College Football | Rhule No. 1: Believe in your head coach

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WEEK3 WHAT2WATCH
1. Not sure the conferences planned it this way, but the B1G-ACC Challenge appears to have spilled over from the court to the gridiron going off this weekend’s slate, and, frankly, the matchups are pretty damn good. Iowa hosts Pittsburgh Saturday night and Purdue entertains Virginia Tech late Saturday afternoon on B1G turf, but the feature games, really, truly, get going at lunchtime when Illinois visits North Carolina at noon and No. 23 Northwestern takes the field at Duke a half hour later. The homestanding Tobacco Road neighbors, basketball royalty in the ACC, represent the first real tests for both Land of Lincoln schools this fall. Should the Illini, which outscored (much) lesser competition 96-3 in two wins to start the season, prevail they may not join Northwestern in the rankings (that is, if it wins anyway), but they may have a new “official” head coach with Bill Cubit having the “interim” tagged removed. The former OC has pumped life into a team that could have deflated before the season’s first snap when Tim Beckman was let go a week before the opener. A win in Chapel Hill pretty much would cement Cubit as the right man to remain in the job for the long haul.

2. If ticket prices are any indication, expect Saturday night’s matchup between foundering Big Ten programs Rutgers and Penn State to be every bit as entertaining as No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Notre Dame, with new QB DeShone Kizer under a massive microscope. Both games are going for $86 a pop on StubHub. You have to wonder if that’s merely price-gouging in Happy Valley (oh, the humanity) … almost as much as you have to wonder how the former is being played in prime time and the latter is not.

3. Then again, something actually might be brewing with that “trend” in tonight’s ACC tilt in Chestnut Hill, Mass. You can check out unranked Boston College hosting No. 9 Florida State for $95, and you just might see the season’s biggest upset to date (sorry, Arkansas) unfold right before your eyes. Keep in mind, the Eagles played top-ranked FSU to a standstill last November in Tallahassee, losing just 20-17. Under Steve Addazio, they have become one of the most physical teams in the nation.

4. The feeling here is that Brigham Young’s late-game heroics of Weeks 1 and 2 will be a no-show this time around as the 19th-ranked Cougars visit No. 10 UCLA. Keep it quiet for now, but Jim Mora might have himself a playoff-bound group of Bruins this season, led by freshman QB Josh Rosen. For those who truly enjoy college football, take advantage of the 10:30 p.m. EST start and check out the proceedings on Fox Sports1.

5. Fourth-ranked Michigan State recorded the most recognized signature victory of the season thus far, topping then-No. 7 Oregon last week. Playing Air Force and its unconventional offensive attack really could have been a problem had a game been scheduled between the Spartans and Falcons in Colorado Springs, say, on Saturday night. But it’ll be played in Lansing at noon Saturday. Crises averted. Probably.

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Temple has come a long way since Matt Rhule's first home game as head coach in 2013, a 22-13 American Athletic Conference loss to Houston.

He sold me some time ago.

Oh, I was apprehensive at the start. His hiring as head coach didn’t exactly warm the cockles of my heart and it certainly didn’t ignite any alumnus-infused pride.

Matt Rhule. Penn State graduate. Former Nittany Lions linebacker. Previous Temple assistant coach. Brought back to Temple to run the show, to build the program, to lead the team. My team.

His appointment as the school’s 26th head football coach became official to all during a press conference held Dec. 17, 2012.

Didn’t rejoice. Didn’t regurgitate. Wasn’t happy. Wasn’t unhappy.

In short, it wasn’t an inspiring choice – to me.

He’d been the offensive coordinator during the Owls’ rise from the ashes, when fellow Penn Stater Al Golden’s organizational efforts had paved the way to the most victorious three-run in school history, including Temple’s second bowl victory in its history under Steve Addazio, Golden’s carpet-bagging, two-year replacement, so he’d obviously been a positive part of Temple’s recent football past. Didn’t necessarily love his play-calling all the time, but, hey, who the hell was I to question a key Xs and Os cog in that 27-win run from 2009 through 2011, along with his merits to take the reins on North Broad?

So, I kept an open mind … somewhat. Figured I’d reserve final judgment until the team started to show improvement from 2012’s disappointing 4-7 mark that, note to self, took place when Rhule was away coaching the offensive line for the New York Giants, or if it began drifting back into the abyss.

Gotta be honest, the latter seemed a very distinct possibility to me. Probably more so than the former.

Only one thing kept settling my nerves. He had the players. They loved him. They believed in him. Heck, they lobbied for him to be brought back in the first place … because he had recruited them, bonded with them, before ever leaving for what turned out to be an abbreviated, one-year stint in the NFL.

Normally, I’m not a fan of administrators and decision-makers opting for, essentially, “what the kids’ want.” To me, that reeks of inmates running the asylum, or at least a little too close to it for my liking.

However, this seemed different. This wasn’t young guys trying to cling to a security blanket of familiarity. They genuinely liked Rhule. They really thought he was the right guy for the job.

That his feelings toward them were mutual, and that he expressed such passion for Temple and the city which it inhabits did nothing for the negative, either.

The Penn State connection? More than most Temple peeps, I could live with that. A certain measure of respect for a successful program helped, as did having been privy to the inner-workings of it while covering the Lions for more than a decade as a writer, including Rhule’s time as a player.

Then came 2013. The Owls started at Notre Dame, actually hung tough for two and a half quarters, and then proceeded to go winless until mid-October. Following a victory at Army, they lost four straight in mind-numbing, gut-wrenching, spirit-sapping fashion before pulling out the season finale at Memphis in a runaway.

All in all, an on-field disaster that, on the brightest of sides, saw highly touted freshman quarterback P.J. Walker become the starter and display some breathtaking athletic ability.

It was trying, difficult campaign in which my concerns about Rhule’s offensive vibes not jiving with my own were not alleviated, and where the continued misuse of talented QB-turned-TE Chris Coyer proved maddening. The defense was dreadful, save for LB Tyler Matakevich leading the nation in solo tackles.

If ever there was a time for the program to drop off the face of college football’s planet, that year, pretty much at any point, was prime for that to happen.

Only it didn’t. The players seemed as devoted to Rhule and committed to his vision as they were the day he stepped up to the podium and won over the media in his first Q-and-A session as head coach.

That was telling, and it sold me – for good. So, too, was the fact that the guy always was teaching. Even in his most emotional of fits, Rhule somehow manages to show that he not only cares about what just happened, but that he cares about the player and his grasping of what the coach now wants to happen.

He pulls no punches, pro or con, and often will let a player, or coach, have it. Then, he’ll build up the object of his initial ire and have everyone focus on the main task at hand: getting better.

As cheesy as this may read, he’s “real.” He puts himself into everything he does, and then he puts himself out there. He’s demanding, yet likable because he treats players as human beings, not properties. He has a used-car salesman’s touch with recruiting, but the beauty of that is he actually loves the school, and he takes pride in the program he’s putting together to represent that school.

Thing is, what I’ve learned with Rhule, or at least have accepted with him, OK, I may never be on board with what he does on certain third-and-longs or what his pass-run ratio happens to be in certain games. Honestly, even now, I’d say he was ill-suited to be an offensive coordinator – at any level.

But, one thing I’ve noticed for some time now is that he knows how to run the show. He is a head coach. He has the ability to see the big picture, and the administrative talents, personal drive and engaging, sincere personality to make it a very positive one for Temple football.

The Owls’ early-season success in 2015, it is no fluke. It is Rhule’s vision for them starting to be realized.

- Jack Kerwin  |  [email protected]

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On deck

Temple faces UMass in a nonconference matchup Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The Owls are on the precipice of a national ranking after posting wins against Penn State and Cincinnati. In order to make joining the polls a reality for the first time since 1979, though, they need to keep winning.