coming in. Head coach Matt Rhule has voiced his concern this week during practice, noting that his team just “wasn't there” yet ... Well, they better be by gametime tonight. Otherwise, setback No. 2 could arise against the most unlikely of teams – if you're just going by the record. With just one victory in eight games, the Mustangs would appear to be pushovers. Uh, not so fast. Even before facing the Owls, SMU has showed up against its better opposition, scaring the bejesus out of the likes of Tulsa, East Carolina, Houston and – gulp – the Big 12's bad-ass tandem of Baylor and TCU. All five of those squads struggled well into the third or fourth quarters against the Mustangs, holding a single-score advantage or actually trailing before finally gaining the upper hand. As for the Owls, they've proven to be an equal-opportunity outlet for all teams anyway, struggling themselves against the likes of one-win Massachusetts and winless Central Florida.
 
2. Umm, O, now is time
If ever the Owls' passing game were given the opportunity to get going, this is it. SMU ranks among the worst pass defenses in the country, yielding 266 yards through the air per game. Frankly, Temple is going to need a passing game to get where it wants to go from this point on, because relying so much on the ground game headed by junior Jahad Thomas makes it far too one-dimensional against better teams – and Memphis, a possible American Athletic Conference title game berth and a New Year's bowl bid will require quarterback P.J. Walker and Co. to show a little something. Frankly, the play-calling has been ultra-conservative and played largely into pretty lifeless production on offense. But there have been a few chances for Walker and his wideouts to open things and the latter certainly have let the former down with an inordinate percentage of dropped passes. Thus far, Walker's best weapons, Robby Anderson and Ventell Bryant, have been the guiltiest parties in that regard, too. That being said, perhaps a few (read: A LOT) more passing attempts, especially beyond the dump-off zone, may do wonders for the whole shebang.
 
3. Same old song ... Get to the QB
The Owls' pass rush remains an enigma. Or, really, were those efforts against Penn State (10 sacks) and ECU (6) more the fluky examples of what Temple can do there instead of the norm, or even the possible. Seriously, the Owls have 23 sacks on the season; 16 coming in two games and the remaining seven in six. That's not exactly exhibiting consistency to any degree. They certainly could have used a little more pressure against Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer, and the fact they never got to him at all cost them dearly in the end. SMU's Matt Davis may not be the same caliber athlete as Kizer, but he's pretty darn good and he could hurt the Owls. The junior comes in as the Mustangs' top passer and rusher, so he certainly has the wheels to do some damage, especially if Temple does not get to him.
 
4. Paging Tavon Young
Arguably the Owls' most important defender the first half of last season, the senior DB has been rather quiet this fall and has yet to record an interception. This game would mark a nice time for change there, and with Davis likely to heave up about 40 attempts. Hey, anything that can get the Owls' secondary in a good state of mind in preparation for the bombs-away attack it'll likely face in two weeks against Memphis and Heisman contender Paxton Lynch would be nice. Young gets the mention here because he has just been so quiet this season after a spectacular start a season ago, while backfield mates Sean Chandler, Alex Wells, Nate L. Smith and Will Hayes have all had some moments in 2015. Heck, senior LB Tyler Matakevich has five INTs this season. Of course, he may be the best defender in the country this season, but that's another matter altogether.
 
5. Enough already
We get it. Thomas has been a godsend this season. His running, his receiving, his returning, his juking and jiving, more than anything else aside from T-Mat's all-around defensive brilliance, is the reason why Temple started the season 7-0 and gave the Irish a run for their money before national-TV audience. But he is gassed, and he is hurt (courtesy of shots to his ribs Saturday night), and he has a backup in Ryquell Armstead who looks more than equipped to do some heavy damage on opposing defenses. So, give the kid a break, or many more breaks, and let the understudy work over the opposition's midsection. This is right along the same lines as the passing game. Use both, that and Armstead, to further evolve the offense, so other teams need to worry about something other than Thomas' legs and heart.

- Jack Kerwin  |  ydkjack1@gmail.com

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