Temple Blog

August 12, 2010

The Temple Owls Should Soar atop the MAC
Written by Eric Healy (www.jumponthefanwagon.com)

There is something just not right about saying “Temple is the favorite to win a conference”.  Yet, this year most prognosticators forecast Temple dancing all over Ford Field (venue for the MAC championship game) in early December. 
History has been damning to those pesky Owls from Broad Street.  Let’s start with their bowl drought – 30 years.  There are about 32 bowls every year – that’s 64 teams that play in the postseason.   Temple wasn’t one of them for 30 years until last year when they were invited to the EagleBank Bowl in Washington D.C.. For the record, this is a pretty terrible bowl.  Nonetheless, the Owls flew (or did they drive a bus) to this bowl and won half the game.  The only problem was that UCLA came to play two halves.  In all fairness to Temple, Heisman hopeful Bernard Pierce was hurt going into the game and could not play in the second half.  Temple also clearly was intimidated and outmatched in the second half. 

This is the same program that was booted from the Big East earlier this century for “attendance” reasons.  There Temple was, floating in Division 1 football with no conference affiliation, a storied Division 1-AA coach (Bobby Wallace), and perennially atop (or alow) ESPN’s “Bottom 10” list.  As if it couldn’t get any worse, allegations arose from the NCAA (academic ineligibility of some players) and Temple had to punish themselves.  This would have been hilarious if the NCAA had stepped in harshly – how do you punish the WORST team. 

Voices from different corners of the City of Brotherly Love started questioning the legitimacy of Temple in Division 1 football – perhaps they should descend to the 1-AA ranks.  Temple opted to ignore those voices and bring in a Virginia assistant coach who had played for and worked with Joe Paterno.  Al Golden brought life to an all-but-defunct program.  He focused locally and recruited by promising early playing time and a chance to play in an NFL stadium – this is about all that Temple had to offer.  He believed.  Temple improved. 

Temple had high (relative in the Temple context) expectations to start 2009.  Temple lost to 1-AA Villanova last year in the “Mayor’s Cup”.  Fans and observers were puzzled to an extent.  It wasn’t a surprise to see Temple lose; however, it was a surprise to see this genuine growth disappear literally as the season started.   Penn State rolled over Temple in Week 2.  Temple could have thrown in the towel but Golden didn’t let that happen – instead, they ran off their 9 consecutive wins and limped into and lost their final two matchups. 

Villanova (Week 1 loss) ended up winning the 1-AA national championship.  Temple had one of the youngest squads in the country.  Even though the Owls lost their bowl – they made it to a bowl.  Laugh if you want, but with the backdrop I’ve provided, you see why 2009 was a landmark years for Temple Football. 

Now they’re the favorites to win the MAC – Here is why:  Sophomore Heisman hopeful Bernard Pierce is running behind THREE all-MAC offensive linemen.  Temple returns 16 starters from a 9-4 2009 campaign.  The defense returns 5 all-MAC selections including MAC defensive player of the year Adrian Robinson.   There is no more proof needed – read the previous three sentences until you understand.

This team has come of age – now it’s time for these Owls to prove it.  It will be a strange sight indeed – I’m not sure if the MAC is ready for what has been brewing to the East in North Philly.  As an institution, Temple was originally a night school that catered to a diverse population who couldn’t necessarily obtain their degrees during the day; thus their nocturnal nickname.  Five of their 13 games are at night (assuming they play in the MAC title game).  Happy Hunting Owls.